Bloomberg Hong Kong’s benchmark stock index capped a fifth month of gains, its longest winning streak in more than four years, as improving earnings outweighed concerns about China’s campaign to cut leverage. The Hang Seng Index advanced 4.3 percent in May to be among Asia’s best performers. The gauge retreated 0.2 percent on Wednesday at the close. Geely Automobile Holdings …

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay $41 million to settle Federal Reserve allegations that its U.S. operations failed to maintain adequate protections against money laundering, the latest in a string of fines that have cost the German lender billions of dollars. The Frankfurt-based bank’s US operations fell short in complying with the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires lenders to …

Bloomberg Co-Operative Bank Plc, the UK lender that put itself up for sale amid a capital shortfall, is coming closer to forcing bondholders to swap debt into equity and selling shares as it runs out of options to bolster its financial strength, according to people familiar with the matter. The Manchester, England-based lender is seeking an agreement with bondholders including …

Bloomberg The Irish government fired the starting gun for the initial public offering of Allied Irish Banks Plc, laying out a plan to sell 25 percent of the nationalized lender. The government plans to sell the AIB stake in a share offering in London and Dublin, with terms to be set in mid-June, the country’s finance ministry said in an …

Bloomberg The ‘stealth’ tapering of bond buying by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may take a summer break, at least for June. With medium-term Japanese government bond yields on the rise, a further scaling back of monthly debt purchases could risk upsetting the market, strategists say. That means the central bank may keep the pace of buying as is for …

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc agreed to sell its fixed-income analytics and index business to the London Stock Exchange Group Plc for US$685 million in cash following a strategic review of the unit. The transaction includes Citigroup’s fixed-income analytics platform, The Yield Book, and indexes including the World Government Bond Index, the New York-based bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The …

ABU DHABI / Agencies Savings account balances in the UAE amounted to AED158.5 billion during the first third of 2017, a growth of 3 percent, i.e. AED4.75 billion, over the same period in 2016, according to UAE Central Bank statistics. Saving by local currency at the banking sector hit AED129.56 billion against an equivalent of AED28.88 billion in foreign currencies …

ABU DHABI / WAM A delegation from the UAE representing various national stakeholders in nuclear industry, is taking part in the International Conference on the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme: ‘Sixty Years and Beyond-Contributing to Development’. The three-day event, concluding on the June 1, is being held at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. Led by …

ABU DHABI / WAM The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) launched the Certificate of Giving campaign, in co-operation with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, during the holy month of Ramadan, based on an initiative by both parties for the UAE’s Year of Giving. The initiative is a financial endowment, through contributi- ons placed in bank accounts. The value of the sukuk, to …

Dubai / Emirates Business Ground breaking has taken place on the site of a new six tower residential complex designed by Abdul Rahim Architectural Consultants (ARACO) and located in Dubai’s fast-growing residential suburb, Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC). Close to Al Barsha Fourth, the six building project is valued at AED 410 million, and covers an area of 100,000sqft. Commenting on …