April, 2018

• 14 April

  India’s Axis Bank board deserves thank you

  

  Axis Bank Ltd’s board mustn’t feel even the slightest embarrassment for being so wrong for so long. In fact, it deserves a vote of thanks for helping to create possibly the biggest and juiciest takeover target in the history of Indian banking. Rewind to last July. The Indian lender’s board had just rewarded CEO Shikha Sharma with a fourth term—until ...

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• 14 April

  How portfolios should get through this market volatility

  

  The transition from liquidity-powered markets for risk assets to those influenced a lot more by fundamentals was never likely to be smooth, as it involved changes to drivers of investor behavior and market flows. Yet, despite this year’s unsettling spikes in high-frequency, two-way market moves, the right investment strategy is to “look through” the volatility. Given the events in markets ...

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• 14 April

  European banks step up battle against major new regulations

  

  LONDON / Reuters Tougher rules introduced after the financial crisis have made it harder for banks to support the economy, a European banking lobby said in a study they hope will stem the flow of new regulation. Banks have been forced to hold far more capital since many of them were bailed out by taxpayers during the 2007-09 financial crisis. ...

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• 14 April

  PNB: Internal probe into $2 billion fraud ongoing; more heads could roll

  

  Bloomberg India’s state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) is conducting an internal investigation into an alleged $2 billion fraud and more heads could roll, its chief executive said in an interview. The country’s second-biggest state lender disclosed in February that companies owned by two jewellers defrauded it by raising credit from overseas branches of other Indian banks, using illegal guarantees issued ...

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• 14 April

  Bank of Korea holds rates, cuts inflation outlook

  

  SEOUL / Reuters South Korea’s central bank held interest rates steady, with Governor Lee Ju-yeol taking a cautious stance in the face of high household debt, weak inflation and tightrope-tense trade relations between the United States and China. The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee held its base rate steady at 1.50 percent, in line with forecasts from 18 analysts ...

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• 14 April

  Ireland’s central bank raises economic growth forecasts

  DUBLIN / Reuters Ireland’s central bank raised its forecast for economic growth as domestic activity strengthened and international demand improved, but it said the economy was vulnerable to post-Brexit trade restrictions and changes in European Union tax rules. Ireland’s economy has been the best performing in Europe since 2014 and the central bank sees that momentum continuing, with gross domestic ...

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• 14 April

  Ukraine central bank warns it needs IMF funds

  

  KIEV / Reuters Ukraine’s central bank left its main interest rate at 17 percent, as expected, but warned that an improving outlook for inflation could be undermined if the International Monetary Fund delays in disbursing loans. Over the past six months, the bank has kept monetary policy tight to curb stubbornly high inflation linked to higher food and oil prices ...

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• 14 April

  Italian bank getting back on feet after $10bn bailout

  

  Bloomberg Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena is slowly turning a corner after last year’s 8 billion euro ($10 billion) bailout, its chief executive said, flagging an increase in both lending and client funding. Italy’s fourth-largest lender, laid low by mismanagement and a large bad loan pile, has long been Rome’s biggest banking headache and is now 68 percent ...

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• 14 April

  Emirates to exercise Airbus A380 options ‘sooner rather than later’

  

  HAMBURG / Reuters Emirates will commit to purchasing options for 16 Airbus A380 jets from a previously announced $16 billion order that handed a lifeline to the slow-selling jet, the airline’s president said. The Middle East airline placed a provisional order for 20 of the double-decker superjumbos in January, which it has since finalised, with an option for 16 more. ...

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• 14 April

  Temasek mulls stakes in HNA’s Gategroup, Swissport, other units

  

  Bloomberg Temasek Holdings Pte is studying potential investments in Swissport Group and Gategroup Holding AG, both owned by HNA Group Co., as it considers deals with the indebted Chinese conglomerate, people with knowledge of the matter said. Temasek, which inked a partnership with the Chinese group, is exploring buying stakes in a number of HNA affiliates that are complementary to ...

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