March, 2023

• 16 March

  Inditex’s Massimo Dutti chain stumbles

  

  BLOOMBERG Zara owner Inditex SA is struggling to reverse an earnings decline at its formal-wear chain Massimo Dutti as mid-range officewear is hit particularly hard by the cost-of-living crisis. Earnings from the brand dropped 9.6% in the past fiscal year, Inditex reported. Revenue stood at €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion), 16% below the level of 2019, making Massimo Dutti the only ...

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• 16 March

  Kenyan bank with worst bad loan level falls after dividend cut

  

  BLOOMBERG KCB Group Plc shares plunged on Thursday, heading for the lowest level since August 2020 after Kenya’s second-largest bank announced it was cutting its proposed dividend. The Nairobi-based lender posted 19% growth in net income to 40.6 billion shillings ($312.6 million) for last year, but the decision to lower the payout to 2 shillings per unit from 3 shillings ...

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• 16 March

  ECB delivers half-point hike but offers little on next move

  

  BLOOMBERG The European Central Bank (ECB) went ahead with a planned half-point increase in interest rates but offered few clues on what may follow amid market turmoil that roiled Credit Suisse Group AG. The deposit rate was lifted to 3% on Thursday — as officials have been flagging since their last meeting six weeks ago and as the majority of ...

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• 16 March

  Vietnam central bank cuts key rate as economy dips

  

  BLOOMBERG Vietnam’s central bank unexpectedly cut the rate at which it lends to banks, underscoring the need to support the economy amid a bleak global outlook and slowing domestic demand. The State Bank of Vietnam reduced the discount rate to 3.5% from 4.5%, according to a statement on its website. The authority also reduced the overnight lending rate in the ...

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• 16 March

  Credit Suisse seeks circuit breaker with $54bn line

  

  BLOOMBERG Credit Suisse Group AG sought to arrest a collapse in investor confidence by opening a 50 billion Swiss franc ($54 billion) credit line with the country’s central bank and offering to buy back debt, as executives and government officials plot the next steps for the troubled lender. Shares in Credit Suisse initially surged as much as 40% before paring ...

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• 16 March

  S Korea, Japan hold rare summit to mend ties as trade rift heals

  

  BLOOMBERG The leaders of South Korea and Japan pledged at a rare summit in Tokyo their readiness to end a long-simmering dispute that had hurt security and trade tries, and work with their mutual US ally to counter threats from the likes of North Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol smiled as he shook hands with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on ...

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• 16 March

  Poland to send four Soviet-era fighter jets to Kyiv in coming days

  

  BLOOMBERG Poland will send four Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days as the nation moves ahead with deliveries to bolster Kyiv’s air power, President Andrzej Duda said. “The decision has been made” and more MiG-29 models currently under maintenance are on the way, Duda told reporters in Warsaw on Thursday. The Polish government said this week that ...

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• 16 March

  Xi touts China’s modernisation path at political parties summit

  

  BLOOMBERG President Xi Jinping promoted China’s development approach in a speech to a gathering of political groups, highlighting his growing willingness to tout his nation’s system. “The Chinese path to modernisation is a sure path to build a stronger nation,” Xi said in video remarks to the Dialogue with World Political Parties, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It’s ...

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• 16 March

  Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal set for parliament vote next week

  

  BLOOMBERG Rishi Sunak will give UK lawmakers a chance next week to vote on new post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland, as the prime minister seeks to crystallise his agreement with the European Union (EU). Regulations to bring in the so-called Stormont Brake — the portion of the new deal giving Northern Ireland’s lawmakers a potential veto over changes to ...

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• 16 March

  ECI sees 26% jump in value of non-oil insured turnover in ’22

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal export credit company, held its first Board of Directors meeting in 2023, chaired by Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Board at the company’s headquarters in Dubai. The meeting discussed broader alignment to the initiatives outlined under the “We in the UAE 2031” ...

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