February, 2022

• 23 February

  West plans sanctions as Putin orders troops to Ukraine

  

    Bloomberg US and European governments threatened new sanctions after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two self-proclaimed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine and ordered troops sent to them in the latest escalation of Moscow’s standoff with the West. Russia gave no details on how many “peacekeeping” troops might go into the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, or when, as ...

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• 23 February

  Gun battle leaves eight dead in outskirts of Johannesburg

  

    Bloomberg A shootout between suspected robbers and police on the outskirts of Johannesburg’s city centre left eight people dead, Police Minister Minister Bheki Cele said. Police opened fire on several gunmen in Rosettenville who were planning to attack a truck ferrying cash in South Africa’s commercial hub, Cele said in an interview broadcast on eNCA television. Eight of the ...

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• 23 February

  Khan to visit Putin amid Ukraine tensions

  

  Bloomberg Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to travel to Moscow on Wednesday, the first bilateral meeting between the two nations in over two decades even as a standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine has escalated sharply. Khan will have “wide-ranging” discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bilateral, regional and international topics during the two-day visit, ...

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• 23 February

  Ardern denounces protesters after ugly clashes with police

  

  Bloomberg New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denounced protesters occupying parliament grounds after some ugly clashes with police. “The attacks on police have been absolutely disgraceful,” Ardern told reporters. “Clearly there are a group who are increasingly acting out in a violent way toward the police.” As the protest against vaccine mandates in downtown Wellington entered its 15th day, police ...

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• 23 February

  Beijing backs Hong Kong lockdown as Covid crisis worsens, say sources

  

  Bloomberg Chinese officials have told Hong Kong that they think a lockdown will be needed to contain surging Covid-19 cases, according to people familiar with the discussions, with the city’s government conceding some kind of targeted stay-at-home restrictions may be necessary if the situation continues to spiral out of control. The two sides have been meeting frequently to discuss Hong ...

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• 22 February

  Bank Indonesia may unwind debt monetisation next year

  

    Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank may start next year to sell the government bonds it bought as part of a $58 billion debt monetisation that supported stimulus spending during the pandemic. “We will discuss the possibilities later but based on the information that we have now, it is likely that we will roll back our government bond holding starting next ...

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• 22 February

  RBI to enter into sell-buy swaps worth $5 billion

  

    Bloomberg India’s central bank will enter into sell-buy swaps worth $5 billion with banks to elongate the maturity profile of its forward dollar book. The 2-year USD/INR sell-buy swap auction will be held on March 8, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. This will enable access to a wider set of market participants and smoothen receivables relating to forward ...

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• 22 February

  Deutsche Bank warns staff not to delete WhatsApps amid scrutiny

  

    Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG has warned its employees not to delete WhatsApp messages from their phones as part of moves by the German lender to clamp down on private communication channels. The Frankfurt-based bank earlier this year sent a memo to staff warning them that any business-related messages going through private channels mustn’t be deleted as the act could ...

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• 22 February

  UK backs Nigerian bank with $100m credit facility

    Bloomberg CDC Group, the UK’s development-finance arm, will provide a $100 million credit facility to First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. to help support women-owned businesses and small companies in Africa’s largest economy. The funding will “address the challenge of limited access to capital faced by under-banked and underserved groups in the country,” the firm said. A minimum of $30 ...

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• 22 February

  NatWest plans to pay cash bonuses to senior bosses

  

    Bloomberg British bank NatWest Group Plc plans to start paying its management cash bonuses, warning that compensation levels are falling “too far” behind competitors. The UK’s biggest corporate lender is seeking to introduce annual bonuses plus restricted share plan awards to replace the current long-term incentive program, the bank said in its annual report. The changes, which are subject ...

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