September, 2018

• 5 September

  Westpac admits lending breaches, settles for $25 million penalty

  

  Bloomberg Westpac Banking Corp. agreed to pay a A$35 million ($25 million) civil penalty after admitting it breached responsible-lending laws by failing to properly assess whether some customers could afford to repay their mortgages. In a settlement ahead of court, the regulator said in a statement that Westpac’s automated loan approval system had failed to use customers’ actual living expenses ...

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• 5 September

  Russia set for rate hike as ruble revs up inflation

  

  Bloomberg Russia’s central bank is setting the stage for an increase in interest rates as a weakening ruble fans inflation. Just five months after it stopped easing monetary policy, the Bank of Russia raised the prospect of its first hike in borrowing costs since 2014. The country’s latest bout of currency weakness is combining with a worsening outlook for inflation ...

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• 5 September

  Germany dismisses UK demands on banks’ post-Brexit access

  

  Bloomberg The European Union won’t rush to enhance market access for financial firms outside the bloc, a senior German official said, pushing back against key UK government demands in the Brexit negotiations. Expanding EU “equivalence” rules, which can open the single market to non-EU firms, to new areas such as banking is unlikely anytime soon, said Levin Holle, director general ...

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• 5 September

  Norwegian braves Argentina’s meltdown to start $18 flights

  

  Bloomberg Argentina’s peso is slumping and the economy can’t catch a break. Norwegian Air’s mostly shrugging it all off to offer plane tickets starting at $18. The company is betting that a weaker peso will attract foreigners and a recession at home will boost domestic travel, said Ole Christian Melhus, chief executive officer of the Argentine unit, in an interview. ...

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• 5 September

  Zara sets goal to sell clothes everywhere as Amazon encroaches

  

  Bloomberg Spain’s Inditex SA plans to make clothes from its Zara label and other brands available online anywhere in the world within two years, aiming to become one of the first truly global clothiers as Amazon.com Inc. encroaches into fashion. “We want to make our fashion collections available to all our customers, wherever they are in the world, even in ...

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• 5 September

  Kaepernick campaign created $43mn in buzz for Nike

  

  Bloomberg The controversy surrounding Nike Inc.’s new Colin Kaepernick ad can’t be a surprise to the sportswear company. And in spite of the backlash, it’s probably pretty good for the brand. In less than 24 hours since Kaepernick first revealed the spot on Twitter, Nike received more than $43 million worth of media exposure, the vast majority of it neutral ...

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• 5 September

  Kenya to court Ryanair, easyJet to boost ‘tourism’

  

  Bloomberg Kenya plans discussions with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair Holdings and easyJet Plc to begin flying to the East African nation famous for its beaches and safaris, its tourism minister said. Tourism is one of the country’s biggest generators of foreign exchange after remittances and agricultural exports, and earned the nation $1.2 billion last year, according to the Kenya ...

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• 5 September

  Ryanair chairman faces bid to oust him

  

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc’s chairman of more than two decades, US billionaire David Bonderman, is facing increasing opposition to his re-election at the Irish discount carrier’s annual meeting later this month. The ITF and ETF international labor groups and investor-advisory service Glass Lewis are separately lobbying against the reappointment of Bonderman, a long-time ally of Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary ...

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• 4 September

  Stocks gain AED7.5 billion on potential bank merger news

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE stock exchanges gained AED7.5 billion in market cap on Tuesday following reports purporting initial negotiations on potential mergers between Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Al Hilal Bank. The shares of the ADX-listed ADCB and Union National Bank therefore closed high at AED8.00 and AED4.34 respectively, following robust demand by investment agencies ...

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• 4 September

  UAE leads in global halal tourism with $17.6bn

  

  DUBAI / WAM The UAE ranks highest globally in halal tourism spending with an estimated $17.6 billion spent by UAE residents outside the country during 2017, new analysis from Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has revealed. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait ranked second and third, respectively, according to the analysis which was based on recent data from Mastercard and the ...

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