February, 2018

• 14 February

  Saudi to restrain oil exports in March

  

  RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabia will restrain its oil exports in March despite lower domestic need for crude as OPEC’s leader is pushing to eliminate fully the global oil glut and combat worries about a new cycle of oil price weakness. The kingdom will keep its crude exports below 7 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, despite a maintenance …

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• 14 February

  US stocks climb as dollar slumps

  

  Bloomberg US stocks advanced while the dollar fell and Treasuries rose as financial markets looked ahead to Wednesday’s inflation report. The S&P 500 Index climbed for a third day, its longest winning streak since mid-January, amid a rally in financial shares and food retailers. Assets seen as safe havens gained as last week’s surge in volatility continued to weigh on …

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• 14 February

  Few positives for Gulf as GFH cuts dividend

  

  DUBAI / Reuters Gulf stock markets appear to have few fresh positives on Wednesday and may consolidate in sluggish trade, with Dubai dampened by earnings and dividend news from several companies. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan is up 0.7 percent but trading is tentative ahead of US inflation news later in the day, while Brent oil is …

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• 14 February

  Goldman’s buyback desk deluged with orders

  Bloomberg The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. unit that executes share buybacks for clients just had its busiest week ever, but even that couldn’t keep stocks from flopping into a correction. Last week, the firm’s corporate-trading desk saw 4.5 times its average daily volume from 2017, according to data seen by Bloomberg. Even as companies scooped up their own shares, the …

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• 14 February

  Credit Suisse gains as trading rebounds with volatility

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG’s trading revenue rebounded at the start of the year along with market volatility, in what Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said was evidence that the investment bank was alive and well after two years of cost reductions. The first six weeks of 2018 showed a “strong start” in the market-dependent businesses, with revenue gains of …

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• 14 February

  Jeweller to stars ‘accused’ of massive India bank fraud

  

  Bloomberg One of India’s biggest banks has accused jeweller Nirav Modi — who’s dressed stars including Kate Winslet and Priyanka Chopra — of involvement in a multi-billion dollar fraud that could extend to other lenders, said people familiar with the matter. Punjab National Bank filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation, the federal investigation agency, alleging that Modi …

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• 14 February

  Singapore’s big banks see rise in Q4 profit

  

  Bloomberg Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and United Overseas Bank Ltd. reported higher fourth-quarter profit even as they added bad-loan provisions in an effort to put the pain of soured credit to energy-services companies behind them. OCBC’s specific net allowances for loans quadrupled year-on-year to S$1.06 billion ($802 million) in the three months ended December, the bank said on Wednesday. Risks from …

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• 14 February

  Bonus-pool rise smaller in 2017: Credit Suisse

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse AG’s bonus pool increased at a slower pace in 2017 than a year before, showing that the bank remains cautious about spending as its restructuring continues. Total bonuses for 2017 will rise 3 percent, Adam Gishen, head of investor relations, said in a phone interview with Bloomberg. That’s lower than the 6 percent gain seen the year …

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• 14 February

  Latvian bank faces US ban over ‘money-laundering’

  

  Bloomberg The US Treasury Department took the severe step of proposing to ban Latvia’s third-biggest bank from the American financial system, saying it helped process illicit transactions, including for entities with alleged ties to North Korea’s ballistic missile program. Financial institutions in the US would be barred from maintaining correspondent accounts for ABLV Bank AS, effectively ending its ability to …

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• 14 February

  Credit Agricole bucks trend as lender sees resilient trading

  Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA finished 2017 with an unexpected increase in trading revenue as demand for buying and selling fixed-income securities defied the weak trend seen at most of its rivals. France’s second-largest bank posted a 1 percent revenue gain at its trading business in the fourth quarter, according to a statement on Wednesday. Three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated …

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