January, 2023

• 23 January

  Czech tycoon draws ire over Nato comments

  

  Bloomberg Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who is trailing in his bid to win the nation’s presidency this week, drew criticism for saying during a televised debate that he wouldn’t send troops to aid Nato allies. The billionaire ex-premier, who was voted out of power in 2021 and now leads the largest opposition party, backtracked after saying he wouldn’t ...

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• 23 January

  Slovakia heads toward September snap vote

    Bloomberg Slovakia took a step closer toward early general elections aimed at ending a year-long political deadlock that triggered the government’s collapse last month. The euro area country of 5.4 million people will probably hold the ballot on Sept. 30, interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger said, after negotiations with his former ruling partners in Bratislava on Sunday evening. Heger’s ...

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• 23 January

  ECB’s Knot wants at least two more half-point rate increases

  

    Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) should continue with half-point interest-rate increases at the next two meetings and the time to slow the pace of hikes is “still far away,” according to Governing Council member Klaas Knot. “We made a step down in December from 75 to 50 basis points — that will be the pace for a multiple ...

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• 23 January

  Axis Bank posts 62% jump in Q3 profit on strong loan growth

  

  Bloomberg Axis Bank Ltd.’s quarterly profit jumped 62% and topped estimates amid robust growth in lending and improved margins. Net income climbed to 58.5 billion rupees ($719 million) in the third quarter, compared with 36.1 billion rupees a year ago, according to a statement on Monday. That beat the average estimate of 53.4 billion rupees by analysts in a Bloomberg ...

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• 23 January

  Brazil, Argentina renew talks on combining currencies

  

    Bloomberg Argentina and Brazil are in the preliminary stages of renewing discussions on forming a common currency for financial and commercial transactions, reviving an often-discussed plan that would face numerous political and economic hurdles. South America’s two largest economies have considered options to coordinate their currencies for decades, often to counter the influence of the dollar in the region. ...

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• 23 January

  HDFC sees stable bonds in tough year for traders

    Bloomberg India’s largest private lender is expecting a calmer year for bond yields in 2023, which will make it harder for traders to prosper after global volatility seen last year. With the end of the rate-hike cycle near, there should be much more stability in yields, with large volatility likely behind us and the amplitude of future swings much ...

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• 23 January

  Pakistan central bank hikes key rate to 24-year high

  

    Bloomberg Pakistan increased its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points, to the highest in more than 24 years, as the economy grapples with raging inflation, supply shortages, dwindling currency reserves and stalled foreign financing. State Bank of Pakistan raised the target rate to 17%, a move expected by 25 of 43 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The majority ...

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• 23 January

  John Kingman named Barclays UK chair

    Bloomberg Barclays appointed John Kingman to replace Crawford Gillies as chair of Barclays UK, one of a number of board changes the bank is making as two of its long-standing directors step down. Kingman, who is chair of Legal & General Group Plc and whose former roles include positions at the UK Treasury and Rothschild, will join the board ...

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• 23 January

  Dollar, US stocks struggle as Fedspeak sours mood

  

    Bloomberg The dollar held just off nine-month lows against the euro and a group of other currencies, after a slew of Federal Reserve officials laid out the case for a downshift in the US central bank’s rate-tightening campaign, while concerns about a potential economic downturn weighed on equities. Investors are increasingly contrasting the US picture with a relatively rosier ...

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• 23 January

  Investors aren’t sure when to dive back into US stock market

  

    Bloomberg The pause in the stock market’s strong start to 2023 underscores the main question vexing much of Wall Street: When will it be safe to start buying again? Yes, markets have grown increasingly confident that the slowdown in inflation will allow the Federal Reserve to soon end the cycle of aggressive interest-rate hikes that last year drove the ...

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