Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. set aside $7.9 billion for souring loans even as the bank’s revenue from fixed-income trading surged 68%, keeping bank solidly profitable. The $5.6 billion windfall from trading bonds, currencies and commodities was even greater than what the firm generated in the year’s first three months, when the pandemic set off a flood of client transactions. Combined with …

Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s results were one more marker of the disconnect between ebullient markets and concern about the US economy. The biggest US bank said second-quarter profit fell 51% to $4.69 billion, a smaller drop than forecast, as record trading revenue helped counter the biggest loan-loss provision in the firm’s history. It’s the second consecutive quarter that trading …

Bloomberg The Philippine central bank will likely keep policy accommodative over the next two years to deal with lingering economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Benjamin Diokno said. “We know that this crisis may be protracted,” Diokno said when asked how long the central bank will continue its bond-buying and liquidity support programs. “At least for the next maybe …

Bloomberg India’s shadow banks are benefiting from a drop in borrowing costs after government stimulus steps, but the troubled sector faces more challenges ahead as the economy reels from the pandemic. The lenders’ borrowing costs declined in June for a second straight month, according to a gauge that’s among four indicators compiled by Bloomberg to check on the health of …

Bloomberg The Indonesian rupiah slumped to a seven-week low as traders positioned for a policy decision due on Thursday and concern about rising domestic virus infections damped sentiment. The rupiah dropped as much as 1% to 14,597 per dollar, the weakest level since May 29. BI is forecast to cut its key rate by 25 basis points to 4.00%. “If …

Bloomberg Stocks and US equity futures rose, while the dollar weakened to a one-month low as progress in developing a coronavirus vaccine crossed a key milestone. European stocks staged a broad advance, with travel shares leading gains. Atlantia SpA surged 20% as Italy’s government moved to resolve a long-running dispute linked to a 2018 bridge collapse. Treasuries and gold were …

Bloomberg Japan Exchange Group Inc. will join Japan’s Nikkei 225, becoming the index’s latest entrant following the buyout of Sony Financial Holdings. The operator of the Tokyo and Osaka exchanges will join the blue-chip index on July 29, Nikkei Inc. announced on Wednesday. SMS Co. Ltd will replace Sony Financial on the Nikkei 500 index. The outcome comes after Sony …

Bloomberg Shares in Chinese biotechnology company Beigene Ltd. jumped the most in eight months after Hillhouse Capital invested about $1 billion in the largest equity financing ever by a biotech company. The Asian private equity firm’s stake in Beigene increased to about 12.7%, according to a regulatory filing confirming a report by Bloomberg News. Hillhouse acted as the anchor investor …

Bloomberg The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) expects demand for its crude oil to rebound sharply next year, surpassing levels seen before the coronavirus crisis, as rival producers struggle to revive output. The Opec forecasts the need for its crude will surge by 25% in 2021 to average 29.8 million barrels a day, higher than the level required in …

MORONI / WAM President Azali Assoumani of the Comoros received a delegation from the UAE, led by Saeed Mohammed Saeed Al Muqbali, UAE Ambassador to the Comoros, in the presence of Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Jarwan, President of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace. During the meeting, both sides discussed ways of strengthening their mutual ties, in addition to …