September, 2019

• 30 September

  BNP Paribas prop-trading arm lost $30m

  

  Bloomberg A BNP Paribas SA division created to make speculative bets for the bank’s own account lost tens of millions of dollars last year as trading revenue slumped amid volatile markets, leading executives to shutter the business. Opera Trading Capital, which ceased trading in January, posted a loss of $30 million for 2018, filings show. Net banking income before operating ...

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• 30 September

  RSA’s Hester, Citi’s Bird on HSBC’s CEO shortlist

  

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s shortlist for its next chief executive officer includes Stephen Bird, Citigroup Inc’s head of global consumer banking, and RSA Insurance Group Plc CEO Stephen Hester, Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper reported. HSBC hired Egon Zehnder to help with the search process, the newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. The report said a key consideration ...

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• 30 September

  Credit Suisse board backs CEO ahead of scandal decision

  

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG’s board is backing CEO TidjaneThiam ahead of a crucial meeting that will determine who takes the blame for a botched spying scandal, according to people familiar with the matter. Recent expressions of support by shareholders for senior executives is swaying the board, which has few obvious successors for Thiam should he be ousted, the people ...

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• 30 September

  Hong Kong flight attendants urge Cathay to explain layoffs

  

  Bloomberg Flight attendants in Hong Kong urged Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd to explain the reasons behind dozens of dismissals, accusing the airline of “political cleansing” amid the unrest that’s ensnared the city’s flagship carrier. In a joint statement, flight-attendant unions from Cathay Pacific and its unit Cathay Dragon accused the airline of monitoring employees’ social-media accounts and obtaining “dubious” information ...

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• 30 September

  Alibaba’s JV with Richemont goes live in China

  

  Bloomberg Richemont and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s luxury joint venture has gone live in China, presenting 130 brands in one location on the Tmall e-commerce site. Tom Ford, Brunello Cucinelli and Jimmy Choo join Richemont brands Cartier, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin on the site. Investors have awaited details on the partnership since the companies announced it about a year ago. ...

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• 30 September

  Boeing’s $2.8bn Awacs jet upgrade slowed

  

  Bloomberg A $2.8 billion Boeing Co upgrade of its Awacs surveillance planes is dogged by delays caused in part by an almost yearlong closing of two classified laboratories developing software for the project, Pentagon agencies disclosed. The two laboratories in Oklahoma City failed to pass Defense Department security certifications from January to December of last year. Boeing builds the aircraft, ...

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• 30 September

  AmEx boosts annual fee on Delta co-brand cards

  

  Bloomberg American Express Co is sweetening rewards and raising the annual fee on many of its co-brand cards with Delta Air Lines Inc after the two renewed their longtime partnership this year. Annual fees on six Delta cards will rise, AmEx said in a statement. Platinum cards for consumers and small businesses will increase to $250 from $195, while Reserve ...

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• 30 September

  Forever 21 files for bankruptcy, adding to retail apocalypse

  

  Bloomberg Forever 21 Inc filed for bankruptcy protection, the latest big fashion merchant who couldn’t cope with high rents and heavy competition as the shift to e-commerce cut a swathe through traditional retailers. Court papers filed in Wilmington, Delaware, show Forever 21 has estimated liabilities on a consolidated basis of between $1 billion and $10 billion. The Chapter 11 filing ...

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• 30 September

  Trade war foils Thai firm’s spree for chemical-buying

  

  Bloomberg India-born billionaire Aloke Lohia’s global acquisition spree for chemical plants was designed to give Thailand-based Indorama Ventures Pcl more pricing power. But Donald Trump’s trade war has spoiled the party and driven its shares to a record slide. Indorama’s operating margin has hovered around 4 percent to 5 percent the past year, the narrowest since late 2015, as a ...

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• 30 September

  Japan Post’s chief pledges to restore trust after scandal

  

  Bloomberg Japan Post Holdings Co’s top executive vowed to restore public confidence in the postal giant, which has been rocked by a scandal over missold insurance. In an interim report, Japan Post said it found about 6,300 cases of insurance sales at post offices that possibly violated the law or company rules. “Customers’ trust has been gravely hurt, and I ...

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