August, 2020

• 19 August

  Taiwan accuses Chinese hackers of targeting data

  

  Bloomberg Taiwan accused Chinese hackers of infiltrating government agencies in an effort to glean citizens’ sensitive information, part of ongoing attempts to influence the democratic society. Groups, likely backed by Beijing, infiltrated the systems of Taiwanese companies that provide information services to government bodies, the deputy director of the Taiwan Investigation Bureau’s cybersecurity unit, Liu Chia-zung, said at a briefing ...

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• 19 August

  Mali president quits as protests spark revolt

  

  Bloomberg Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned after being detained by a military junta that pledged to shepherd a democratic transition. The coup capped weeks of protests demanding that he step down. Keita, 75, has faced opposition criticism for alleged corruption and nepotism within his administration, and the mishandling of an escalating extremist insurgency in the West African nation. Keita ...

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• 19 August

  Thailand to arrest activists over monarchy protest

  

  Bloomberg Thailand is clamping down on its growing anti-government protest movement that’s calling for an end to the military-backed government and limits on the monarchy’s power. A Thai court has issued arrest warrants for six protest leaders on charges of sedition, computer crimes and disease control breaches, Pathum Thani Police Chief Chayut Marayat said. The six had organised a demonstration ...

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• 19 August

  HK protesters adapt as security law stifles old tactics

  

  Bloomberg Last summer Hong Kong’s protesters called for a revolution as they occupied the city’s international airport, marched in the millions and mocked Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “Game of Thrones” villain. This year’s different. A sweeping national security law imposed by China in June and Covid-19 restrictions have rendered the pro-democracy movement’s tactics illegal, from public gatherings to ...

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• 19 August

  Indonesia holds rates steady to safeguard weak currency

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday to shore up support for the sagging currency, and called for close coordination with government to revive Southeast Asia’s largest economy. After 100 basis points of easing so far this year, Bank Indonesia kept the seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 4% Wednesday, as expected by 20 of 25 ...

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• 19 August

  BofA clients with $489 billion finally trust this bull market

  

  Bloomberg It took unprecedented stimulus and a rally that’s pushed equities near record highs, but fund managers overseeing $489 billion finally believe that this stock market recovery has legs. Among investors surveyed by Bank of America Corp. (BofA) in the week through August 13, 46% described equities as being in a bull market, up from 40% in July. The share ...

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• 19 August

  Singapore’s MAS is engaging more with banks on local hiring

  

  Bloomberg Singapore’s financial regulator will step up efforts to urge banks to hire more citizens and develop a strong local leadership pipeline, according to its chief. “Protecting and growing Singaporean jobs, especially in current economic conditions, is a top priority,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon wrote in a letter in the Straits Times. The MAS ...

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• 19 August

  Santander sends workers into office in virus hotbed

  

  Bloomberg One of the world’s biggest banks has staged a mass return to the office in a country where the number of Covid-19 infections surged by 1 million just in the past month. About 60% of administrative staff at Banco Santander SA’s Brazilian unit — including some investment bankers and those in asset management — are now back at their ...

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• 19 August

  Big banks sit on $250bn of murkiest trades after Covid

  

  Bloomberg The pile of the murkiest trades at global banks, long the bane of regulators, got much bigger during Covid-19. Lenders including Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA reported a surge of more than 20% in their most opaque assets during the chaotic first half of 2020, Bloomberg calculations show. The banks are now sitting ...

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• 19 August

  Citi gets freeze on Brigade money in $900m error

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. scored a temporary court order freezing $175 million that Brigade Capital Management LP declined to return after the bank accidentally transferred more than $900 million to Revlon Inc. lenders. The order followed a hearing in which the bank and the hedge fund faced off over Citigroup’s expensive blunder. The two will be back in court as the ...

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