January, 2023

• 21 January

  UBS braces for hard landing in US credit

  

    Bloomberg UBS Group AG is recommending investors to buy European credit over US debt amid signs of distress in the US loan markets, cracks emerging in private credit and a potentially severe downside risk in US high-yield debt. “We acknowledge US high yield is better positioned — mainly on the shift in credit quality,” UBS analysts led by Matthew ...

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• 21 January

  Indonesia delivers dovish hike after Malaysia’s surprise pause

  

    Bloomberg Two Southeast Asian central banks diverged in their policy settings on Thursday, with Malaysia unexpectedly standing pat and Indonesia delivering a widely expected interest-rate increase that brings it closer to the end of its tightening cycle. Bank Indonesia raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 5.75%, while Bank Negara Malaysia stood pat as predicted by Euben ...

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• 21 January

  ECB’s Lagarde says ‘stay the course’ is her policy mantra

    Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said policymakers mustn’t let up in their battle with inflation — even as the spike in prices appears to have peaked. “We have to also stay that course of resilience that we observed in 2022,” Lagarde told a panel on Friday at Davos. “‘Stay the course’ is my mantra for monetary-policy ...

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• 21 January

  Australia’s central bank creates its own stablecoin

  

  Bloomberg National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) has created its own stablecoin pegged to the Australian dollar, a move it says will help large institutional customers with transactions that use blockchain technology. The Melbourne-based lender will start testing the token — named AUDN — before expanding its use cases and getting feedback on the needs of corporate clients, National Australia said ...

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• 21 January

  Pakistan sees dollar inflows in coming days

    Bloomberg Pakistan’s central bank governor Jameel Ahmad said the nation will see dollar inflows in the coming days after funding commitments from some nations, a move that could bolster finances for cash-strapped nation. The central bank’s biggest strain is limited resources, Ahmad said at an event hosted by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The governor also said ...

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• 21 January

  EU bankers earning more than $1.1 million hit record

  

    Bloomberg The number of bankers and traders in the European Union (EU) earning more than €1 million ($1.1 million) rose to a record in 2021 as securities firms took in bumper revenue and investment banks relocated staff to the bloc after Brexit. The number of such “high earners” surged 42% from the previous year to 1,957, the European Banking ...

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• 21 January

  Goldman, BofA say European stocks rally in 2023 is mostly done

  

    Bloomberg This year’s extension of the powerful European equities rally leaves limited room for more gains, according to strategists. After making its best ever start to a year, the Stoxx 600 Index will end 2023 at 452 points, according an average response in the Bloomberg survey of 19 market forecasters, implying a 1.2% drop. That’s even after several investment ...

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• 21 January

  US futures rise as Alphabet to Netflix boost tech companies

  

    Bloomberg US equity-index futures rose driven by brightening prospects for technology companies, while the dollar advanced amid concern over hawkish central banks, worsening economic data and earnings hiccups. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 jumped 0.7%, climbing twice as fast as futures on the S&P 500 Index. In premarket New York trading, Google parent Alphabet Inc. rose after revealing a ...

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• 20 January

  Ta’ziz, Proman to develop UAE’s first methanol facility in Ruwais

  

    Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC Ltd (Ta’ziz) and Proman AG (Proman), one of the world’s leading producers of methanol, signed a shareholders’ agreement to develop the UAE’s first world-scale methanol production facility at the Ta’ziz Industrial Chemicals Zone in Al Ruways Industrial City, Abu Dhabi. The facility has an anticipated annual capacity of up ...

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• 20 January

  FAB facilitates $7bn for sustainable projects in ’22

  

    Abu Dhabi / WAM Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), said that the bank facilitated over AED25.7 billion ($7 billion) for sustainable projects in 2022, noting that the bank has made significant progress by financing many projects across the energy supply, buildings, transportation, waste, water, and food sectors. In statements to the Emirates News ...

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