December, 2022

• 14 December

  ECB to allow its staff remote work for 110 days per year

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will let staff work remotely for 110 days a year — roughly half their time. The rules, which take effect from January 1, permit as many as 10 days a month away from desks. That’s stricter than the current system, under which employees must show up at the office at least eight days a ...

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• 14 December

  Indian rupee’s most appealing trait for traders deteriorates

  

  Bloomberg The Indian rupee’s most appealing trait for traders is fast deteriorating, helping turn the currency into emerging Asia’s worst performer over the past month. Twelve-month implied rupee yields — typically a reflection of interest rate differentials with the US — fell to the lowest since 2009. That’s bad news for carry traders, who seek profits from capturing the difference ...

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• 14 December

  RBA’s Lowe urges banks to cut cost of payments

  

    Bloomberg Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe called on the nation’s lenders to intensify efforts to reduce the cost of payments and increase their speed, including for cross-border transactions. “Slow progress by the major banks imposes a cost on the rest of the industry,” Lowe said in a speech, referring to delays in launching a direct-debit service ...

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• 14 December

  Japan’s MUFG in talks to invest $200m in Akulaku

    Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc is in talks to invest about $200 million in Akulaku Inc, an Indonesian online lender backed by Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co, according to people familiar with the matter. MUFG, as Japan’s biggest lender is known, is negotiating the terms of a potential financing for Akulaku as it seeks to expand its presence ...

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• 14 December

  Citigroup ECM banker departs after 20 years

    Bloomberg Luis Esguevillas, a senior equity capital markets (ECM) banker at Citigroup Inc. in Europe, is leaving the bank after almost 20 years. Citigroup announced his departure in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. During his time at the bank, London-based Esguevillas led its ECM business in regions including Iberia, Italy, France and South Africa. Prior to joining ...

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• 14 December

  Bank of America expects $10b in India green deals in 2023

  

    Bloomberg India could attract close to $10 billion in renewable energy investment in 2023, a bright spot as public markets remain largely shut to big-ticket capital raising, according to Bank of America Corp’s top executives in the country. Deals and investments will continue to flow into areas such as electric vehicles and green hydrogen, Kaku Nakhate, the lender’s president ...

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• 14 December

  US futures swing amid caution over Federal Reserve response

  

    Bloomberg US equity-index futures fluctuated between gains and losses as investors debated whether inflation had eased enough to encourage the Federal Reserve to slow monetary tightening. Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index rose about 0.1% each after the rally in US stocks on the back of a fifth month of decline in consumer-price growth. Treasuries rallied ...

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• 14 December

  Tesla stock rout putting market cap below $500b

  

    Bloomberg The selloff in Tesla Inc shares that accelerated after the electric-vehicle maker was reported last week to be planning to temporarily suspend output at its Shanghai factory pushed the company’s market valuation briefly below the coveted half-trillion-dollar mark. Shares of the EV industry leader have been in a freefall over the past few months, sinking nearly 40% since ...

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• 13 December

  Global trade soars to record $32 trillion in 2022, says UN

  

  Bloomberg  The value of global trade is set to reach a new record this year, increasing by about 12% to an estimated $32 trillion, according to a UN report that signalled a slowdown heading into 2023. “The substantial trade growth during the last year was largely due to increases in the value of the trade of energy products,” the United ...

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• 13 December

  UAEBF confirms strength of nation’s financial sector

  Dubai / WAM Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation (UAEBF), Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, said that the UAE banking and financial sector has successfully addressed the numerous geopolitical and economic developments and changes that over the recent years have posed challenges to the global economy. He made the statements as he addressed the fourth meeting held by the CEOs of the ...

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