January, 2022

• 26 January

  UK debit card spending rises by 27% in January

  

    Bloomberg UK consumers spent significantly more on debit cards in the first two weeks of January but a mounting cost-of-living crisis is expected to take a heavy toll in 2022. That’s according to Lloyds Bank, which found that spending rises 27% from the same period of 2020, before the pandemic hit, with 42% more splashed out at restaurants. The ...

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• 26 January

  Credit Suisse flags more charges to cap awful year

  

    Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG will take a large legal charge in the fourth quarter and warned of outflows at its key wealth business, capping a tough year for the bank after a series of scandals and management turmoil. The lender will set aside 500 million francs ($546 million) for litigation stemming primarily from its investment banking business, according ...

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• 26 January

  Pakistan holds key rate as inflation seen easing

    Bloomberg Pakistan held its benchmark interest rate steady for the first time in four meetings, opting to watch the effects of previous increases on the Asia’s fastest inflation. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kept the target rate unchanged at 9.75%, Governor Reza Baqir told reporters in Karachi. Thirty-nine of the 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the decision, ...

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• 26 January

  RBA seen scrapping bond-buying program at first meeting of 2022

  

    Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will probably scrap its bond-buying program at the first meeting of 2022, as a strengthening economic recovery suggests the additional stimulus measure is no longer needed. All but one of 17 analysts polled by Bloomberg expects the RBA will end quantitative easing at its February 1 meeting. The outlier, HSBC Holdings Plc’s ...

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• 26 January

  BofA: Digital US dollar is ‘inevitable’

    Bloomberg The US will likely move forward with its own digital currency, with issuance occurring between 2025 and 2030, according to Bank of America Corp (BofA) US government-backed coins, also known as central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, “are an inevitable evolution of today’s electronic currencies,” strategists Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss, wrote in a report. In the meantime, ...

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• 26 January

  Banks push back against China’s plan to curb foreign IPOs

  

    Bloomberg Global banks are raising concerns to Chinese authorities about a plan to tighten rules on overseas stock listings, saying the draft rules are ambiguous and will expand Beijing’s regulatory reach outside the nation’s borders. The proposals will also drive up costs and stymie dealmaking, the top lobby group for financial firms in Hong Kong said in a letter ...

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• 26 January

  Thailand all set to tax cryptos, stock trading to cut budget cap

  

    Bloomberg Thailand is considering taxing stock trading for the first time in more than three decades, and making crypto traders part with a share of their profits, as the government hunts for revenue to fund billions of dollars in pandemic relief. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha’s government is expected to decide by end-January on the method and rate of taxing ...

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• 26 January

  Microsoft stocks rise as forecasts focus on cloud growth

  

    Bloomberg Microsoft Corp shares rise in late trading, reversing an earlier decline, after the software giant gave a forecast that reassured investors the company’s Azure cloud-computing business still has potential to drive growth. Earlier, Microsoft had reported quarterly sales that topped $50 billion for the first time and profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates, fuelled by cloud, gaming and Windows ...

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• 26 January

  Sheikh Abdullah praises Russia for support over Houthi attack

  

    ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has praised Russia’s supportive stance for the UAE, during the last session of the UN Security Council, on the terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia on civil facilities in the UAE. During His Highness Sheikh Abdullah’s call to Russian Minister ...

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• 25 January

  Masdar, W Solar form JV firm to develop renewables projects

  

    Abu Dhabi / WAM Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, and W Solar Investment, a subsidiary of Alpha Dhabi Holding, and a development and investment company in the solar energy industry, have formed a joint venture company (JVC) to develop clean energy projects in a range of geographies. The new company, MW Energy Limited, will act ...

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