Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Vladimir Putin is engaging in “extreme blackmail” that requires a “swift, firm, united reaction” after the Russian president put his country’s nuclear forces on high alert. Draghi said that Putin’s warning last week that those who obstruct Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would face “consequences that you have never encountered in your history” ...

  Bloomberg Burkina Faso’s military leader on Tuesday signed off on a return to democracy within three years following a coup in January. A civilian prime minister will lead a 24-member cabinet during the transition, according to the charter adopted following a meeting in the capital, Ouagadougou. Interim President Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the prime minister and the speaker of ...

Bloomberg The head of Ukraine’s nuclear-power utility called on international monitors to intervene to ensure the safety of the country’s 15 atomic reactors as an advancing Russian invasion nears Europe’s largest nuclear plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency will convene an emergency session on Wednesday in Vienna to assess the situation. The watchdog has been warning for days that the ...

  Bloomberg Sanctions leveled on Russia will ultimately cause more damage to the US and its allies, a research group that advises Chinese President Xi Jinping said, as Beijing weighs how much backing to give its close diplomatic partner. Russia has largely adapted to dealing with punitive financial measures since 2014, when it was penalized for seizing Crimea, Ma Xue, ...

  Bloomberg China’s smaller banks could come under greater scrutiny over financing to Russia as the nation’s biggest lenders are already showing signs of complying with US and European sanctions in a bid to protect their large international footprints. Within the commercial banking system, one model allowing China to support its strategic partner would be through an institution similar to ...

  Bloomberg China’s central bank pledged to keep its monetary policy flexible and responsive to changing economic conditions, with an overriding objective of achieving stability. The People’s Bank of China will adjust the strength, pace and focus of its monetary policy as needed, the central bank said. The statement was the first in a series planned in relation to the ...

  Bloomberg German bonds surged on Tuesday, sending the benchmark yield below zero for the first time in a month as rates traders bet the European Central Bank will put off raising interest rates until next year. The repricing comes as investors come to terms with the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the risks it poses to the ...

  Bloomberg Commerzbank AG raised the prospect of higher shareholder payouts and lifted a key profit target as the turnaround under Chief Executive Officer Manfred Knof gathers pace. The German lender on Tuesday said it may pay out as much as 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) to shareholders until 2024, compared with up to 3 billion euros promised last year. ...

  Bloomberg Barclays Plc named JPMorgan Chase & Co veteran Urvashi Batra as its head of equities electronic trading for the Americas. Batra’s page on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority BrokerCheck website and her LinkedIn page both show the move, and Barclays formally announced the hire in a statement Tuesday. In her new role, she’ll oversee electronic equities client offerings ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s banking regulator told finance executives in recent weeks that it’s lobbying the government to shorten the strict hotel quarantine placed on incoming travelers as it seeks to prop up confidence in the city’s status as a financial hub. Hong Kong Monetary Authority told a group of banks that it will start engaging with the government to reduce ...