February, 2021

• 8 February

  StanChart gives up several floors in Hong Kong offices

  

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc is giving up several floors in its main offices in Hong Kong, as global banks accelerate efforts to cut costs and pandemic upends work styles. The UK lender is relinquishing the lease on eight floors it occupies in its Standard Chartered Bank Building in Central, and will rent out three levels in its Kwun Tong office …

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• 8 February

  BOE tells banks to get ready for negative rates possibility

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) told banks to start getting ready for negative interest rates, while saying that message shouldn’t be taken as a signal that the policy is imminent. The central bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority said most financial institutions aren’t sufficiently prepared, especially as regards to retail products like rate-tracking mortgages, so they should take at least six …

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• 8 February

  Nigeria shutting down all cryptocurrency accounts

  Bloomberg Nigeria’s central bank ordered deposit-taking banks and other financial institutions to immediately close accounts transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges, saying such deals are “prohibited.” Failure to comply with the directive will result in “severe regulatory sanctions,” according to a circular sent to financial institutions and published on the central bank’s website. The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission said …

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• 8 February

  BofA adds $10 billion to affordable housing plan

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) pledged to add $10 billion to an affordable-homeownership program through 2025, tripling its initial commitment. The plan is aimed at low- and moderate-income communities, and may enable 60,000 individuals and families to purchase homes, the bank said in a statement. The program includes as much as $10,000 of assistance for down payments, as well as …

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• 8 February

  Euro-area recovery to pick up in summer: Lagarde

  

  Bloomberg European Central Bank President (ECB) Christine Lagarde predicted the euro-area recovery will pick up in the summer, while stressing that public authorities will have a difficult job weaning the economy off of emergency support. In an interview with French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Lagarde expressed confidence in the region’s ability to emerge from the coronavirus crisis stronger, with …

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• 8 February

  Stock bulls turn to earnings post India’s budget-sparked rally

  

  Bloomberg Having propelled the benchmark gauge almost 10% this week in a budget-driven rally, stock bulls in India are now counting on earnings to be the catalyst for the next leg up. The 34 NSE Nifty 50 Index members that have declared December-quarter results have posted a 34% jump in earnings from a year earlier, according to a note from …

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• 8 February

  SNB held US stocks worth a record $141bn last year

  

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) portfolio of US equities rose to a record $141 billion as of December, reflecting a buoyant stock market. Switzerland’s central bank has 20% of its reserves in stocks, and its filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission showed it owned shares in 2,490 companies as of December 31. Notable holdings included Apple Inc., Amazon …

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• 8 February

  Mystery trade adds $9bn to Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

  Bloomberg Near the start of December, a mystery over-the-counter trade pulled about $7 billion from Vanguard Group’s S&P 500 exchange-traded fund. It just got it all back and more. The $194 billion Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (ticker VOO) added $8.7bn on a single day this week, about two months after that record withdrawal. Similar to 2020 mega outflow, VOO’s cash …

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• 7 February

  Oil extends its weekly gain with Brent pushing to $60

  

  Bloomberg Oil set a fresh one-year high in New York with continued producer supply curbs helping spur strength everywhere from physical markets to the futures curve. Futures gained 1.1% in New York to the highest since late January 2020, while Brent crude remained just under $60 a barrel in London. The number of vessels sailing towards China jumped to a …

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• 7 February

  China approves second vaccine

  Bloomberg Sinovac Biotech Ltd received regulatory approval from Chinese authorities for its coronavirus vaccine to be used by the general public in the country’s second such authorisation. The conditional approval was announced by the National Medical Products Administration on Saturday. Sinovac earlier said the protective efficacy of its vaccine, CoronaVac, met World Health Organization and China regulatory standards 14 days …

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