June, 2019

• 30 June

  ADFD grants AED1.8m to support biological research

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), earmarked a grant worth AED1.8 million ($500,000) to support the North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU), in Yakutsk, Russia. Aiming to facilitate scientific research and molecular genetic analysis in the remains of ancient animals, the financial contribution has been allocated to acquire 36 types of industry-specific laboratory equipment for the university. This grant aims ...

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• 30 June

  Fed unleashes higher payouts for banks

  

  Bloomberg Titans of the US banking industry said they will pump out more cash to shareholders after all 18 lenders passed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests. The results were a particular win for Deutsche Bank AG after it repeatedly failed past exams. A dozen of the nation’s largest lenders said they will boost payouts through dividends and stock buybacks ...

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• 30 June

  RBI spells out concerns over India’s spreading shadow banking crisis

  

  Bloomberg India’s financial regulator has spelled out its concerns about the implications of the country’s spreading shadow banking crisis, saying any failure among the largest of the non-bank finance firms could cause losses comparable to a collapse among the major banks. In its latest Financial Stability Report released, the Reserve Bank of India said the potential losses in the event ...

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• 30 June

  Australia banks to rein in uninvited credit, charges

  

  Bloomberg Australian lenders including Commonwealth Bank of Australia pledged to rein in uninvited offers of credit and commission charges after an inquiry that unearthed a string of scandals in the financial sector. The new code of practice, in force from July 1, is designed to increase customer protection and introduces new penalties for breaches, the Australian Banking Association said in ...

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• 30 June

  JPMorgan eyes cash services boost with first Asia fintech investment

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s first investment in an Asian financial technology firm is a key plank in the US bank’s strategy to boost its cash management services in fast-growing regional markets such as India and China, according to a senior regional executive. Last month, JPMorgan announced it was taking a stake in Global PayEx, a Mumbai-based fintech firm which ...

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• 30 June

  Brazil cuts 2019 growth forecast by more than half

  

  Bloomberg Brazil’s central bank cut its 2019 growth forecast by more than half, blaming factors including falling confidence, a weaker than expected first quarter and a global slowdown. Latin America’s largest economy will expand 0.8 percent this year, down from previous estimate of 2 percent in March, according to the central bank’s quarterly inflation report published. Policy makers are more ...

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• 30 June

  ‘Facebook is news source for 21% of adults in Philippines’

  

  Bloomberg At least a fifth of adults in the Philippines, or about 13.9 million people, use Facebook daily for news, according to a poll conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS). As many as 40.4 million individuals, or 60 percent, still get their news through television, about 15 percent through radio and only 2 percent read newspapers daily, according to the ...

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• 30 June

  India’s account gap narrows to lowest

  Bloomberg India’s current-account deficit narrowed last quarter as a slowdown in the economy sapped imports. The shortfall was $4.6 billion in the January-March period, the RBI said. That compares with a median $6.1 billion deficit estimated in a survey. The gap is smaller than the previous quarter’s $17.7 billion, or 2.7 percent of GDP. It compares with a deficit of ...

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• 30 June

  Huawei lifeline shows Trump means business

  

  Bloomberg In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has drawn the ire of security hawks in Congress for suggesting he could bargain away his blacklisting of Huawei Technologies Co to secure a trade deal with China. He took a big step towards doing just that, signalling that he cares more about selling US products to China than embarking on a clash ...

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• 30 June

  India, US to start trade discussions after Trump-Modi meeting at G-20

  

  Bloomberg India and the US plan to initiate ministerial discussions to sort out trade differences after President Donald Trump met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Group of 20 summit in Japan. The meeting — held after Trump called on India to withdraw an “unacceptable” increase in tariffs on US goods — sought to “clear the air and to set ...

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