Bloomberg National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) has emerged as the front-runner for Citigroup Inc’s Australian retail assets. The country’s third-largest bank is in advanced discussions over the purchase of the unit, valued at more than $1 billion, the people said. National Australia confirmed its interest in a statement. “NAB regularly assesses opportunities to acquire businesses that support its growth strategy ...

Bloomberg The central bank of Kenya needs “teeth” to rein in more than 100 lenders, who charge interest rates as high as an annualised 500% for loans disbursed over digital channels, according to Governor Patrick Njoroge. The regulator wants the mobile-phone based and online lenders to disclose more information, including the source of funds and details on ownership for the ...

Bloomberg American stock-index futures were mixed on Wednesday as investors evaluated a surprise US inflation jump that stirred the debate on how long the Federal Reserve will maintain ultra-loose policy. Contracts on the S&P 500 fluctuated, while those on the Nasdaq 100 gained after US tech giant Apple Inc. was said to have prepared suppliers for a boost in next-generation ...

Bloomberg Count small-cap stocks among the casualties of the quickly unraveling reflation trade. The Russell 2000 Index fell more than 1% as the fastest inflation since 2008 fueled concern over pricing pressures and the growth potential of smaller US companies. The retreat contrasts with a gain in the Nasdaq 100, where technology megacaps are increasingly favoured for their strong earnings ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM – Bloomberg World hunger spiked last year, outpacing population growth and probably reaching the highest since 2005, as the Covid-19 pandemic curbed incomes and access to food, according to the United Nations. As many as 811 million people — about a 10th of the global population — were undernourished in 2020, a UN report said. The ...

Bloomberg Equity investors in India face the risk of earnings disappointment after a rally that’s propelled the local stock benchmark to successive records this year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. As business activity resumes following one of the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreaks, consensus earnings estimates may end up being overdone, said Sanjay Mookim, head of India equity research at ...

Bloomberg Markets settled into a holding pattern on Tuesday as traders awaited key American inflation data and second-quarter earnings reports from some of the world’s biggest banks. Treasuries and the dollar were steady. Contracts on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fluctuated around small gains and losses after the underlying indexes closed at records. JPMorgan Chase & Co and ...

Bloomberg Toronto saw the lowest number of homes trade hands in a year in June as the pandemic-fueled demand that drove the market to record highs starts to fade with immigration still muted. Home sales in Canada’s largest city fall 9.1% in June from the month before to 8,885 transactions, the third consecutive monthly decline, according to data released by ...

Bloomberg Just months after bankers celebrated a record haul from taking Chinese companies public in New York and Hong Kong, they’ve had a rude awakening. Deals are being shelved and investors are nursing heavy losses. A chill has settled over global finance after a fortnight in which China first cracked down on its Uber-like Didi Global Inc. within days of ...

Bloomberg US futures were mixed as investors turn their attention to the second-quarter earnings season starting this week in order to gauge whether corporate profitability can support equity valuations. Treasury yields dropped. The Stoxx Europe 600 fluctuated, with declines for banks and travel companies offsetting gains for real-estate and utilities. Atos SE plunged more than 15% after the French IT-services ...