February, 2023

• 11 February

  UK property surveyors say buyers disappearing after rate rise

  

    Bloomberg UK property surveyors said the housing market settled further into hibernation in January as buyer inquiries, agreed sales and new instructions to sell all fell again. The lackluster activity, driven by higher interest rates and the tightest cost-of-living squeeze in generations, translated into a further drop in prices at the start of the year, the Royal Institution of ...

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• 10 February

  Biden, Lula put on pro-democracy show under Bolsonaro’s shadow

  

    Bloomberg Joe Biden hosts his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House Friday in a show of support for Brazilian democracy, shaken last month by a right-wing insurrection akin to the invasion of the US Capitol in 2021. Washington and Brasilia organized the meeting with unusual urgency, scheduling it just six weeks after Lula’s inauguration. Yet ...

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• 10 February

  Romania says no Russia missile crossed airspace after Ukraine claim

  

  Bloomberg Romania denied an earlier claim that a Russian missile had crossed into its air space, an incident that risked escalating tensions with Nato as the Kremlin launched a barrage of attacks across Ukraine. Romania’s Defense Ministry said authorities detected an aerial target on Friday, most likely a cruise missile, launched from a Russian warship in the Black Sea near ...

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• 10 February

  China says it’s ready to enhance ties with Taiwan opposition

  

  Bloomberg China said it is willing to forge closer ties with Taiwan’s main opposition party, underscoring recent efforts by Beijing to adjust its tough approach to the democratically run island. Song Tao, the head of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Kuomintang Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia on Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. ...

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• 10 February

  China insists balloon had ‘civilian use’

  

  Bloomberg China accused the US of exaggerating the dispute over a balloon the Biden administration says was conducting surveillance, signaling the nations remain at odds over an issue that’s rekindled tensions. “The unintended entry into US airspace of a civilian, unmanned Chinese airship, this is an isolated, unexpected incident,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday at a regular ...

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• 10 February

  Meloni says Macron dinner with Zelenskiy was politically wrong

  

  Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni doubled down on her criticism of French President Emmanuel Macron over a dinner he hosted with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of a European Union summit, calling the invitation “politically wrong.” Speaking on Friday after the EU talks, she said a private meeting in advance that “privileges the internal public opinion of some leaders ...

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• 10 February

  Global banks seek to end drought in Chinese developer bond sales

  

    Bloomberg Global investment banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS group AG are renewing efforts to gauge investor interest in Chinese developer bond sales, in hopes of revitalizing a key business following a yearlong deal drought. Hong Kong-based debt capital market bankers have been approaching the investors, encouraged by the recent return to the primary market by major ...

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• 10 February

  Japan’s Kishida picks academic Kazuo Ueda to helm central bank

  

    Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will nominate Kazuo Ueda, a professor and former Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member, to take the helm of the central bank from April, according to people familiar with the matter, in a shock move that sparked sharp moves in the yen. The decision blindsided investors who had expected long-time front-runner and Deputy Governor ...

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• 10 February

  NatWest pledges to stop providing loans for new oil and gas projects

  

    Bloomberg NatWest Group Plc plans to further restrict its financing of the oil and gas industry. The UK bank will no longer provide so-called reserve based lending for new customers, it said. From the end of December 2025, NatWest will no longer renew, refinance or extend reserve based lending for existing customers. “We want to ensure our capital is ...

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• 10 February

  French crypto trading tech firm plans to double staff

  

    Bloomberg Flowdesk, a French cryptocurrency trading technology firm backed by Ledger and Coinbase Ventures, plans to more than double its workforce and expand overseas even as the wider digital asset sector reels from last year’s selloff. The company intends to grow its team to 140 employees from 60 by the end of March, with staff distributed across locations in ...

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