Five years ago, I wrote that Narendra Modi could be India’s Shinzo Abe. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The chief minister of Gujarat state had just been chosen by his party to become the next prime minister if it won the popular vote. Writing for Reuters then, I predicted he could lift the country’s drooping economy, just as Abe ...

Bloomberg US equity futures slipped on Wednesday alongside European stocks as the rebound in global shares struggled for momentum. Oil declined, while Treasuries advanced with German bonds. Contracts on the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all swung from a gain to a loss, though Alibaba’s US-listed shares bucked the trend, rising in pre-market trading after beating estimates. The Stoxx Europe ...

Bloomberg China’s stocks rose, as traders speculated Beijing will consider more measures to support the economy after data showed weaker-than-expected growth in April. The CSI 300 Index jumped 2.3% at the close, though volume in the gauge was about 35% lower than the 30-day average at this time of day, signalling little conviction in the gains. The offshore yuan was ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve to “match” what he said China would do to offset economic hardship being caused by tariffs as he sought to draft the US central bank into his simmering trade war. “China will be pumping money into their system and probably reducing interest rates, as always, in order to make up for ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve officials are sticking with their pledge for patience on interest rates, shrugging off President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war and his pressure for a cut. New York Fed President John Williams and his Kansas City colleague Esther George, who vote on policy this year, acknowledged that new tariffs on Chinese imports could affect the outlook for US ...

Bloomberg ING Groep NV and UniCredit SpA are lining up advisers to explore a potential takeover of Commerzbank AG after the German lender’s talks with Deutsche Bank AG broke down last month, according to people familiar with the matter. The Dutch bank is working informally with boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners, while the Italian lender is working with JPMorgan ...

Bloomberg The finance minister of Sweden wants her country’s central bank to take more factors into account than just inflation, when setting monetary policy. In Stockholm, Magdalena Andersson spoke in favour of having more explicit growth and employment targets for the Riksbank. They should be “clearer” goals in monetary policy, she said. Sweden’s central bank has been targeting inflation since ...

Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA posted bigger-than-expected declines in profit and revenue in the first quarter as weakness at its key Italian business overshadowed resilient trading income. Underlying revenue in Italy, Credit Agricole’s second-biggest retail market, declined 3.9% as volatile markets weighed on fees. Chief Executive Officer Philippe Brassac has targeted consumer banking in the country as an area of growth ...

Bloomberg United Overseas Bank (UOB) plans to increase portion of revenue it gets from outside its ho-me market of Singapore to about 50% by 2021, despite forecasting a challenging year ahead. “For 2019, market volatility is expected to remain,” Chief Executive Officer Wee Ee Cheong told analysts and investors in Singapore on Wednesday. “Geopolitics, rising global trade tensions and concern ...

Bloomberg Walmart Inc wants to one-up Amazon.com Inc in the fight for online shoppers. The world’s largest retailer is rolling out a next-day delivery service to counter Amazon’s recent move to speed shipment times for top customers to just one day from two. Walmart customers in Phoenix and Las Vegas who buy at least $35 worth of goods was expected ...