May, 2021

• 23 May

  BMW to get $1.2bn boost from milder antitrust fine

  

  Bloomberg BMW AG will raise its earnings forecast for the year because it expects an antitrust fine from European Union will be much smaller than anticipated two years ago. The automaker said it will get a roughly $1.2 billion boost to earnings this quarter from revaluing a provision for an EU fine over allegations that it colluded with its German …

  Read More »
• 23 May

  Chip crisis in ‘danger zone’ as wait times reach new record

  

  Bloomberg Shortages in the semiconductor industry, which have already slammed automakers and consumer electronics companies, are getting even worse, complicating the global economy’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Chip lead times, the gap between ordering a chip and taking delivery, increased to 17 weeks in April, indicating users are getting more desperate to secure supply, according to research by Susquehanna …

  Read More »
• 23 May

  JLR owner swings to profit as China sales rise

  Bloomberg Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Indian owner reported a pretax profit in three months through March as a recovery in Chinese demand lifted sales of the automaker’s luxury sports cars and SUVs. Tata Motors Ltd posted fourth-quarter earnings of 57 billion rupees before tax and one-time items, rebounding from a loss of 65 billion rupees a year earlier. Revenue soared …

  Read More »
• 20 May

  Crypto tumble wipes $600b off digital tokens in a week

  

  Bloomberg Virtual currencies are retreating so broadly and sharply, it’s testing the durability of the cryptocurrency boom. The value of more than 7,000 tokens tracked by CoinGecko has shrunk more than $600 billion in the past week to $1.9 trillion. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, slid some 11% on Wednesday to break below $40,000 and is now about $25,000 off its …

  Read More »
• 19 May

  Global banks lose share in China’s $186b loan market

  

  Bloomberg Global banks are losing share in the $186 billion lending market for Chinese borrowers offshore, falling behind local rivals boosting their presence just as the nation’s corporate sector recovers from the pandemic. Their portion of such lending has steadily dropped over the past decade, hitting 37% so far this year to May 17, well below the 11-year average of …

  Read More »
• 19 May

  Wells Fargo launches initiative to increase services to unbanked

  

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co, the fourth-largest US bank, is rolling out an initiative to bring more people into the banking system. The firm said it will increase access to affordable products, expand financial-education offerings and launch a National Unbanked Advisory Task Force. Wells Fargo also will set a 10-year goal for reducing the number of people who are unbanked, …

  Read More »
• 19 May

  ECB warns of financial stability risks amid market exuberance

  

  Bloomberg The euro-area faces elevated risks to financial stability as it emerges from the pandemic with high debt burdens and “remarkable exuberance” in markets as bond yields rise, according to the European Central Bank (ECB). The language, echoing former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s description of the dot-com bubble in the 1990s as “irrational exuberance,” highlights mounting concerns that the …

  Read More »
• 19 May

  Swiss lawmakers to debate stricter banking regulations

  Bloomberg Swiss lawmakers will debate whether banking regulations should be tightened when a parliamentary committee sits to discuss the losses suffered by lenders in the collapse of Archegos Capital Management LP, SonntagsZeitung reported. The conduct of Credit Suisse AG, the biggest loser to emerge from the blowup of Archegos, will be among the topics at the meetings, the newspaper reported. …

  Read More »
• 19 May

  BofA to raise minimum wage to $25 per hour

  

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) will boost its minimum hourly wage to $25 an hour by 2025 from a current $20, according to its Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan. The move follows four years of pay increases that brought the company’s minimum wage to an hourly $20 in 2020 from $15. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender will also require …

  Read More »
• 19 May

  JPMorgan pledges to cut carbon emissions in lending portfolios

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest funder of fossil-fuel companies globally, is pledging a 35% reduction in “operational carbon intensity” for its oil and gas portfolio by the end of this decade. The commitment is among steps announced by the largest US bank, which agreed last year to align its financing activities with the United Nations’ Paris climate agreement. …

  Read More »