April, 2018

• 16 April

  Asia IPO bankers continue the game of musical chairs with UBS moves

  

  Bloomberg The recent game of musical chairs is continuing for bankers selling initial public offerings in Asia, with UBS Group AG the latest to announce changes. UBS appointed Hannah Malter as Asia head of equity capital markets syndicate, effective immediately, it said on Monday in an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. Malter, who formerly worked as Asia-Pacific chief of staff …

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• 16 April

  BofA reports 34% increase in Q1 profit

  

  Reuters Bank of America reported a 34 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Monday, topping Wall Street estimates, as the lender benefited from higher interest rates and growth in loans and deposits. Revenue rose at three of BofA’s four major businesses. In consumer banking, its biggest business, revenue increased 9 percent as higher interest rates helped BofA charge more for …

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• 16 April

  All Greek banks will pass ECB’s stress test: NBG

  

  ATHENS / Reuters Greek banks will pass the European Central Bank’s (ECB) stress test of their financial health, the chief executive of the country’s second-biggest lender, National Bank (NBG), said on Monday. The ECB will publish the results of a stress test of Greece’s four largest lenders — Piraeus, NBG, Eurobank and Alpha — in May to allow time for …

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• 16 April

  Credit Suisse pay plan sees opposition at home

  

  Reuters A Swiss investor adviser group said Credit Suisse Group AG share-holders should vote against the bank’s 2017 compensation plan, splitting with overseas advisers that backed changes made following uproar last year. Ethos, which advises Swiss pension funds, also said investors shouldn’t support the re-election of Chairman Urs Rohner because renumeration changes were driven by management rather than the board, …

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• 16 April

  ECB asks Deutsche Bank to model wind down of trading book

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG has been asked by the European Central Bank to simulate an orderly wind-down of its trading book, Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke told Bloomberg on Monday. “There’s no novelty about the exercise per se; the novelty is that we’re doing this with the ECB,” von Moltke said. The exercise will take several months, being “broader …

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• 15 April

  Stocks locked in strong uptrend

  ABU DHABI / WAM UAE stocks locked in a strong uptrend in the maiden session of the week supported by most of the listed sectors, primarily the realty and banking companies, with the DFM General Index rising to 3151 points, an increase of 1.83 percent over the last session, and ADX General Index following suit by 1 percent over Thursday’s …

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• 15 April

  Investcorp acquires US auto parts firm KSI

  BAHRAIN / WAM Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, on Sunday announced its recent acquisition of KSI Trading Corp. (KSI), a supplier of aftermarket auto body parts in the US. Founded in 1984, KSI is an industry-leading distributor of quality replacement auto body parts servicing over 10,000 collision repair shop customers across 25 locations in 14 …

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• 15 April

  Oil, gold set to extend gains on Syria strikes

  

  LONDON / Reuters Gold and oil will extend their gains on Monday, albeit modestly, when the markets open for the first time since Western powers launched a missile attack on Syria but equities and bonds are unlikely to suffer big losses unless the West strikes again or Russia retaliates. “The newsflow is actually better than what it looked like at …

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• 15 April

  Norway’s Statoil assesses future projects with Mexico’s Pemex

  

  MEXICO CITY / Reuters Norway’s Statoil will evaluate new offshore projects in Mexico, including potential tie-ups with state oil company Pemex, the firm’s top executive said, adding that a first deepwater well in an existing Gulf project will likely be drilled next year. Statoil is focussed mostly on future deepwater opportunities in Mexico but does not rule out others, CEO …

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• 15 April

  Mercuria set to take stake in ChemChina’s refining system

  LONDON / Reuters Global energy trader Mercuria Group has agreed to take an interest in the oil refining system of China’s ChemChina, sources familiar with the matter said. As part of the deal, state-run ChemChina would increase its stake in Mercuria, one of the world’s largest oil trading firms. ChemChina already holds a 12 percent stake in the Swiss-based company …

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