October, 2021

• 17 October

  John Lewis Partnership loss narrows with turnaround

  Bloomberg John Lewis Partnership Plc’s loss narrowed in the first half as the British retailer’s turnaround efforts started to pay off. The operator of the John Lewis department store and upmarket grocer Waitrose said the 29 million-pound ($40 million) pretax loss came after taking almost 100 million pounds of exceptional costs related to store closures and redundancy payments. This is ...

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• 17 October

  Pentagon spies say Kim is still pursuing nuclear arms

  

  Bloomberg The US continues to observe activity at North Korean nuclear sites that is “inconsistent with full denuclearisation,” the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said in a report issued. The conclusion, based on observations at the Yongbyon nuclear site and elsewhere, echoes assessments delivered to former President Donald Trump by US intelligence agencies, despite Trump’s efforts to engage in direct summit ...

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• 17 October

  Ship intercepted US destroyer in Sea of Japan, says Russia

  

  Bloomberg Russia said one of its warships intercepted a US destroyer in the Sea of Japan that was encroaching on its territorial waters, claiming the vessels came within 60 metres (200 feet) of each other during the confrontation. The US Pacific Fleet rejected Russia’s characterisation of the incident hours later. The Russian Defense Ministry posted a video of the Admiral ...

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• 17 October

  US likely to restore Trump-era asylum policy by mid-Nov

  

  Bloomberg The US will likely reinstate a Trump-era policy by mid-November requiring asylum seekers who cross the southern border to return to Mexico, the Biden administration told a federal judge. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made “substantial progress” towards restarting the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which force asylum seekers from Central and South America to wait in Mexico ...

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• 17 October

  France’s Macron leads Le Pen, Zemmour in election poll

  

  Bloomberg Emmanuel Macron is leading in the run-up to the first round of French presidential elections in April with 25% to 27% support and will likely face a far-right candidate in a decisive runoff vote, according to a poll by Ifop-Fiducial for Le Figaro newspaper. The survey of voting intentions published on Saturday shows National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen ...

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• 17 October

  British politician’s murder was terrorist attack, says police

  

  Bloomberg UK Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered a review of police security for members of Parliament after Conservative MP David Amess was fatally stabbed at a meeting in his constituency. The attack revives questions about the safety of lawmakers meeting face-to-face with residents in their districts, usually with little security. A 25-year-old UK national was arrested on suspicion of murder, ...

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• 17 October

  BofA tops estimates as surge in M&A boosts advisory fees

  

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) beat analysts’ earnings estimates as fees climbed at the company’s dealmaking unit, boosted by a record-breaking period for mergers and acquisitions. Investment-banking advisory fees rises 65% to a record $654 million in the third quarter as a combination of cheap financing for buyers and attractive valuations for sellers spurred a wave of takeovers. Overall ...

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• 17 October

  China’s central bank says inflation risks controllable

  

  Bloomberg China’s inflation risks are “controllable” and while rising costs may hurt small businesses, authorities have increased support for those types of firms, central bank officials said. Sun Guofeng, head of the monetary policy department, said at the briefing in Beijing on Friday that producer price inflation will remain elevated in the short term before falling toward the end of ...

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• 17 October

  Monte Paschi sale may cost Italian taxpayers another $6b

  

  Bloomberg Italy is in talks to inject at least $5.6 billion into Banca Monte Paschi di Siena SpA ahead of a sale of the troubled lender to UniCredit SpA. The finance ministry, which controls Monte Paschi, is considering a cash infusion for the Tuscan bank through a rights offering that would allow minority shareholders to opt out of the increase, ...

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• 17 October

  JPMorgan says higher pay to pull expenses up next year

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s expenses will probably climb in 2022 as a surging investment-banking business and other revenue gains translate into higher compensation costs. “We pay for performance,” Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said on a conference call with analysts. “Realistically, expenses are going to be up next year.” Even so, compensation growth has been lower than some analysts ...

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