Bloomberg The coming week may prove to be a crucial one for the Indonesian rupiah. As Wednesday’s policy decision approaches, Bank Indonesia finds itself under pressure to raise the benchmark rate again even after increasing it by a combined 100 basis points since mid-May to stem a slide in the currency. Rupiah headwinds have steadily increased in recent weeks and …

Bloomberg The outsize growth of a country’s banks is a sign that credit expansion is faster there than in other nations. In 1988, 9 of the 10 largest banks in the world were Japanese. Three years later the country’s financial system, along with its lenders, collapsed, sending Japan into its infamous lost decade (or three, considering the country is still …

Bloomberg Some of Wall Street’s biggest banks are warning investors to steer clear of Russian assets after the ruble’s worst week since the 2015 oil crash amid mounting risks of crippling sanctions from the U.S. Morgan Stanley turned bearish and UBS Group AG closed its recommendation to buy the Russian currency, with analysts at both banks saying in notes that …

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group has introduced a childcare programme in Japan that specialises in looking after employees’ sick children, stepping up efforts to retain more female workers and improve diversity. Under the programme, when a child falls ill the bank will dispatch a babysitter or nurse from a local provider on request within two to three hours. It’s the first …

Bloomberg Step inside the cockpit of an empty commercial aircraft and the pilot controls are yours. You don’t need a key or any special passcode to power up the plane and fly it away, whether it’s a small regional jet or a giant twin-deck Airbus A380. The suicide-by-plane at Seattle’s Sea-Tac International Airport, which ended when a rogue airline employee …

Bloomberg Floating almost motionless at an altitude of 70,000 feet, Airbus SE’s Zephyr spy drone has extended the record for the longest flight within the Earth’s atmosphere to 25 days, two-thirds more than the previous best. The first production version of the solar-powered pseudo-satellite spent more than three weeks in the stratosphere on its maiden trip after taking off from …

Bloomberg Americans last year bought about $200 billion worth of stuff from Amazon and its Whole Foods grocery stores. That figure is based on a Bloomberg Intelligence estimate that Amazon sold about $300 billion in merchandise in 2017 and the company’s report that two-thirds of its revenue comes from the US. If that’s accurate, Amazon.com Inc. captured about 5 percent …

Bloomberg Dad shoes are clunky, ugly — and the hottest trend in footwear, clomping down the runway at recent shows by luxury houses Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. The bulked-up sneakers, which can retail for hundreds of dollars a pair, also represent a major challenge for athletic-shoe makers unaccustomed to the volatile world of high fashion. Until recently, companies such as …

KHARTOUM / WAM The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making strenuous efforts for the convenience and comfort of millions of pilgrims while performing the fifth pillar of Islam, stated Dr Mohammed Mattar Al Kaabi, Chairman of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Awqaf, and Head of the UAE Haj Mission. “The KSA warmly welcomes millions of pilgrims and …

ADDIS ABABA / WAM Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, received Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and discussed prospects for joint cooperation, especially in vital areas of energy, infrastructure, investment, free industrial zones and civil aviation. While in the capital, Addis Ababa, Al Hashemy held a series of meetings with Ethiopian senior officials, tackling bilateral …