Bloomberg The UK government’s push to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda may not deter enough migrants to make the effort cost effective, the Home Office official charged with assessing the plan said. Migrants who cross the English Channel on small boats risk being relocated to the African state with a one-way ticket, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in presenting ...
Read More »Barclays’ ‘opaque’ pension plan deals draw regulatory scrutiny
Bloomberg UK regulators have warned banks against carrying out complex pension plan deals that are structured to delay any hit to capital reserves, a broadside that analysts say could affect Barclays Plc. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said in a statement that lenders should avoid entering into agreements that defer the impact of pension scheme contributions as they could ...
Read More »Wells Fargo announces $210 million initiative to expand racial equity
Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. announced a $210 million effort to expand racial equity in residential lending after a Bloomberg News investigation found the bank approved Black homeowners seeking to refinance mortgages in the pandemic at a far lower rate than White ones. The firm, the biggest mortgage lender among US banks, is committing $150 million beyond its usual ...
Read More »Morgan Stanley, Citi emerge as winners of earnings blitz
Bloomberg Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. shares outperformed their peers on stronger-than-expected results after five of the six largest US banks reported first-quarter earnings this week. Both banks’ shares posted initial advances of at least 3.5% before paring their gains amid a broader market pullback. The move higher was bolstered by big gains from their fixed income and equities ...
Read More »ABN Amro apologises for historical links to slavery
Bloomberg ABN Amro Bank NV has apologized for its historic involvement in slavery, after a report revealed the rise of some of the bank’s predecessors were closely linked to the slave trade. The Dutch lender said its predecessor, Hope & Co., played a “pivotal role†in the international slave trade of the 18th century and was actively involved in ...
Read More »Argentina raises key rate to 47%
Bloomberg Argentina’s central bank raised interest rates for the fourth time this year after inflation data published earlier in the day showed prices increasing at the fastest monthly pace in 20 years. The monetary authority increased its benchmark Leliq rate by 250 basis points to 47%, according to a statement. The rate hike also boosts the effective annual rate, ...
Read More »Ukraine crisis: Big banks to post weaker deal revenue
Bloomberg Wall Street’s dealmaking boom came to an abrupt halt amid the war in Ukraine and a global shift towards rising interest rates, leaving big banks set to post a quarterly slump in investment banking revenue. The record merger-and-acquisition pipelines bank executives touted at the start of 2022 are still on the horizon, but have been put on the ...
Read More »Facebook’s interest in podcasts is fading
Bloomberg Facebook’s interest in podcasts is fading, barely a year after it began. Last April, during a hot market for audio, Facebook launched Live Audio Rooms, short-form stories called Soundbites and podcasts for US users. The company signed deals with creators and sponsored one of the industry’s biggest US conferences: Podcast Movement. Facebook product managers even appeared on the long-time ...
Read More »Honda CEO bets $40 billion to reach goal of going fully electric
Bloomberg When Toshihiro Mibe took over as Honda Motor Co.’s chief executive officer last year, he did so with a bang, promising to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and phase out gasoline-powered car sales by 2040, becoming Japan’s first automaker to say as much. Now, he’s backing that with numbers. Honda will spend 5 trillion yen ($40 billion) on ...
Read More »Ford’s electric F-150 pickup truck to cut carbon pollution
Bloomberg As the top-selling model line in the US for 40 years, Ford Motor Co’s F-Series pickups hold special weight in the auto ecosystem. The lineup, led by the F-150, generates more than $40 billion in annual revenue. Only one other US product—Apple Inc.’s iPhone—tops F-Series sales. Given this, Ford’s decision to electrify the F-150 stands as one of ...
Read More »