March, 2018

• 14 March

  Rupee woes mount as Indian central bank bans import-finance tool

  

  Bloomberg Traders can add one more reason to sell the Indian rupee. Stung by a $2 billion bank fraud, the Reserve Bank of India banned a key import finance tool, a move that may push up short-term dollar demand. The central bank barred lenders from issuing guarantees in the form of letters of undertaking to overseas banks as it clamped ...

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• 14 March

  G20 leaders call for crypto-asset monitoring

  

  Bloomberg The world’s financial leaders will call on international standard-setting bodies on March 20 for stronger monitoring of crypto-assets and to assess the need for a multilateral response as such assets could at some point threaten financial stability. The call appears in a draft communique prepared for the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the world’s 20 ...

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• 14 March

  Fed orders tightening of ICBC’s money-laundering safeguards

  

  Bloomberg Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Ltd., the world’s biggest lender, has been ordered by the Federal Reserve to bolster its protections against money laundering. The Fed found “significant deficiencies” in safeguards at the Chinese bank’s New York branch, the US regulator said in an enforcement order. The company agreed to submit plans to fix its compliance programs within ...

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• 14 March

  Inflation misses across the world fuel central bank debates

  

  Bloomberg With so many central banks failing to hit their inflation targets, some are considering changes to the tool kits they use to steer their economies. Norway’s decision to lower its price target is just the latest example, and follows more or less official adjustments in Sweden, Argentina and the euro area. Even in New Zealand, the birthplace of inflation ...

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• 14 March

  Cathay Pacific revamp takes airline closer to profit revival

  

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is finally seeing some respite from its earnings woes. Asia’s biggest international carrier reported a surprise profit in the second half of 2017, with a pick-up in cargo and premium-travel demand helping narrow the full-year net loss to HK$1.26 billion ($161 million). That’s well below analysts’ expectations for a loss of HK$2.26 billion, based on ...

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• 14 March

  United Airlines studying ‘premium economy’ for domestic markets

  

  Bloomberg United Continental Holdings Inc. is considering whether to add an upgraded economy section to US flights—a feature typically reserved for overseas markets. The Chicago-based carrier for months has been readying a new “Premium Plus” section with bigger seats and improved dining options. While the company previously said it would add the class to international routes, it’s now considering it ...

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• 14 March

  Inditex faces skepticism in online retail war

  

  Bloomberg The owner of the Zara clothing chain is facing skepticism among investors that it can keep up with the likes of Amazon.com Inc. in online retail. While Inditex SA’s e-commerce revenue surged 41 percent last fiscal year and its websites are attracting more than 10 million visits a day, total sales grew at the weakest pace in three years ...

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• 14 March

  Run of deadly air crashes shatters calm of uneventful 2017

  

  Bloomberg Three deadly air crashes that have killed 170 passengers in the past 4 1/2 weeks may indicate that 2017, the safest-ever year for aviation, represented a statistical blip. A total of five fare-paying customers lost their lives in just two crashes on planes of 14 seats or more in the whole of 2017, and there were no passenger fatalities ...

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• 13 March

  Abu Dhabi banks’ total earnings hit AED30.83bn

  ABU DHABI / WAM The total earnings of commercial and Islamic banks in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi surged to AED30.83 billion in 2017, according to figures released by the Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi. The total earnings of commercial banks headquartered in the capital reached AED25.53 billion by the end of 2017, accounting for 82.8 percent of the total earnings accrued, ...

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• 13 March

  Khalifa Fund to strengthen, promote SME sector in UAE

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) hosted a forum on ‘Strategic Alignments – Connections 2018’ to promote domestic Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and support their growth, and implement innovative plans to help foster an entrepreneurial spirit in the country. The forum brought together top-level officials from federal and local entities within the legislation and banking ...

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