Bloomberg It looks like the debt crisis days of 2012 all over again for investors, as Italian, Portuguese and Greek bond yields surged and billionaire George Soros warned of an “ existential threat” to the European Union. The trigger was the prospect of anti-EU, nationalist parties in Italy turning a repeat election into a de facto referendum on Italy’s membership …

Bloomberg The Fed should slow its pace of policy normalisation to help re-align price expectations around 2 percent and maintain the credibility of its inflation target, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said on Tuesday in Tokyo. “Inflation expectations in the US remain somewhat low, suggesting that further normalisation may not be necessary to keep inflation near …

Bloomberg Bad loans at India’s five biggest state-run banks were about 456.8 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) more than the lenders had assessed. Audits by the regulator for the year ended March 31, 2017, revealed the discrepancies, triggering large losses as the banks increased provisions. If you add IDBI Bank Ltd., which doesn’t feature among the biggest but got the largest …

Bloomberg Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait is on the look out for acquisitions in the Gulf region as it seeks to boost revenue from international operations. “We want to manage and absorb the last merger, but we’re always looking for acquisitions,” Chief Executive Officer Michel Accad said in an interview in Kuwait City. “We can consider anything at the right …

Bloomberg The biggest bank in the Nordic region says Europe’s revision of market rules is likely to exacerbate a slump in the number of analysts covering smaller companies, making it harder for them to raise capital. Nordea Bank AB says the firms affected by the development should consider commissioning their own research to help “alleviate the risk of falling off …

Bloomberg Reports of the death of the sovereign-bank “ doom loop” are greatly exaggerated. Italian government bonds have blown up, with the yield on two-year notes skyrocketing by as much as 192 basis points on Tuesday to the highest level since 2012. Spreads on subordinated de-bts from euro-area financial companies, meanwhile, have jumped in sympathy as Rome’s political turmoil reverberates …

Bloomberg Bombardier Inc. will build two new private planes in response to growing demand for large-cabin business jets. The Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft will come equipped with redesigned cabins, an optimised wing and all-new Rolls-Royce engines, Bombardier said in a statement. The models, which will have ranges of 5,700 and 6,600 nautical miles, respectively, will likely enter service …

Bloomberg JAB Holding Co. agreed to buy sandwich chain Pret A Manger, adding a UK business to its portfolio of coffee and food brands that includes Panera Bread Co. and Au Bon Pain. JAB and the seller, private equity firm Bridgepoint Advisers Ltd., didn’t disclose the terms of the deal in a statement. The price is about $2 billion, including …

Bloomberg A new Nordic raider is about to descend on Europe’s leading airlines in the shape of a little-known carrier that’s the launch customer for Airbus SE’s latest jetliner. Primera Air, a specialist in holiday flights from Denmark run by Icelander Hrafn Thorgeirsson, aims to take delivery of the first long-range version of the A321neo narrow-body plane in October and …

Bloomberg Steinhoff Africa Retail Ltd. extended a two-day fall to more than 10 percent after the continent’s biggest clothing retailer said it won’t pay a half-year dividend and announced charges related to its scandal-hit parent company. The owner of clothing chains including Pep and Ackermans was spun off by Steinhoff International Holdings NV three months before the majority shareholder reported …