Bloomberg North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the door remains shut for talks with the US on winding down its atomic arsenal, setting the stage for renewed provocations by pledging to respond to what it saw as threats from Washington. “The DPRK is not interested in any contact or dialogue with the US as long as it pursues its hostile policy ...
Read More »UK, Australian leaders to unveil nuclear submarine plan at White House
Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, are planning to go to Washington DC in mid-March potentially to unveil a proposal for Australia’s nuclear submarine project, according to a person familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden will host the British and Australian leaders, and the allies are expected to announce their preferred design ...
Read More »US wins expanded access to Philippine bases amid China row
Bloomberg The US secured access to more Philippine military bases, clearing the way for a greater American presence in the Asia-Pacific region as tensions with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea persist. The announcement Thursday of a plan to designate four new locations in “strategic areas†where the US will have expanded access didn’t mention China. Instead, it ...
Read More »Japan urges regional banks to raise wages as inflation jumps
Bloomberg Japan’s financial regulator is urging regional banks to raise wages for employees, people familiar with the matter said, responding to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s call for higher pay with inflation hitting its highest level since 1981. Officials at the nation’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) are telling regional banks — which number around 100 — that it’s important to ...
Read More »Credit Suisse weighs splitting China team
Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is weighing a plan to carve up its investment bank in China by retaining a domestic unit and shifting the overseas operation to the new CS First Boston division. The securities and wealth businesses in mainland China is likely to be kept under the Swiss lender, while Hong Kong staff focusing on offshore deals ...
Read More »Largest Indian lender SBI has $2.6 billion of loans to Adani
Bloomberg State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest financier, has given loans of as much as $2.6 billion to companies in the Adani conglomerate, or about half of what is allowed under the rules, according to a person familiar with the matter. SBI’s exposure includes $200 million from its overseas units, the person said, asking not to be ...
Read More »South Africa’s digital bank secures $35m funding, eyes SME banking
Bloomberg Lulalend will unveil South Africa’s newest digital bank, Lula, by March after it secured $35 million to expand its business. Lulalend, a startup founded in 2014, will partner with Nigerian lender Access Bank to establish Lula. The neobank will offer a bespoke suite of products that address the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in managing their ...
Read More »Barclays, Deutsche set to top European bond trading surge
Bloomberg For the fifth straight quarter, European banks are set to match or beat Wall Street rivals after a debt trading surge last year saw revenues surge by almost 30%. Six of the region’s top investment banks — led by Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank AG — are expected to show an average 29% increase in bond and currency ...
Read More »Zopa bank raises $92m to accelerate growth in 2023
Bloomberg Zopa Ltd. has completed a funding round of £75 million ($92 million) and is on the lookout for deals as early as this quarter. The raise from existing investors “cements†the UK fintech’s status as a unicorn with a valuation of $1 billion, the bank said on Thursday. Zopa, backed by investors including Softbank’s Vision Fund and Northzone, ...
Read More »Adani crisis deepens as stock rout hits $108bn, bonds sink
Bloomberg Gautam Adani’s businesses have lost $108 billion in a week, one of the biggest wipeouts in India’s history, after an explosive report by short-seller Hindenburg Research forced him to pull a stock sale at the 11th hour and led some lenders to reject his securities as collateral for client trades. Adani, who last year became the world’s second-richest ...
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