April, 2016

• 4 April

  Greece’s euro future bleak if talks drag on

  

  Bloomberg Greece could again face the threat of being pushed into default and out of the euro area if its current bailout review drags on into June and July, according to European officials monitoring the slow progress of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s negotiations with creditors. Greece still hasn’t cut a deal on pensions, tax administration or its fiscal gap, and ...

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• 4 April

  Bank of England can only do so much on housing: Chief economist Haldane

  

  Bloomberg Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said there are limits to how much the central bank can restrain the housing market and prevent a price spiral. “There are things we can do at the bank and others can do at the Treasury to damp down demand a bit,” Haldane said at an Open University event in London on ...

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• 4 April

  Spain jobless claims fall more than forecast amid impasse

  

  Bloomberg Jobless claims in Spain fell more than anticipated in March, even as the political impasse continues with lawmakers struggling to form a government following an inconclusive vote. New data on Monday showed the number of people registered as unemployed decreased by more than 58,200 people from February, adding to two months of falling unemployment. The decline was greater than ...

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• 4 April

  Euro-area unemployment declines to lowest since 2011

  Bloomberg Euro-area unemployment retreated in February to the lowest since 2011, continuing its slow decline as the economy grows at a modest pace. The rate fell to 10.3 percent from 10.4 percent in January, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat in Luxembourg said on Monday. That matched the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey, though the January number ...

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• 4 April

  Airbus sees Brexit hurting its UK arm, backs pro-EU

  

  Bloomberg Airbus Group SE, which relies on British facilities to design and build the wings for its commercial aircraft, told its 15,000 workers there that it “strongly” supports the U.K. remaining in the European Union and that an exit wouldn’t be helpful to its operations. “Our business model is entirely based on our ability to move products, people and ideas ...

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• 4 April

  Japan’s MUFG on hunt for mega deals in US, Indonesia

  

  Tokyo / Reuters Japan’s biggest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), is on the lookout for acquisition opportunities in the US and Indonesia as it pursues its goal of becoming a global financial powerhouse, the head of its core unit said. “As a global commercial bank, the US and Asia are our base,” said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) president ...

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• 4 April

  More bankers see pay rising at foreign firms in Japan

  Bloomberg More bankers working at foreign firms in Japan expect their salaries will increase this year, despite their outlook for a weakening economy, volatile financial markets and a stronger yen, according to a survey by Morgan McKinley. About 58 percent of respondents received an indication from their employers that their base salary will rise in 2016, compared with 42 percent ...

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• 4 April

  Basel costs become goldmine for Swedish firm Hoist Finance

  

  Bloomberg For Europe’s banks, rising capital requirements represent a huge cost. But for one Swedish firm, the post-crisis world order is proving a goldmine. Hoist Finance, which helps international banks restructure debt by acquiring or managing non-performing unsecured consumer loans, anticipates stricter capital demands will force more banks to shed their problem loans in an effort to remove the costliest ...

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• 4 April

  Norway says top bank DNB must explain Seychelles policy

  

  Oslo / Reuters Norway’s biggest bank DNB must provide a written explanation of its policy of helping clients set up offshore companies in the Seychelles, the Norwegian industry minister said in a statement on Monday. “DNB says this should not have happened and that the bank should not have participated. That I agree to,” Trade and Industry Minister Monica Maeland ...

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• 4 April

  Saudi enters homebuilding business to tackle shortage

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is taking an unprecedented hands-on role in housing finance and development as it seeks to re-energize a plan to build more than a million homes and make ownership more affordable. The Housing Ministry plans to create its own development company and start a mortgage-guarantee fund to encourage banks to increase lending, Minister Majed al-Hogail said in an ...

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