January, 2019

• 8 January

  World Bank president Kim steps down early

  

  Bloomberg Jim Yong Kim abruptly resigned as president of the World Bank more than three years ahead of schedule, potentially sparking an international tussle over who replaces him as the Trump administration questions the development lender’s purpose. Kristalina Georgieva, the bank’s second in command, will take over as interim president on February 1, the Washington-based bank said in a statement. ...

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• 8 January

  New Indian bank plans $11.7bn merger

  

  Bloomberg Bandhan Bank Ltd, India’s newest lender, will combine with mortgage financier Gruh Finance Ltd in a $11.7 billion deal, bringing the bank closer to meeting shareholding rules and helping it accelerate expansion. Investors in Gruh Finance, controlled by Housing Development Finance Corp, India’s biggest mortgage lender, will get 568 shares of Bandhan Bank for every 1,000 they own, according ...

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• 8 January

  Banks face Wall Street pessimism over earnings

  Bloomberg Bank stock downgrades keep piling up as analysts caution about interest rates and credit with fourth-quarter earnings due to kick off next week. Raymond James downgraded 13 banks and lowered earnings estimates for most banks across its coverage. Analysts David Long and Michael Rose expect “abundant” downward revisions to net interest margin “with rates no longer providing such a ...

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• 8 January

  Nigeria softens rules shielding banks from wireless rivals

  

  Bloomberg Nigeria is preparing rules that will allow wireless carriers to transfer cash, softening a previous policy that protected the turf of banks in Africa’s most populous country. The central bank may have realised it can’t rely on lenders alone to achieve its objective of extending services to the 50 million adults still without a bank account in the nation ...

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• 8 January

  GE rallies after Apollo Global mulls bid for jet-leasing unit

  

  Bloomberg General Electric Co jumped as a potential megadeal signalled to investors that the ailing manufacturer has another tool to climb out of its deep hole. Apollo Global Management LLC is working to line up financing to buy GE’s jet-leasing unit, which could be valued at as much as $40 billion, Bloomberg reported after the close of trading on January ...

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• 8 January

  Heathrow plans to add 25,000 flights

  

  Bloomberg London’s Heathrow airport aims to boost capacity even before a new runway opens, employing measures including a rejigging of the way two existing landing strips are used to add 25,000 aircraft movements a year at Europe’s busiest hub. The project, revealed on Tuesday as part of a consultation process on the 16 billion-pound ($20 billion) third runway, may stir ...

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• 8 January

  Sears aims liquidation as its bid fizzles out

  

  Bloomberg Sears Holdings Corp is preparing for the potential that this year will be its last. The storied retailer started laying the groundwork for a liquidation after Chairman Eddie Lampert’s bid to buy several hundred stores out of bankruptcy fell short of bankers’ qualifications, people with knowledge of the matter said. Sears representatives summoned liquidation firms and other advisers to ...

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• 8 January

  Amazon becomes most valuable firm

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc surpassed Microsoft Corp to become the world’s largest public company on Monday, in the latest example of the list of Wall Street’s biggest names being reordered. Shares of the e-commerce company rose 3.4 percent, a rally that gave it a market capitalisation of $797 billion, according to Bloomberg data. While this is down from Amazon’s record market ...

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• 8 January

  Airports fretting over screener absences over ‘shutdown’

  

  Bloomberg With screeners already calling in sick in larger-than-normal numbers, US airports are girding for disruptions next week if the partial government shutdown continues and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers miss their first paycheck. The airport security officers are caught in the political fight in Washington between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over money for a wall along the ...

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• 7 January

  Sheikh Mohammed approves DIFC’s new expansion plan

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said that Dubai is working towards cementing its position as a pivotal economic and commercial hub for the region in line with the fifty-year charter announced by His Highness that aims to ensure Dubai’s sustained prosperity ...

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