June, 2016

• 16 June

  Seoul holds navy drill near disputed border with North

    Seoul / AFP South Korea on Thursday kicked off a live-fire naval exercise near its disputed sea border with North Korea — a move likely to fan already elevated military tensions with Pyongyang. The three-day exercise in the Yellow Sea is aimed at practising responses to simulated incursions by North Korean vessels and aircraft, the South’s navy said in ...

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• 16 June

  China fumes as Obama meets Dalai Lama

  

    Beijing / AFP China criticised US President Barack Obama on Thursday for hosting the Dalai Lama at the White House, despite efforts to avoid irking Beijing by holding the meeting off-camera and out of the public eye. Obama carried out what has become a political rite in Washington, spiriting the exiled Tibetan religious leader into the White House through ...

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• 16 June

  Philippines to resume ‘communist talks’ in July

    Manila / AFP Incoming Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will resume stalled peace talks with communist rebels next month, negotiators said, a step towards ending one of Asia’s longest insurgencies that has killed tens of thousands of people. The long-running talks collapsed in 2013, but Duterte had made a campaign pledge to revive the negotiations aimed at bringing a swift ...

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• 16 June

  Democrats get USA Senate to consider gun control measures

  

    Washington / AFP Senate Democrats claimed a small victory early Thursday, forcing the US upper house to consider legislation to help keep guns out of the hands of terrorism suspects. The move, which could break a years-long logjam on gun control, follows demands for action after the weekend massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida. Democrats ...

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• 16 June

  Brexit blues pressure franc at 2016 high

  

    Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank kept interest rates unchanged, conserving ammunition ahead of a British vote on European Union membership that has the potential to complicate monetary policy-making the world over. The SNB, whose currency is sought by investors at times of crisis, held its deposit rate at minus 0.75 percent, as forecast by economists in a survey. Saying ...

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• 16 June

  Exit from EU would be disaster for UK, says Deutsche Bank

  

    Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG Chairman Paul Achleitner has become the latest global banking leader to warn about the potential fallout if UK voters decide to leave the European Union. A yes vote next week on the so-called Brexit would be an “economic disaster for the UK and a political disaster for the EU,” Achleitner said at a dinner Wednesday ...

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• 16 June

  Morgan to give Airbnb US$1bn debt facility

  

    Bloomberg Airbnb Inc secured a US$1 billion debt facility from some of the largest U.S. banks to help the home-sharing company develop new services and fund growth initiatives, people familiar with the matter said. The debt deal was led by JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp Morgan Stanley also participated, according to the people, ...

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• 16 June

  Government approves merger of 5 associate banks with SBI

  

    Bloomberg State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur and State Bank of Mysore shares surged for a second day as India approved the merger of the lenders with their parent, amid a government push to strengthen the nation’s fragmented banking industry. Bikaner Bank rose 18 percent in Mumbai to a five-month high, while SBM climbed 20 percent to the highest ...

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• 16 June

  Japanese banks support central bank over BOJ’s negative rates

  

    Bloomberg Japan’s main bank lobby hinted that the central bank was right to keep monetary stimulus unchanged, saying that sending negative interest rates even lower would hurt the industry. “The impact on banks would be more severe if negative rates are expanded,” Japanese Bankers Association Chairman Takeshi Kunibe said at a briefing in Tokyo hours after the decision. Japanese ...

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• 16 June

  Stocks slide as central banks fail to reassure; yen, gold climb

  

    BLOOMBERG Stocks slid with commodities after central banks in the U.S and Japan signaled increased concern about the global economic outlook. Gold and bonds rose on haven demand, while the yen climbed to the highest since 2014. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell to a four-month low and U.S. crude headed for its longest losing streak since February. Bond ...

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