February, 2021

• 1 February

  Singapore’s Lee urges China to ‘recalibrate’

  

  Bloomberg Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged China to “recalibrate” as it pursues greater influence globally and to take on greater responsibility for driving international objectives from climate change action to more open markets. Addressing the World Economic Forum, Lee said as China continued to rise, it was contingent on the country to make adjustments in line with its ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  Italy president taps house speaker to revive coalition

  Bloomberg Italian President Sergio Mattarella asked the speaker of the lower house to lead a new round of negotiations aimed at breaking the country’s political deadlock. The head of state tasked Speaker Roberto Fico with exploring whether it’s possible to rebuild the coalition that supported Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Three days of talks led by Mattarella, who’s responsible for picking ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  HSBC CEO defends China policy under fire from UK lawmakers

  

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn said the bank had no option but to close an exiled Hong Kong lawmaker’s account as he defended the lender against accusations it had become a tool of Chinese authorities. Facing questions from UK lawmakers, Quinn said HSBC’s decision was driven purely by the need to comply with local laws. “I’m ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  ICICI Bank Q3 net profit climbs 19% from a year earlier

  

  Bloomberg ICICI Bank Ltd.’s third-quarter profit rise 19% from a year earlier, boosted by robust loan growth. Net income at India’s second-largest private lender rose to 49.39 billion rupees ($677 million) in the quarter ended December 31 from 41.5 billion rupees a year earlier, it said in a statement. That beat the average estimate of 42.4 billion rupees from 17 ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  MoneyLion in talks to go public via Fusion SPAC

  

  Bloomberg MoneyLion, a mobile banking, lending and investment platform, is in talks to go public through a merger with Fusion Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company. Fusion, the special purpose acquisition company, has begun discussions to raise new equity from potential investors for a transaction that’s set to value the combined entity at more than $2 billion, said the people, who ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  Orcel to sacrifice millions in UBS pay in move to UniCredit

  

  Bloomberg Andrea Orcel is set to step away from tens of million of dollars in deferred pay once he realises his ambition of becoming the chief executive officer of a top European bank. UniCredit SpA will not compensate the former UBS Group AG star executive for deferred payments he will lose for joining a peer within seven years of leaving ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  JPMorgan funds $686mn in UK home loans

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to fund 500 million pounds ($686 million) in UK home loans originated by London-based fintech LendInvest Ltd. The US bank will use LendInvest to finance properties that will be leased, known as buy-to-let loans, according to a statement. LendInvest has loaned more than 3.5 billion pounds online since its inception about a decade ago, ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  ECB urges banks to tackle credit as pandemic support expires

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) is urging lenders to do a better job of gauging the risks they face from a potential spike in defaults as the pandemic increasingly hits companies and consumers. The worsening economy has slowed banks’ efforts to reduce existing bad debts and “there is also an embedded level of distress in loan books that is ...

  Read More »
• 1 February

  Hong Kong’s $600 billion stock rally hinges on China support

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s stock rally is so dependent on mainland capital that the mere suggestion the record inflows will slow has the potential to stir panic in the city’s $7.1 trillion market. Such was the case, when the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) withdrew incremental liquidity and an adviser warned obliquely of asset bubbles. The result was the biggest drop ...

  Read More »

January, 2021

• 31 January

  Indian stocks face budget hurdle with history as guide

  

  Bloomberg If history is a guide, the recent rough ride for Indian stocks will continue after Monday’s budget. The S&P BSE Sensex index has climbed in the month after budget day on only two of the past seven years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, while falling or staying rangebound on other occasions. Risks are compounded in 2021 ...

  Read More »