Bloomberg South Korea’s dominant message-app operator is considering a private placement next month to raise funds from partners interested in helping to build its crypto platform. Ground X Corp., a blockchain subsidiary of Kakao Corp., may initially seek capital and business alliances with consumer-service companies, Jason Han, the unit’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. Ground X is targeting …

Bloomberg A self-driving shuttle bus ferrying workers in Detroit from a parking garage to their office has become the first autonomous vehicle to ply the roads of America’s automotive capital. May Mobility, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based startup backed by Toyota and BMW, is deploying a small fleet of six-seat, electric-powered shuttles in downtown Detroit to transport the employees of Bedrock, …

Bloomberg Artificial intelligence is coming for the service economy, according to Allstate Corp. CEO Tom Wilson. “It’s going to rip through this economy like a tsunami,” Wilson said in an interview on Bloomberg TV from Aspen, Colorado. Automation will affect a wide swath of workers, from traders to taxi drivers. McKinsey & Co. estimates that more than 400 million people …

Bloomberg Federal Reserve stress tests forced some of Wall Street’s top banks to rein in ambitious plans for pumping out cash to shareholders. But even those diminished returns spell a record payout to investors. As the central bank’s annual stress tests ended, the nation’s four largest lenders — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. …

Bloomberg European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned European Union leaders that an escalating trade war between the US and the world’s biggest economies may have a larger impact than policy makers and investors currently expect. Rising tensions could erode confidence to an extent that is difficult to gauge, Draghi told the 27 heads of government from the bloc at …

Bloomberg Prosecutors in Cologne are preparing their first indictments in a tax-evasion probe involving some of the biggest names in finance that cost the German treasury billions of euros, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators are looking at the role of dozens of banks, brokerages, accounting companies, and law firms in the deals, and the cases involve hundreds …

Bloomberg Kenya’s biggest bank is waiting eagerly for Ethiopia to open its closely guarded financial services sector as new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warms up to foreign investment in ongoing market reforms. KCB Group Ltd. set up a representative office in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, in 2015 to position itself for when Africa’s fastest-growing economy finally relaxes its policy …

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG has been reorganising its prime brokerage unit, cutting some jobs while hiring selectively. This week, the Swiss bank pruned another seven positions from the New York desk that caters to hedge funds, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity. Tony Bertoldo and Justin Carey are among the senior bankers who are …

Bloomberg Oil rose to a level last seen in late 2014 after US crude stockpiles tumbled by the most since September 2016. Domestic crude inventories declined by 9.89 million barrels last week, while refiners boosted oil processing rates and exports soared to a record, the Energy Information Administration said. Oil stored at the key pipeline hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, shrank …

PARIS / WAM The Ministry of Economy (MoE), represented by the International Centre for Patent Registration, and the French Ministry of Economy, represented by the National Industrial Property Institute (INPI), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to improve the competitiveness of small and media-sized enterprises (SMEs), and promote intellectual property awareness in both countries. The MoU aims to promote cooperation …