Bloomberg India’s central bank approved paying a higher-than-expected nearly $14 billion as dividend to the government, providing relief to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a time when the pandemic has strained public finances. The central board of the Reserve Bank of India approved transferring 991.2 billion rupees ($13.6 billion) to the government on, according to a statement from the Reserve …

Bloomberg Barclays Plc has been dragged into a bitter feud between two French insurers over its role in a failed hostile takeover bid. Scor SE is suing Barclays in London for breach of confidence when the bank advised Covea on its bid to acquire Scor in 2018. Barclays was given an inside track into the strategic thinking of Scor’s board …

Bloomberg State Bank of India (SBI) posted a record quarterly profit that beat estimates, helped by higher interest and other income as well as lower provisions for bad loans. However, India’s largest lender broke with trend and didn’t offer guidance on fresh soured assets — the so-called slippage ratio — citing uncertainty arising from the coronavirus outbreak that is ravaging …

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) is expanding a mortgage program for low- to moderate-income homebuyers in an effort to address racial wealth gaps. The lender, working with the non-profit Neighbourhood Assistance Corp of America, set a goal of providing $15 billion in mortgages through May 2027, according to an announcement. Buyers get loans with no down payment, at below-market …

Bloomberg US banks could cut as many as 200,000 jobs in the next decade as they try to boost efficiency to compete with fintech and other upstarts encroaching on their territory, according to Wells Fargo & Co. The eliminations are likely to accelerate as the economy reopens following the Covid-19 pandemic and conditions normalise, Wells Fargo analysts led by Mike …

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) signalled it will take account of the government’s environmental goals in buying assets in financial markets, saying it will shift purchases toward companies doing the most to fight climate change. The move is part of a global effort by central banks to push the financial services industry towards greener finance. The BOE stopped short …

Bloomberg Apple Inc is preparing to release several new Mac laptops and desktops with faster processors, new designs and improved connectivity to external devices, accelerating the company’s effort to replace Intel Corp chips and leapfrog rival PC makers. The overhaul encompasses a broad range of Macs, including Apple’s higher-end laptop, the MacBook Pro; the laptop aimed at the mass market, …

Bloomberg Electric flying taxis may be cleared for takeoff in European skies by 2024 or 2025, according to the region’s top air-safety regulator. Piloted craft that take off vertically could see commercial use carrying packages before passengers, Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), said in an online event. Autonomous drones will take at least …

Bloomberg BMW AG will raise its earnings forecast for the year because it expects an antitrust fine from European Union will be much smaller than anticipated two years ago. The automaker said it will get a roughly $1.2 billion boost to earnings this quarter from revaluing a provision for an EU fine over allegations that it colluded with its German …

Bloomberg Shortages in the semiconductor industry, which have already slammed automakers and consumer electronics companies, are getting even worse, complicating the global economy’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Chip lead times, the gap between ordering a chip and taking delivery, increased to 17 weeks in April, indicating users are getting more desperate to secure supply, according to research by Susquehanna …