December, 2020

• 27 December

  EU, UK clinch Brexit accord to avoid chaotic rupture

  

  Bloomberg The UK clinched a historic trade deal with the European Union (EU), avoiding a bitter breakup and preparing the ground for a new relationship with its biggest commercial partner. Negotiators finalised the accord to complete Britain’s separation from the bloc on Christmas Eve, just a week before the country leaves the EU’s single market and customs union. It brings ...

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• 27 December

  Ethiopia to hold polls in June after vote delay

  

  Bloomberg Ethiopia will hold general elections on June 5, 2021, after delaying a planned vote in August due to the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s fiercest opposition, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, in September went ahead with the vote in defiance of the federal-government’s decision, and later triggered a military conflict when it attacked a military camp in the ...

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• 27 December

  Mozambique troops foil attack near $20b project

  

  Bloomberg Mozambique said its security forces repelled an attack by insurgents on a town close to the site where Total SE is building a $20 billion natural gas facility. The attack took place about 21 kilometers from Total’s project, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, and is the second this month on the town of Mute in ...

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• 27 December

  Russian army chief warns of N-risks in cyber hacks, space

  

  Bloomberg The extension of military confrontation into the cyber sphere and space raises the risks of incidents involving nuclear weapons, Russia’s top general warned, highlighting concerns about growing tensions. “The risks of incidents is rising from interference in systems of command and control over nuclear weapons,” General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, said in comments to foreign military ...

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• 27 December

  Tunisia detains former presidential contender

  

  Bloomberg Tunisian media mogul and former presidential candidate Nabil Karoui was detained after a judge’s order, his lawyer said, amid an ongoing purge of alleged corruption that’s included the arrest of a government minister. Karoui, who founded Heart of Tunisia, the second-biggest party in both the government coalition and parliament, had been in court in connection with graft and money ...

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• 27 December

  MUFG’s next banking unit chief vows to target Asia for growth

  

  Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.’s next banking unit chief vowed to target business in Asia, while signaling the potential for cutbacks in developed markets as plunging interest rates dent profitability. “In Asia, we will pursue growth,” Junichi Hanzawa, 55, told reporters after being appointed president of MUFG Bank Ltd. “In Europe and the US, where interest rates are very ...

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• 27 December

  JPMorgan, Goldman to restart buybacks

  

  Bloomberg The Federal Reserve, showing confidence in how banks are weathering the pandemic, gave industry leaders a green light to resume billions of dollars in stock buybacks. Lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said they’ll take the Fed up on its offer. The loosening of restrictions marks a partial but significant win for firms that ...

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• 27 December

  Mexico’s central bank needs time to see if inflation slowing

  

  Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank needs more time to confirm if inflation is slowing toward target before resuming a monetary easing cycle, Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said after the institution left the key interest rate unchanged. Policy makers want to see if deep shopping discounts akin to Black Friday during November in Latin America’s second-largest economy will subside or persist, ...

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• 27 December

  BofA flags sell signal for stocks

  

  Bloomberg Optimistic about a return to economic growth, fund managers have been slashing their cash positions and embracing risk assets to an extent that’s raising red flags for strategists at Bank of America Corp. (BofA). Money managers overseeing $534 billion in total are underweight cash for the first time since May 2013, with levels down to 4%, according to a ...

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• 27 December

  JPMorgan’s longest-serving director Lee Raymond quits

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Lee Raymond, the company’s longest-serving director, is resigning from the board. Raymond, the former Exxon Mobil Corp. boss who’s been on the board of the biggest US bank for more than three decades, notified JPMorgan of his intention to resign effective December 31, according to a regulatory filing. The decision was “not the result ...

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