December, 2020

• 20 December

  Oil posts weekly gain as hopes on stimulus aiding vaccine rally

  

  Bloomberg Oil rose for a seventh straight week as efforts to pass another US virus relief package added to optimism that the vaccine’s rollout will provide a long-awaited boost to demand. Futures rose 1.5% in New York, extending this week’s rally to over 5%. Talks on a relief package have made some headway, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying …

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• 20 December

  Japan plans huge offshore wind expansion to reach climate goal

  

  Bloomberg Japan will aim to more than quadruple offshore wind generation capacity in the decade to 2040 under plans to meet its mid-century emissions reduction target. The government will seek to lift offshore wind capacity to as much as 45 gigawatts in 2040 from 10 gigawatts in 2030, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement. Reaching …

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• 20 December

  Coal mines may turn into ‘green hotspots’

  Bloomberg Australia is studying plans to transform a disused underground coal mine into a pumped hydro facility, part of a wider effort to reuse retiring fossil fuel sites for renewable energy generation. The A$13 million ($9.9 million) pilot trial at the Newstan Colliery, in Fassifern, about 140 kilometres (87 miles) northeast of Sydney, could offer a blueprint for dozens of …

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• 19 December

  Europe’s big banking mergers are coming in 2021, says BofA

  

  Bloomberg The creation of a European banking champion could be among a slew of transformative deals in the sector next year, according to top financial dealmakers at Bank of America Corp. The region’s banking industry is suddenly abuzz with transactions, driving merger and acquisition volumes up 27% year-on-year to $37 billion since the start of July, data compiled by Bloomberg …

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• 19 December

  Lloyds scraps all bonuses for 2020 after virus hammers profit

  

  Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc is canceling bonuses for all staff this year as the Covid-19 pandemic weighs heavily on its earnings. A spokesperson for the bank confirmed it will not pay out any “group performance share” awards in 2020 after rewarding staff with about 310 million pounds ($419 million) last year. The news was reported earlier by the Financial …

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• 19 December

  Wave of foreign money risking India’s tight grip on its currency

  

  Bloomberg A relentless torrent of funds rushing into India’s markets may tip the central bank’s delicate balancing act in 2021. For most of this year, the Reserve Bank of India has capped currency gains as global investors poured around $50 billion into stocks and stakes in companies. This has boosted rupee liquidity in a banking system that’s already flush with …

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• 19 December

  European regulators lift ban on bank dividends

  

  Bloomberg European regulators lifted their de facto ban on bank dividends while imposing strict limits on payout levels to help lenders maintain financial strength during the pandemic. The European Central Bank (ECB) said that the continent’s banks should keep dividends and share repurchases to less than 15% of profit for 2019 and 2020, or 0.2% of their key capital ratio, …

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• 19 December

  SNB’s frenzied currency battle may give way to easier 2021

  

  Bloomberg Swiss National Bank (SNB) President Thomas Jordan has reason to expect a less intense 2021 after a multi-billion currency battle this year that put Switzerland in the crosshairs of US authorities. The combination of a landmark European Union fiscal package and the anticipated global economic recovery driven by the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines will likely dampen demand for haven …

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• 19 December

  Nordea to exit Russia after years of cuts

  Bloomberg Nordea Bank is winding down what’s left of its operations in Russia, after years spent cutting back its business there as part of a plan to minimise its risks. The Helsinki-based bank had already axed its Russian retail business, but previously indicated it would keep some services open for corporate clients. Late on Thursday, it said its decision to …

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• 19 December

  Microsoft designing its own chips for servers, surface PCs

  

  Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. is working on in-house processor designs for use in server computers that run the company’s cloud services, adding to an industrywide effort to reduce reliance on Intel Corp.’s chip technology. The world’s largest software maker is using Arm Ltd. designs to produce a processor that will be used in its data centers, according to people familiar with …

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