December, 2022

• 20 December

  Beijing accused of building on unoccupied reefs in S China Sea

  

  Bloomberg China is building up several unoccupied land features in the South China Sea, according to Western officials, which they said was part of Beijing’s long-running effort to strengthen claims to disputed territory and potentially bolster its military presence in a region critical to global trade. Fishing fleets that operate as de facto maritime militias under the control of authorities ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  Thai navy confirms 5 sailors dead after ship sinks in storm

  

  Bloomberg The Royal Thai Navy said that at least five sailors have been confirmed dead after a ship sank off the coast of southern Thailand during a storm. There were 105 sailors on board the HTMS Sukhothai, a corvette which went down 37 kilometers (20 nautical miles) offshore the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, according to a navy tweet and ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  Explosion reported at Russian pipeline bringing gas to Europe

    Bloomberg An explosion was reported at Russian gas pipeline that goes to Ukraine for further supplies to Europe. The blast occurred at the section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod link, according to Russian media reports, citing the press office of the regional governor. It wasn’t immediately clear if flows of gas were impacted. A fire site was extinguished after the incident ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  South Africa’s Ramaphosa tightens grip on ANC

  

  Bloomberg South African President Cyril Ramaphosa emerged from a ruling party electoral conference with a stronger mandate, yet still has to overcome a series of political hurdles to tackle a daunting economic to-do list. The country is gripped by an energy crisis that’s idling businesses for six or more hours a day, the crumbling freight-rail system prevents key exports from ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  Trump’s political woes add up with Jan 6 criminal referrals

  

  Bloomberg The double-whammy of one House committee referring Donald Trump for criminal prosecution and another debating release of his tax returns adds to an accumulation of political blows that some Republican strategists say will further hobble the former president’s already troubled bid for another run at the White House. The House panel investigating the January 6 Capitol attack made four ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  Zelenskiy visits ‘eastern fortress’

  

  Bloomberg Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a surprise visit to Bakhmut, a city hailed by his deputy defense minister as “our eastern fortress” amid heavy fighting over the past few weeks. As the president handed awards to servicemen, Ukraine’s government said it had reached a deal with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp to get thousands more Starlink antennas to ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  Kuroda policy shocker start of BOJ’s risky path towards exit

  

    Bloomberg Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda just gave investors a glimpse of what to expect when the world’s boldest experiment with ultra-loose monetary policy comes to an end. In the face of sustained market pressure, Kuroda shocked markets by saying he’ll now allow Japan’s 10-year bond yields to rise to around 0.5%, double the previous upper limit ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  UK fines TSB $59.2m for its IT service disruption

  

    Bloomberg UK regulators have fined TSB Bank Plc £48.7 million ($59.2 million) for risk management and governance failures after technical failures in the lender’s IT system resulted in customers being unable to access banking services. The lender failed to organise and control an April 2018 IT upgrade adequately, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority said. ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  For European lenders, home is no longer such a bad place to be

  

    Bloomberg For European banks, home is no longer such a bad place to be. Lenders such as Spain’s BBVA that sought to escape Europe’s negative interest rates by expanding in emerging markets are looking at domestic deals again. France’s BNP Paribas SA is planning to reinvest proceeds from the sale of a US unit in Europe as it builds ...

  Read More »
• 20 December

  Lenders start firm to boost UK cash access on branch closures

    Bloomberg The UK’s largest lenders have set up a company to encourage the spread of shared banking hubs to make sure consumers can still access cash as branch closures accelerate. Nine firms including Barclays Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc have incorporated Cash Access UK Ltd, a non-profit designed to protect cash access, according to a Companies House filing. So ...

  Read More »