Bloomberg The offshore yuan headed for its biggest gain in a week, after China set the daily reference rate for the onshore currency stronger than expected, stoking bets the government wants to stabilise the exchange rate. The Chinese currency rose 0.23 percent to 6.8517 per dollar in Hong Kong, while the onshore rate gained 0.11 percent. The yuan’s fixing was …

Bloomberg The next few months are going to be fun for pound traders. Sterling’s volatility left political pundits scratching their heads last week, as European Union Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier’s promise to offer the UK an unprecedented partnership sent the currency soaring more than 1 percent even though he had said it before. With both sides warning of the risk …

Bloomberg Mid-size UK companies may have just two months to refinance before a probable Brexit squeeze in credit markets, according to KPMG. Borrowers should lock down “refinancing before the end of October,” particularly exporters exposed to sales in euros, Joe Cassidy, KPMG’s Brexit banking and capital markets lead, said in an interview. “If you’re going to rush to refinance just …

Bloomberg With Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG struggling, a chorus of German power players is suddenly stepping up calls for national champions big enough and strong enough to support the country’s export-driven economy. In the span of a few days, leading politicians, banking regulators and even Deutsche Bank’s chief executive officer have uniformly highlighted Europe’s, and especially Germany’s, fragmented …

Bloomberg Welcome to Brazil and fasten your seat belt, Norwegian Air. The European carrier has won approval from the Brazilian government to begin flying in the country, expanding its network of discount trans-Atlantic flights to South America. But the airline will face mounting regulation that could work against its no-frills model. Brazil’s Senate approved a bill on August 8 prohibiting …

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc is shifting its pilots based in mainland Europe to Austrian and German licenses in an effort to minimise the potential fall-out from a no-deal Brexit. The 1,400 affected will be moved to licenses issued by Austria from November, an official at the Luton, England-based carrier said. German crew will be registered locally, while British pilots operating in …

Bloomberg The $30 bag fee is gaining traction across US airlines as summer travel winds down and carriers look to boost revenue to offset higher fuel prices. United Continental Holdings Inc. increased the charge for passengers’ first checked bag by $5 last week, matching a move by JetBlue Airways Corp. earlier in the week. The fee changes apply to United …

Bloomberg All of a sudden, big box stores are beating out their bargain bin brethren. Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. are reporting comparable sales at higher rates than the dollar stores, according to Quo Vadis Capital’s John Zolidis. Part of the pain? The dollar outlets have no strong e-commerce presence, which now “looks like a liability.” Target’s quarterly results reflected …

Bloomberg An attempt by United Airlines to duck the sticky issue of Taiwan has invited rebuke from China’s foreign ministry. After China told global carriers earlier this year to tweak their websites and list the separately ruled island as part of China — a directive the White House termed “ Orwellian nonsense” — American airlines are still finding themselves in …

DUBAI / Emirates Business The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has recorded its highest ever daily Indian Rupee (INR) volume, trading 126,055 contracts on August 13. On the same day, the Exchange’s overall volume touched 185,630 contracts worth $4.17 billion, its second highest daily notional value since inception. Amidst continued market volatility, the DGCX traded over 2.08 million contracts …