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Fed to shift from writing rules to watching banks’ behaviour

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve is shifting its focus from writing and revising rules aimed at limiting risk in the banking system to a concentration on how lenders interpret the restrictions, the agency’s supervision chief said. Having finished the bulk of its work on major rules, the Fed can now devote more attention to behind-the-scenes interactions between bankers and their government ...

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Deutsche Bank cuts bonus pool by 30%

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG is cutting the bonus pool at its investment bank by about 30%, deepening pay reductions after a tumultuous year that saw the lender embark on a huge restructuring. While the figure is an average at the division housing fixed income trading, there’ll be some adjustments for individual performance and units, people with knowledge of the matter ...

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‘Too much finance can make inequality worse’

Bloomberg The expansion of financial services in an economy can reduce income inequality — but beyond a certain point it tends to have the opposite effect, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Better access to banking and credit can help close income gaps by allowing people to save and invest more, the Washington-based fund said in a staff discussion ...

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BOE is fast running out of excuses not to cut interest rates

Bloomberg Add a shocking slump in retail sales to the list of reasons why the Bank of England may cut interest rates in less than two weeks. Instead of showing evidence of a much-anticipated post-election bounce, the release exposed how British shoppers, the mainstay of growth the past few years, reined in spending during the crucial Christmas season. The pound ...

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Ghana banking clean-up cost risks surging to $3.5b

Bloomberg The cost of Ghana’s financial sector clean-up risks escalating to 20 billion cedis ($3.5 billion) as the government weighs increasing the guaranteed payback for some depositors, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said. The West African nation has approved funding of about 16.4 billion cedis since 2017 to help recapitalise the industry and safeguard depositors’ funds after the central bank revoked ...

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Toyota makes new $394mn bet on flying taxis

Toyota Motor is making a $394 million investment in Joby Aviation, one of the handful of companies with the seemingly implausible goal of making electric air taxis that shuttle people over gridlocked highways and city streets. Toyota is the lead investor in Joby’s $590 million Series C funding, alongside Baillie Gifford and Global Oryx and prior backers Intel Capital, Capricorn ...

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Apple acquires AI firm Xnor.ai

Bloomberg Apple Inc acquired Seattle-based artificial intelligence (AI) company Xnor.ai, bringing on more talent in a key area of technology. The company, founded in 2016, had raised millions of dollars to build tools that help AI algorithms run on devices rather than remote data centres. In recent years, Apple has pushed to run this type of software on its devices ...

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Smart speakers likely to come under new scrutiny in UK

Bloomberg Smart speakers such as those made by Amazon.com Inc are to come under new scrutiny by the UK government when it publishes the results of a consultation into the security features of connected consumer devices. UK digital secretary Nicky Morgan said the results of the public inquiry, which concluded in June, will be released within the next “month or ...

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New software flaw may further delay 737 Max

Bloomberg Boeing Co has identified a new software flaw in the grounded 737 Max that will require additional work, possibly further delaying the plane’s return to service. The company alerted the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is notifying customers and its suppliers, it said in an emailed statement. Boeing’s best-selling jet was grounded on March 13 after two fatal ...

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JetBlue again raises checked-bag fees

Bloomberg JetBlue Airways Corp has added another $5 to its fees for checking a first and second bag, setting a new benchmark that other major US airlines will probably follow. The airline has hiked the cost of checking a first bag to $35 from $30, and to $45 from $40 for the second bag. The price for checking a third ...

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