Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny during his hospital treatment for poisoning, a sign of how seriously the case is being taken in Berlin. “I’m very grateful to Chancellor Merkel for visiting me in the hospital,” Navalny said on Twitter. “The meeting happened. It’s not worth calling it ‘secret.’ More a private meeting and conversation ...

Bloomberg The European Union said it won’t abandon trade talks with the UK even if Boris Johnson’s government doesn’t withdraw its plan to break international law. Yet at the same time, the bloc renewed its threat to take legal action in a sign of just how delicate negotiations are as the clock ticks on a compromise. European Commission Vice President ...

Bloomberg Romania’s minority government dislodged the opposition mayor of Bucharest, giving it a boost before national elections in December at which it’s seeking to win control of parliament. Activist Nicusor Dan defeated Social Democrat incumbent Gabriela Firea in a ballot, pledging to fight corruption that’s delayed reforms and city upgrades. Turnout in Bucharest was slightly higher than in previous ballots ...

Bloomberg Malaysia’s ruling coalition named their candidate for chief minister in the key state of Sabah on Monday, in a move that could fray ties between the parties behind Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party named one of its own, Hajiji Mohd Noor, to be sworn into office at the state palace on Tuesday, Hajiji said. He added it ...

Bloomberg Pakistan’s High Court on Monday ordered the arrest of key opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif after it cancelled his bail in a money laundering case, just days ahead of a nationwide protest campaign against the government. A panel headed by Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem said Sharif — the president of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party and former chief minister ...

Bloomberg The bank at the center of Europe’s worst ever money laundering scandal has yet to fully address the corporate culture issues that led it astray in the first place. That’s according to the watchdog that oversees Danske Bank. Denmark’s biggest bank spent years locked in a top-down hierarchy that left its management cut off from people further down the ...

Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India rescheduled this week’s interest-rate meeting over the possible lack of a quorum in the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). “The dates of the MPC’s meeting will be announced shortly,” the RBI said in a statement on Monday, without giving reasons for the delay. The meeting was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with the rate decision ...

Bloomberg Australia will make it easier for banks to approve mortgages and small-business loans to help the economy recover from its first recession in almost 30 years. Shares of the nation’s biggest lenders surged. As part of a sweeping overhaul of so-called responsible lending obligations, the government will allow banks to rely on income and spending information provided by borrowers ...

Bloomberg Commerzbank passed over internal front-runners in favour of an executive with a reputation for tough cuts at its biggest rival to push through one of the largest restructuring programs in its history. Manfred Knof, 55, head of German retail banking at Deutsche Bank AG, takes over from Martin Zielke as Commerzbank chief executive officer on January 1, according to ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s central bank is in talks with lenders about extending the nation’s debt moratorium programme beyond December 31 to provide extra relief for borrowers hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. One of the key measures being discussed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and local banks is the possibility of lengthening the debt relief program, with ...