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Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) is urging lenders to do a better job of gauging the risks they face from a potential spike in defaults as the pandemic increasingly hits companies and consumers. The worsening economy has slowed banks’ efforts to reduce existing bad debts and “there is also an embedded level of distress in loan books that is …

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s stock rally is so dependent on mainland capital that the mere suggestion the record inflows will slow has the potential to stir panic in the city’s $7.1 trillion market. Such was the case, when the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) withdrew incremental liquidity and an adviser warned obliquely of asset bubbles. The result was the biggest drop …

Bloomberg If history is a guide, the recent rough ride for Indian stocks will continue after Monday’s budget. The S&P BSE Sensex index has climbed in the month after budget day on only two of the past seven years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, while falling or staying rangebound on other occasions. Risks are compounded in 2021 …

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) increased margin requirements to 100% for wealth-management and self-directed brokerage clients to trade certain stocks, as firms impose limits amid wild price swings sparked by investors on social media. The margin requirements apply to Merrill Lynch wealth-management clients and individual traders using the Merrill Edge platform, according to Bank of America. Margins for stock …

Bloomberg The World Bank has committed $12 billion to African countries to support vaccination programs across a continent that hasn’t been able to keep pace with developed nations’ rollouts. The World Bank money will be in the form of grants or on “highly concessional terms,” said David Malpass, president of the World Bank, in a statement following a virtual meeting …

Bloomberg American oil executives began a pushback against some of President Joe Biden’s climate policies by making the case that fossil fuels from US shale have a lower carbon footprint than imports. Since taking office this month, the Biden administration has made swift moves to pause sales of oil and gas leases on federal land, cancel the Keystone XL pipeline …

Bloomberg Asian and European investors are pouring money into dollar corporate bonds, which have grown more enticing as longer-term US yields have risen and hedging costs have fallen. A European investor can earn about 1.03% on an average US high-grade corporate bond after hedging, or around 0.8 percentage point above euro-denominated counterparts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s one …

Bloomberg More than one-third of the 89 billion pounds ($122 billion) of lending handed out by the UK government to help businesses through the pandemic will never be repaid, according to the National Audit Office. The report, based on government estimates, says 31 billion pounds ($42.51 billion) will need to be written off, highlighting the dire position of many firms …

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) probably won’t cut interest rates below zero in the foreseeable future even as the growth outlook deteriorates. Just one of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipate a move to sub-zero rates for the first time in the BOE’s three-century history. The central bank is due to publish the results of a consultation about how …

Bloomberg China’s central bank is winning the battle against leverage, yanking billions of funds from the financial system and crushing a popular trade in the bond market. The People’s Bank of China drained a net 150 billion yuan ($23 billion) of funds using open-market operations, the largest such amount since October. That adds to its 178 billion yuan withdrawal from …