December, 2020

• 13 December

  Black staff are paid 20% less than peers: Lloyds

  

  Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s Black employees are paid about 20% less than their colleagues as British lenders struggle with their representation across senior positions. The median pay gap between Black employees and other peers was 19.7%, while the bonus gap was 37.6%, according to the bank’s April 2019-2020 report. “For our Black colleagues, the pay and bonus gap is …

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• 13 December

  BofA dethrones local bank in Brazil’s record year for equities

  

  Bloomberg Brazil had its best year ever for equity sales, and Bank of America (BofA) Corp made the most of it. The Wall Street lender is this year’s top equity underwriter in the nation, handling 20.6 billion reais ($4 billion) and leapfrogging Banco Itau BBA and JPMorgan Chase & Co, which took the two top spots in 2019, data compiled …

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• 13 December

  British banks could be forced to refund fraud victims: Report

  Bloomberg UK lenders would be forced to refund all victims of financial fraud if plans being proposed by an official watchdog are adopted, according to the Telegraph newspaper. The Payment Systems Regulator — an independent subsidiary of the Financial Conduct Authority — will lead a consultation due to begin within weeks on whether customers who are tricked into transferring money …

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• 13 December

  Strategists struggle to reach a stock consensus for 2021

  

  Bloomberg Even if everyone agrees that vaccines will ignite the economy next year, Wall Street’s collective consciousness has no idea what it will mean for stocks. Forecasts among the people paid to fashion such estimates are all over the map — to an almost historic degree. The most bullish, Dubravko Lakos-Bujas at JPMorgan, predicts the return to normal will serve …

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• 13 December

  Mideast stocks rise as vaccine rollout buoys sentiment

  

  Bloomberg Most equities markets in the Middle East advanced as investors looked to the rollout of mass vaccination programs for a fresh spur to prices. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawaul All Share Index gained the most in the region, climbing 0.3% in 10:27 am local time. Gauges in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Kuwait also rose, while Oman’s benchmark index slipped. Saudi …

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• 13 December

  Sri Lanka’s rating cut at S&P Global to reflect default risk

  Bloomberg Sri Lanka’s credit rating was pushed further into junk at S&P Global Ratings, which cited the nation’s deteriorating fiscal position as a risk to the sovereign’s ability to service debt. The country’s long-term foreign-currency credit rating was cut to CCC+ from B-, with a stable outlook, according to a statement from S&P. Sri Lanka’s credit score is now the …

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• 13 December

  UK vows to stop funding for fossil fuel projects overseas

  

  Bloomberg The UK will become the first major industrialised nation to end all public finance for fossil fuel projects overseas, in an effort to mark itself out as a leader in tackling climate change. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to make the announcement at a virtual United Nations summit , which he’s co-hosting with France, Italy and Chile. More …

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• 13 December

  World must invest in health systems that protect everyone, says UN chief

  

  NEW YORK / WAM The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed just how important it is for all countries to have strong health systems that provide the entire population with quality services when and where they need them, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stressed. “For Universal Health Coverage Day, let us commit to ending this crisis and build a safer and healthier …

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• 13 December

  India identifies ‘sunrise sectors’ for Gulf investors

  

  NEW DELHI / WAM The Indian government has identified “sunrise sectors” for investors in the Gulf with the thrust on joint ventures in infrastructure and manufacturing, integrating into supply chains and tapping sovereign wealth funds. This was stated by the Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, in his keynote address to a panel discussion here on “India and …

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• 12 December

  Apple starts work on its own cellular modem

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc has started building its own cellular modem for future devices, a move that would replace components from Qualcomm Inc, Apple’s top chip executive told staff. Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, made the disclosure in a town hall meeting with Apple employees, according to people familiar with the comments. Qualcomm shares dropped 4.4% in …

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