January, 2017

• 19 January

  Hong Kong housing curbs may give S’pore property relief

  

    Bloomberg Singapore’s three-year decline in home prices could see relief from an unexpected quarter in 2017: Hong Kong. So says Cushman & Wakefield Inc., which expects the slide in the city-state’s home prices to end this year as foreign investors turned off by Hong Kong’s move to increase the stamp duty for overseas buyers look to Singapore instead. Desmond ...

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• 19 January

  How space could trigger a future economic crisis

  

    A report published in the journal Space Weather this week makes for sobering reading. In four scenarios envisaging the economic impact of a solar storm, the mildest triggers a daily loss to the US economy of $6.2 billion, or 15 percent of daily output; the worst case sees a cost of $41.5 billion, wiping out every dollar the world’s ...

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• 19 January

  Goldman exodus isn’t just about Trump

  

    Goldman Sachs Group Inc. slimmed down in 2016 — and not just because the Trump administration was recruiting. The New York-based bank reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat Wall Street expectations, helped in part by cost-saving measures that included lowering headcount by 500 positions. The decline brought reductions for the year to 2,400, or 7 percent of staff ...

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• 19 January

  The decline and fall of Asia’s airline empires

  

    The Venetian Republic and the British Empire built their economies on ocean trade. Dwindling naval power heralded their decline and fall. It’s a thought that should provoke a shiver of recognition in Hong Kong and Singapore, given the way their airborne fleets are falling victim to a new Great Power struggle. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. will cut jobs and ...

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• 19 January

  Credit Suisse resolves US mortgage probe for $5.3bn

  

    Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG and the Justice Department completed a $5.3 billion agreement to settle a US investigation into the bank’s sales of toxic mortgage debt before the financial crisis. Credit Suisse will pay a $2.5 billion civil penalty and $2.8 billion in consumer relief, to be paid over five years after the settlement, the Justice Department said ...

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• 19 January

  Citigroup trading revenue climbs 31 percent

  

    Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. reported fourth-quarter profit that surpassed analysts’ estimates as trading revenue jumped 31 percent, more than the bank had forecast last month. Net income rose 7.1 percent to $3.57 billion, or $1.14 a share, from $3.34 billion, or $1.02, a year earlier, the New York-based company said Wednesday in a statement. The average estimate of 25 analysts ...

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• 19 January

  SBI head lays out deposit puzzle faced by India’s biggest lender

  

    Bloomberg Analysts scratching their heads over the impact on India’s banks of the country’s move to ban high-value notes have every right to be puzzled, as estimates offered by the chairman of State Bank of India indicate. The bank could retain anything from 15 percent to 40 percent of the deposit boost it received after the government withdrew about ...

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• 19 January

  Saudi’s NCB Q4 net profit up 7.5%

  

    DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) reported a 7.5 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit as the kingdom’s largest lender was boosted by higher income from commission and investments. The results are the strongest in four quarters for the bank, which like other lenders in the kingdom has seen its performance clipped by weaker activity as ...

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• 19 January

  Yes Bank turns CEO into a billionaire as stock climbs

  

    Bloomberg Rana Kapoor, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Yes Bank Ltd, has become a billionaire as shares in the lender jumped 16.4% this month, making it the best-performing stock among India’s banks. The Mumbai-based lender is benefiting from its low bad-loan ratio and robust return on equity, according to Alpesh Mehta, Mumbai-based analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities ...

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• 19 January

  QIB achieves $152mn profit

    DUBAI / Reuters Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the Gulf state’s largest sharia-compliant lender by assets, met analysts’ average forecast as it reported a 2 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, according to reports. It made a net profit of 555 million riyals ($152 million) during the three months to Dec. 31, compared with 544 million riyals in the same ...

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