August, 2018

• 28 August

  Asia’s richest banker may buy rivals after RBI’s rebuff

  

  Bloomberg A rebuff from the regulator may set Asia’s richest banker Uday Kotak on a $17 billion acquisition trail, as he seeks to meet a year-end deadline to reduce his stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. below 20 percent. Buying another financial firm may be the most palatable way for Kotak to pare his holding, following the Reserve Bank of ...

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• 28 August

  Bank of Nova Scotia’s Jarislowsky deal lifts Canada profit to record

  

  Bloomberg Bank of Nova Scotia’s purchase of Jarislowsky Fraser is already paying off. The acquisition of the Montreal-based money manager, along with improved margins and lower provisions, contributed to record Canadian banking profit in the fiscal third quarter, Scotiabank said. Earnings from domestic banking rose 8 percent to C$1.13 billion ($880 million) from a year earlier. The C$950 million purchase ...

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• 28 August

  Singapore ‘dollar’ signals inflation battle

  

  Bloomberg Singapore’s dollar is approaching the upper boundary of its trading band as speculation mounts that the central bank will boost the exchange rate for a second time this year to combat inflation. The currency reached a record high against a basket of major trading partners’ currencies, based on HSBC Holdings Plc’s model of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s managed ...

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• 28 August

  Deutsche Bank Japan head Makoto Kuwahara leaves for Credit Suisse

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG’s Japan chief Makoto Kuwahara will leave the German lender after five years in charge of operations in the country, to join Credit Suisse Group AG. Kuwahara, who is also president of local unit Deutsche Securities Inc., is departing to pursue other interests, Deutsche Bank said in a statement. He will be replaced by Tamio Honma, head ...

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• 28 August

  Bank of Montreal’s US push rewarded with ‘profit’

  

  Bloomberg Bank of Montreal (BMO) set a profit record for its US business, thanks in part to Donald Trump’s tax cuts and lower provisions for bad loans. The lender earned $281 million from its US personal-and-commercial division in the fiscal third quarter, helped by rising revenue, and tax reform gains. Earnings for the US business, which includes Chicago-based BMO Harris ...

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• 28 August

  Europe tries to avoid crisis as US-China trade war grows

  

  Bloomberg In the shadow of an escalating trade war, momentum is picking up to protect the World Trade Organisation from turning irrelevant. The European Union will host trade ministers from the US and Japan next month in Brussels, according to two officials with knowledge of the meeting. The gathering will be part of an effort to address China’s trade practices ...

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• 28 August

  Apollo Global to acquire Aspen for $2.6 billion in insurance expansion

  Bloomberg Apollo Global Management LLC, the investment firm led by Leon Black, agreed to acquire Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. for $2.6 billion, in the latest example of private equity investors expanding their insurance assets. Apollo will pay $42.75 a share for the Hamilton, Bermuda-based insurer, a premium of 6.6 percent to Monday’s closing share price, in an all-cash deal. The ...

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• 28 August

  Toyota invests $500mn in Uber for self-driving tech

  

  Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. is expanding an alliance with Uber Technologies Inc. through a new investment and a plan to get self-driving cars on the road. The Japanese automaker is investing $500 million in Uber, the companies said. The deal values the ride-hailing giant at $72 billion, said a person familiar with the matter. As part of the pact, Toyota ...

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• 28 August

  Netflix appoints Facebook executive Rachel Whetstone

  Bloomberg Netflix Inc. hired Facebook Inc. executive Rachel Whetstone as the company’s new chief communications officer, putting a Silicon Valley veteran in charge of the streaming service’s messaging as it grapples with regulators and competitors in 190 countries. Whetstone has worked in communications at Google, Facebook and Uber, three companies that have faced controversy at home and abroad. She replaces ...

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• 28 August

  Automakers jump as Trump-Mexico deal averts tariff doomsday

  

  Bloomberg Judging from the jump in General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. shares, the market thinks President Donald Trump’s accord with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement will enable US automakers to carry on business as usual. This could be right, with one big caveat: The companies are going to need Canada to join the deal, ...

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