February, 2020

• 11 February

  Duterte to scrap US military agreement

  

  Bloomberg The Philippines has notified the US that it’s terminating a 22-year-old military agreement, which can be ended with 180-days notice, just hours after President Rodrigo Duterte said President Donald Trump was trying to save the deal. The notice to terminate the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement — which sets the terms for joint exercises and engagement of American soldiers in ...

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• 11 February

  Over 5,100 casualties linked to US-Afghan reconstruction

  

  Bloomberg US-led reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan since 2002 are linked to the deaths or injuries of more than 5,100 people in addition to more than $130 billion in financial costs, according to a new report on America’s longest war. Some 2,214 people were killed and another 2,921 wounded while taking part in reconstruction and stabilisation missions across the war-ravaged nation ...

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• 11 February

  Ukraine pressing Iran for black boxes on jet

  Bloomberg Ukraine is pressing Iran to send the so-called black box recorders from the Boeing Co plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran last month, Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko said. “The black box and cooperation with Tehran was the very difficult issue from the beginning and we will try to keep the message” focussed on recovering the data, ...

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• 11 February

  Lagarde’s review rush may see inflation goal decided by July

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) has set out an ambitious timetable for its strategic review that could see a decision on whether to change its inflation goal by the summer, according to euro-area officials. Speaking on condition of anonymity because the process is confidential, the officials described a rushed agenda under President Christine Lagarde, who reached her 100th day ...

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• 11 February

  China local authorities to sell $122bn of debt

  

  Bloomberg China will allow local governments to sell another 848 billion yuan ($122 billion) of debt before March, as authorities seek to offset the economic shock of the coronavirus. The new quota includes 558 billion yuan of local government debt as well as 290 billion yuan of so-called special debt, according to a Ministry of Finance statement on Tuesday. The ...

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• 11 February

  Mastercard wins approval to join China’s $27tn market

  

  Bloomberg Mastercard Inc won approval to set up a bank card clearing business in China, gaining access to a $27 trillion payments market as part of the nation’s financial opening. The announcement by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Tuesday signals the country is moving ahead with the speedier opening of its financial system that was agreed on as ...

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• 11 February

  Deposits are another pain point for capital-hungry Yes Bank

  

  Bloomberg When a former Yes Bank Ltd executive started selling his stake in September, the Indian lender’s top managers watched for any sign that the resulting drop in share price would trigger a rush to withdraw deposits. The stock sales came as customers of a regional lender — Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Ltd — were lining up outside its ...

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• 11 February

  China urges lenders to raise bad loan tolerance

  Bloomberg Local Chinese banking regulators are urging lenders to increase their tolerance for bad loans and lower profit targets as the coronavirus hits at businesses across the country. Over the weekend, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission’s Zhengjiang branch asked banks in the region to be more lenient on bad loans and reduce their profit targets. The local bank watchdog ...

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• 11 February

  UniCredit likely to cut about 6,000 jobs in Italy

  Bloomberg UniCredit SpA expects to cut 6,000 jobs and close 450 branches in Italy as Chief Executive Officer Jean Pierre Mustier sets his three year-efficiency plan in motion. The reductions and closures will take place through 2023, according to a letter sent to unions and seen by Bloomberg News. The Italian redundancies are part of a plan announced in December ...

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• 11 February

  Lebanon weighs IMF help over $1.2b bond payment

  Bloomberg Lebanon needs the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to draft a rescue plan and decide whether to repay its $1.2 billion Eurobond maturing next month, the Annahar newspaper cited one of the country’s longest-serving politicians and a member of the ruling coalition as saying. With the country facing its worst financial crisis in decades after months of ...

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