December, 2021

• 19 December

  Paytm sinks to record low in Mumbai

  

    Bloomberg Shares of Indian digital payments giant Paytm closed at the lowest since their market debut last month following the nation’s biggest-ever initial public offering, as investors remain concerned about the startup’s path to profitability. One 97 Communications Ltd, Paytm’s parent company, raised $2.5 billion in its IPO but a 27% plunge in its debut made it one of ...

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• 19 December

  China finds imported omicron cases in new city as outbreak grows

  

    Bloomberg Two new cases of the omicron variant were detected in the central Chinese city of Changsha from arrivals into the country, state-backed media Xinhua reported citing the municipal government. The provincial capital of Hunan is the latest place to discover the highly contagious variant in incoming travelers, after the southern province of Guangdong and the northern metropolis of ...

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• 19 December

  Democrats limp towards 2022 fighting history, Biden’s ratings

  

    Bloomberg The indefinite delay of President Joe Biden’s signature domestic policy bill has derailed the Democrats’ strategy to stave off a Republican onslaught in the 2022 congressional elections and the party may be left without a fallback option. After renewed objections from Senator Joe Manchin to the structure of the Build Back Better measure, Democratic leaders in the Senate ...

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• 19 December

  Taliban urges OIC nations to push US to unlock Afghan assets

  

    Bloomberg The Taliban government urged major Islamic nations to push the US to call off sanctions imposed on Afghanistan, saying the actions are exacerbating the refugee crisis and hurting its people. The freezing of Afghan assets by the US is in violation of human rights, while the suspension of development assistance by the International Monetary Fund and the World ...

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• 19 December

  Goldman Sachs says it plans to reduce financed emissions

  

    Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to reduce the carbon footprint of its fossil-fuel clients by a fifth, and slash emissions in other key customer groups as it acts on a pledge to make its business climate neutral by mid-century. By 2030, the Wall Street firm intends to have lowered the financed emissions of oil and gas companies by ...

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• 19 December

  India’s central bank told board it wants blanket crypto ban

  

    Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it favors a complete ban on cryptocurrencies at a meeting of its central board, the Economic Times reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the deliberations. India’s central bank made a detailed presentation to its board highlighting “serious concerns” around the impact of cryptocurrencies on macroeconomic and financial stability, as well as ...

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• 19 December

  Monte Paschi plans to raise $2.8bn to meet capital needs

  

    Bloomberg Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA plans to raise 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) to cover capital needs after the Italian government’s efforts to sell the lender to UniCredit SpA failed. The capital increase is part of a five-year business plan that will be submitted to European authorities for approval, it said in a statement. The fresh ...

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• 19 December

  Scotiabank hits pause on return-to-office plan

  

    Bloomberg Bank of Nova Scotia is delaying plans to bring more employees back to its headquarters in January as Covid-19 cases rise rapidly in the province of Ontario. Canada’s third-largest bank had planned to start a phased return-to-office plan for head-office employees who are still working remotely on January 17, but that’s now on hold, spokesperson Clancy Zeifman said ...

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• 19 December

  Colombia lifts key interest rate to 3%

    Bloomberg Colombia’s central bank raised borrowing costs for the third straight meeting as inflation accelerates amid forecasts for the biggest economic expansion in at least a century. The bank lifted its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 3% in a split decision, Governor Leonardo Villar told reporters, adding that three of the seven board members voted ...

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• 19 December

  Bank of Japan takes slow lane on paring Covid-19 aid

  

    Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) ended the second year of the pandemic in a very different place to other major central banks. While the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England this week took aggressive steps to pull back from crisis aid, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his board slow walked it, extending assistance to struggling smaller businesses for ...

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