Bloomberg Latvia’s political parties are discussing four candidates to lead the central bank after IlmarsRimsevics’s term ends in December, Latvia’s LatvijasAvize newspaper reported. Under consideration are Roberts Zile, a member of the European Parliament, Martins Kazaks, a central bank board member, UldisCerps, a former director of the banking regulator, and KarlisBauze, who previously headed monetary policy at the central bank, …

Bloomberg Four payments companies that have joined Facebook Inc as founding members of the Libra Association are wavering over whether to officially sign on to the cryptocurrency project, according to people familiar with the matter. Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc, PayPal Holdings Inc and Stripe Inc are undecided about formally signing onto Libra’s organising charter because they’re concerned about maintaining positive …

Bloomberg Denmark’s new left-wing government pledged tough laws to control housing costs and singled out Blackstone Group for “unsustainable” rental practices. Kaare Dybvad, the Danish housing minister, said Blackstone is “challenging” local legislation “where there are holes.” By taking advantage of those holes, the concern is that properties are being bought up and then rented out at prices that Danes …

Bloomberg US stock-index futures retreated with Asian shares while equities sank across Europe as miserable manufacturing data from the world’s largest economy kept reverberating around markets. The dollar advanced. Contracts on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all signalled declines when exchanges open in New York, after the underlying indexes slumped the previous day when a …

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s financial markets showed resilience after a day of violent clashes between protesters and the police brought much of the city’s centre to a standstill. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was little changed on Wednesday, closing down 0.2 percent on volume that was 30 percent lower than the 30-day average. Trading in the local dollar was also muted, …

Bloomberg BP Plc boss Bob Dudley is planning to step down, and the energy giant’s board is yet to decide on the timing. “I said a long time ago that around the age of 65 I would” step down, Dudley told reporters on the sidelines of the Russia Energy Week conference in Moscow. Dudley took over as chief executive officer …

Bloomberg United Parcel Service (UPS) Inc won US certification to fly drones under regulations similar to those for airlines, a milestone that allows the company to vastly expand airborne deliveries. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave the courier permission to use delivery drones at hospital, university and corporate campuses with few restrictions, for example, letting operators fly the aircraft at …

Bloomberg Rahul Bhatia, co-founder of Indian budget airline IndiGo, has filed an arbitration request against his partner Rakesh Gangwal in a London court, involving the judiciary for the first time in a feud between the two billionaire owners over allegations of corporate governance lapses. Bhatia and his holding company filed the claim to the London Court of International Arbitration, IndiGo’s …

Bloomberg European Union officials appeared to lose hope of dodging additional punitive US tariffs, as the bloc’s calls for a negotiated settlement over aircraft subsidies have gone unanswered by President Donald Trump’s administration. EU’s trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters in Brussels that she expects the World Trade Organization to unveil a specific figure, authorising the US to hit the …

Bloomberg John Lewis Partnership Plc plans to cut one-third of the top jobs at its headquarters as it integrates grocer Waitrose with its department-store operations in response to tough UK retail competition. The reduction of 75 senior managers will save about 100 million pounds ($123 million) over time, the company said. Waitrose managing director Rob Collins plans to step down …