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  Bloomberg Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB said sales growth accelerated as the Swedish retailer reduced the level of markdowns on its garments. Revenue rose 23% excluding currency shifts in the three months through February. Sales amounted to 49.2 billion kronor ($5.1 billion). Analysts expected 49.1 billion. Like other retailers, H&M decided to temporarily pause sales in Russia, its sixth-biggest ...

Bloomberg Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a dramatic plea to the US for more help fending off Russia’s invasion, targeting members of Congress who are ready to provide money and equipment but still unwilling to countenance his biggest ask: A no-fly zone over his country. “Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people,” ...

Bloomberg A proposal for Ukraine to become a neutral country but retain its own armed forces “could be viewed as a certain kind of compromise,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, hinting at possible progress in peace negotiations. Peskov declined to provide details beyond confirming that the idea of Swedish or Austrian-style neutrality is under discussion in the talks now underway ...

  Bloomberg Germany plans additional borrowing of at least 200 billion euros ($220 billion) this year to finance a fund to modernise the military alongside already-planned debt for climate protection and other initiatives. The latest borrowing binge marks the third consecutive year that Germany has breached constitutional debt limits and highlights how the new government is prepared to take a ...

  Bloomberg Adversaries in a Nigerian lawsuit in which a leading presidential candidate is accused of secretly controlling the private company that collects taxes in the state he once ran are discussing an out-of-court settlement. Oladapo Apara, a founder of Alpha Beta Consulting LLP, alleges that Bola Tinubu concealed his control of the firm. In the early 2000s, as governor ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) aims to double its underwriting of green bond deals in China over the next two to three years, beefing up its business to capture the fast-growing market, the firm’s China head said in an interview. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank plans to underwrite $50 billion of green and sustainability-linked bonds, equities and loans for ...

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc., the US bank with the largest presence in Russia, will broaden its withdrawal beyond previously announced plans to dispose of consumer operations there. “We have now decided to expand the scope of that exit process to include other lines of business and continue to reduce our remaining operations and exposure,” Edward Skyler, executive vice president of ...

  Bloomberg Nigerian lenders cut the dollar spending limits on local currency cards to free more resources to fund imports after the central bank signalled it will stop foreign-exchange sales to banks. United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) stopped the use of naira card to withdraw dollars from automated teller machines outside the country or make international payments at point ...

  Bloomberg The Swedish central bank will probably have to raise interest rates earlier than its previous timeline of 2024, Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said, signalling a shift on removing stimulus after lagging behind most of its developed peers. “Right now inflation is far too high,” Ingves said in an interview with Swedish Radio, adding the central bank has to ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s top lenders, including the banking unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., are pulling their Japanese staff out of Russia due to safety concerns following its invasion of Ukraine. The banking units of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are also moving Japanese staff out of the country, according to representatives for the ...