South Africa government defends airline’s bailout

Bloomberg South Africa’s National Treasury has defended a controversial 10.5 billion rand ($641 million) lifeline for its bankrupt national airline, saying that setting it on the path to recovery will entice private investors. “Government is not going to want to hold on to South African Airways (SAA) at all costs,” Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane said in an interview after the ...

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Berlin’s $7b airport finally opens in depths of a crisis

Bloomberg Berlin’s new airport finally opened its doors, welcoming passengers after an eight-year delay just as fallout from the coronavirus hammers travel demand. Planes from Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Easyjet Plc landed at Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport — known by its airport code BER — shortly after 2 pm on October 31 to inaugurate the hub. Regular departures started ...

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Ocado raises profit target over demand

Bloomberg Ocado Group Plc raised its profit forecast as the pandemic boosts demand for online groceries, and agreed to buy two robotics companies for about $287 million. The company said it expects full-year earnings to exceed $77 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. The previous target was for Ebitda of more than 40 million pounds. Ocado said its joint ...

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Colombia central bank holds rates as it looks for new chief

Bloomberg Colombia became the latest emerging market to end a series of interest rate cuts, joining peers from Brazil to South Africa as it recovers from the pandemic. After the decision, the central bank said that Governor Juan Jose Echavarria will retire early next year. The bank left its key rate unchanged at a record low of 1.75%, in line ...

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ICICI Bank profit rises on interest income amid virus

Bloomberg ICICI Bank Ltd. posted a record quarterly profit as it set aside a lower amount of funds for potential bad loans even as the coronavirus pandemic constrains growth in financial sector. Net income at India’s second-largest private lender rose to 42.51 billion rupees ($570 million) in quarter ended Sept. 30 from 6.55 billion rupees a year earlier. That was ...

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Fed not expected to ramp up bond buying this year or next

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve won’t increase the pace of its asset purchases this year or next, and wouldn’t meaningfully boost the US economy even if it did so, according to most economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Many Fed watchers are eager for more guidance on the future of the central bank’s balance-sheet policy, but aren’t expecting any new clues when the ...

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Deutsche Bank boosts securities unit outlook

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG signalled the trading boom that helped it beat Wall Street rivals will continue through the end of the year, boosting investment banking revenue and compensating for headwinds at its lending businesses. Income from trading fixed-income securities and currencies rises 47%, beating all but one of the large investment banks so far and snapping a long streak ...

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BOE to combat new lockdown pain with fresh stimulus aid

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) looks certain to unleash another burst of monetary stimulus this week as new coronavirus lockdowns shock the economy and put yet more pressure on government finances. Any doubt that Governor Andrew Bailey and his colleagues might delay boosting their bond-buying program when they meet this week was effectively erased with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ...

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Goldman asks most London staff to work from home

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has informed staff that only ‘in-office essential’ employees can work from its London office after Boris Johnson announced a new nationwide lockdown to arrest an accelerating second wave of the virus. Goldman has told the vast majority of its more than 5,000 London employees to work from home from November 5, with only essential workers ...

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Futures advance while oil declines to five-month low

Bloomberg US futures climbed along with most European stocks in a volatile start to a crucial week spanning the US election and a Federal Reserve policy meeting. The picture was mixed across global markets with crude prices and commodity currencies weakening on concern that tougher lockdowns will dent economic growth. In European equities, companies that benefit from people staying at ...

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