August, 2020

• 10 August

  Macy’s sued for use of Clearview AI software

  Bloomberg Macy’s Inc was targeted in one of the first lawsuits against users of the controversial facial-recognition software made by startup Clearview AI. An Illinois woman filed a proposed class action against Macy’s in federal court in Chicago, alleging the department store chain violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act by using Clearview software to identify shoppers from security-camera footage. …

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• 10 August

  Simon weighs ‘mall spaces’ as Amazon centres

  Bloomberg Mall operator Simon Property Group Inc. has been in talks with Amazon.com to turn some empty store space formerly occupied by anchor tenants such as JC Penney Co Inc and Sears Holdings Corp into Amazon fulfillment centres, Dow Jones reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The discussions started before the coronavirus pandemic, with the two companies exploring the …

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• 10 August

  RBI’s silence on India bond sales leaves traders baffled

  

  Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy review has come and gone but it’s done little to calm traders’ nerves over an unprecedented government bond supply. Their patience is running thin as the RBI refrained from taking steps to ease the market’s debt burden at a policy review last week, even as the government plans to sell 12 …

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• 10 August

  Barclays probed by UK privacy watchdog for monitoring staff

  

  Bloomberg Barclays Plc is being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office, a privacy watchdog, on allegations it spied on its workers through a computer monitoring software, the Telegraph reported. A spokesman from the Information Commissioner’s Office confirmed the probe to the paper, but couldn’t say when it will conclude. The Telegraph said Barclays faces a maximum fine of 865 million …

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• 10 August

  Hong Kong bankers are moving to suspend accounts on US sanctions

  

  Bloomberg Banks operating in Hong Kong are stepping up scrutiny of their customers and at least one US bank is moving to suspend accounts to avoid running afoul of US sanctions slapped on city officials, putting them at risk of violating the controversial security law imposed by China. Asking not to be named discussing clients, people familiar with the decision …

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• 10 August

  British banks index falls to 27-year-low by 1.8%

  

  Bloomberg A benchmark tracking shares of British banks closed at the lowest level since December 1992 after the Bank of England left investors concerned that interest rates may drop further, hurting earnings for the sector. The FTSE 350 Banks Index falls 1.8% amid a broader market drop as central bank officials indicated rates could fall below zero after the coronavirus …

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• 10 August

  JPMorgan rejects threat to dollar status flagged by Goldman

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists said that while the dollar does face further downside, it isn’t caught in the kind of structural decline suggested by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts last week. “We continue to push back on the idea of a much broader, secular downtrend in the dollar predicated on structural factors,” JPMorgan currency strategists Daniel Hui, Paul …

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• 10 August

  BofA sees dwindling muni yields nearing major test

  Bloomberg The largest underwriter in the $3.9 trillion municipal-bond market says the rally is about to face a crucial hurdle. Bank of America Corp. (BofA) analysts Yingchen Li and Ian Rogow said they’re watching to see what happens if 10-year benchmark yields hit 0.5% — a threshold that may mark a test of whether investors continue stampeding into the market. …

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• 10 August

  OCBC’s Q2 profit misses estimates

  Bloomberg Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.’s (OCBC) profit fell more than analysts anticipated in the second quarter as it joined its Singapore peers in setting aside higher provisions for loan losses during pandemic. Net income dropped 40% from a year earlier to $533 million in the three months ended June 30, Southeast Asia’s second-largest bank by assets said. That missed the S$930 …

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• 10 August

  Europe stocks, US futures little changed amid China strife

  

  Bloomberg European stocks and US equity futures were little changed after China said it would sanction American officials in retaliation over Hong Kong. Stocks pulled back from earlier gains, but losses in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index were limited by rallies in Spanish bank shares. Oil advanced after Saudi Aramco said demand will continue to improve. Treasuries and the dollar …

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