Bloomberg Walmart Inc is testing out a higher minimum starting wage for certain jobs in hundreds of stores as part of a broader overhaul of roles and responsibilities across its massive US workforce. In the 500 or so stores that have introduced the retailer’s new operating model, dubbed “Great Workplace,” some associates in the fresh, front-end and replenishment areas will …

Bloomberg The rapid spread of a deadly virus from China will be top of emerging-market investors’ minds as they ponder its impact on the global economy. Concern that the outbreak will develop into something akin to the Sars pandemic of 2003 halted a seven-week rally in developing-nation stocks, currencies and bonds in the five days through Friday. The yuan underperformed …

Bloomberg Federal Reserve policy makers will keep interest rates on hold this year and next, and will wind up their efforts to boost excess bank reserves by June, economists said in a Bloomberg survey. In the January 21-23 poll, the mean forecast from 28 respondents predicted no move in the federal funds rate until at least 2022, the same as …

Bloomberg If you want to know what long-term negative interest rates are doing to banks, watch Denmark in the coming months. Danes have lived with subzero rates longer than anyone else, after the central bank resorted to the policy in 2012 to defend its currency peg. But according to the country’s financial watchdog, it’s only now that the real cost …

Bloomberg The head of India’s biggest lender said he’s certain “some solutions will emerge” to steady Yes Bank Ltd, which has been on a prolonged quest to raise new capital. “Yes Bank is a significant player in the market with an almost $40 billion balance sheet,” State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar told Bloomberg Television in Davos. “I …

Bloomberg A bond fund manager who correctly predicted that India’s central bank would introduce a US Federal Reserve style Operation Twist, now says that the nation needs more foreign capital to fund its record borrowing. India’s borrowing may rise to 7.6 trillion rupees ($107 billion) for the fiscal year starting from April 1, according to Suyash Choudhary, head of fixed …

Bloomberg Ever since she moved to Frankfurt as European Central Bank (ECB) president three months ago, Christine Lagarde has been working hard to charm the locals. The institution’s new chief has sought to turn a new leaf with Germany after years of cooler relations under her predecessor, Mario Draghi. His stimulus policies, including negative interest rates that erased returns on …

Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has frozen the bank account of a Chinese company that the central bank alleges has been manipulating the foreign exchange market. The bank escalated the matter to the Financial Intelligence Unit for investigation and it has so far identified one company — China Nanchang — “which has used its bank account to inject millions …

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp plans to start gauging buyer interest in its UK and German upstream operations in the coming weeks as the oil major continues to divest overseas assets, people with knowledge of the matter said. The energy giant aims to start a sale process for its UK North Sea assets imminently, according to the people. It would then …

Bloomberg EnCap Investments LP plans to use a $6 billion war chest to drill oil and natural gas wells, now that dwindling investor interest has made it tougher for private equity players to offload shale assets. The energy-focussed firm sees “robust drilling economics” in many parts of the US and is running 23 rigs across its portfolio companies, according to …