Bloomberg China released guidelines for reducing corporate debt while also saying that the government won’t bear the final responsibility for borrowing by companies, the latest sign that policy makers are stepping up their fight against excessive leverage. The State Council, China’s cabinet, issued guidelines for reducing corporate debt and for how banks may swap bad debt to equity. At the ...

  Bloomberg The European Union has threatened to go rogue in talks on bank capital rules, and the bloc’s willingness to go its own way could undermine global standards intended to avert a new financial crisis. Top EU policy makers have made clear that sweeping changes are needed before the EU will accept a capital-rule revamp under way at the ...

  Bloomberg Nigeria’s banking industry is experiencing a “full blown financial crisis” as failed fiscal and monetary policies lead to a credit crunch, according to Arqaam Capital. Unity Bank Plc and Skye Bank Plc are close to being insolvent while lenders FBN Holdings Plc and Sterling Bank Plc “will need a dilutive capital hike,” Jaap Meijer and Tarek Sleiman, analysts ...

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc has stepped up its hiring from Barclays Plc’s private-banking team in Hong Kong ahead of the transfer of the business to Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., in a move that underscores the stiff competition for wealth managers in Asia. More than 10 Barclays relationship managers in Hong Kong are joining Standard Chartered, which is expanding its wealth ...

  AFP Samsung Electronics took another hit Monday over its recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, acknowledging it was “adjusting production” of the device after major distributors stopped offering replacements because of continued safety concerns. The South Korean electronics giant has struggled in the wake of its September 2 decision to issue a global recall for 2.5 million Note 7s because ...

  Relaxnews Microsoft appears to have a spectacular revamp in store for its legendary Paint drawing program, a Windows staple since 1985, with new functions for creating and animating 3D images. The news comes from videos leaked on social media. A minor revolution could be brewing in the world of Windows, as leaked videos suggest that the upcoming version of ...

AFP Facebook released a mobile app for finding local happenings to enjoy with friends. The Events app tailored for iPhones hit Apple’s online shop, with a version “coming soon” for smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software, Facebook product manager Aditya Koolwal said in on online post. Events is a stand-alone spin on a section at the leading online social network ...

  Relaxnews Messaging service WhatsApp is taking a page from Snapchat’s playbook with the launch of new camera features that allow users to add images, emoji and text to their photos. After capturing a new photo or video, users will automatically see new editing tools allowing them to customize images. A front-facing flash has also been added to the WhatsApp ...

  Madrid / AFP They may be cute, colourful and chatty, but South American quaker parrots have taken up residence in Madrid and other Spanish cities, irritating residents with their shrill squawks and destabilising the ecosystem. The small, bright green and grey-breasted birds — also known as monk parakeets — first arrived in Spain in cages as entertaining pets, but ...

Ranomafana / AFP “Last time, I burnt a section about that big,” says Mihareta Laivoa, pointing to a parcel of land about the size of a football field, as the farmer admitted to having destroyed forest to make way for his crops. “I don’t own a piece of land in the valley, so I have no choice,” explains the 41-year-old ...