Bloomberg Publication of the UK government’s investigation into pandemic parties in Boris Johnson’s office has slipped to next week as officials debate what details need to be redacted after police opened their own inquiry. Senior civil servant Sue Gray, who was commissioned by Johnson to look at allegations he and his staff broke lockdown rules with various gatherings in ...
Read More »Kim steps up missile barrage with two more test-launches
Bloomberg North Korea fired what were believed to be two short-range ballistic missiles, adding to one of its biggest barrage of tests since Kim Jong-un took power a decade ago. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military “detected two projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles,†fired at around 8 am Thursday from around North Korea’s ...
Read More »Kenya revises law to prop political coalitions ahead of vote
Bloomberg Kenyan lawmakers approved legislation backed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, which will allow the formation of political coalitions without stripping constituent parties of their identities. Deputy President William Ruto and his allies opposed the Political Parties Amendment Bill as it will aid his main rival, Odinga, to set up a formidable alliance made up of ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank plans to boost dividend after 3-year drought
Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG plans to further increase its dividend after resuming payouts following a huge restructuring that saw it exit equities trading and cut thousands of jobs. The decision to pay out 700 million euros ($790 million) through buybacks and dividends is an “important first step†in the bank’s commitment to pay out 5 billion euros ($5.60 billion) ...
Read More »TD hiring 2,000 tech employees in 2022
Bloomberg Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) plans to hire more than 2,000 technology workers this year, more than six times the number added last year, pitting the lender against fintech firms in the war for talent. The hires come as the bank works to become more digitally focused, according to a statement, and follow the 300-plus technology roles added in 2021. ...
Read More »ECB wipes 45% off home prices in harshest bank climate test
Bloomberg European banks have been told to assume that real-estate assets most exposed to flood risk could lose almost half their value, as the sector’s resilience to climate change is stress-tested over the coming months. The European Central Bank (ECB) is factoring in a 45% slump over a single year for property values in areas that are likely to ...
Read More »Wells Fargo sees broad loan growth in 2022
Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co said it expects a key measure of lending to pick up this year, a sign that clients are starting to take on debt again as government stimulus wanes. The bank said net interest income may rise about 8% this year. The firm also reported net income of $5.8 billion, beating analysts’ expectations and the ...
Read More »Hungary set for another rate increase
Bloomberg Hungary will probably raise its base interest rate for an eighth consecutive month after inflation failed to slow in line with the central bank’s forecasts. The National Bank of Hungary will boost the required reserve rate to 2.7% from 2.4%. It may also raise the ceiling on its interest-rate corridor, which is currently at 4.4%. That would make ...
Read More »NatWest to fold three businesses into one in push for growth
Bloomberg NatWest Group Plc is bringing together its commercial, securities and international units into a single franchise, hoping to improve relations with customers. NatWest Markets and RBS International, whose assets are kept separate from the bank’s retail operations under British ring-fencing rules, will become a single unit along with the ring-fenced Commercial arm by July, the London-listed lender said ...
Read More »Bear markets show pain across Asia equities as Fed hikes near
Bloomberg Weeks of fretting over the Federal Reserve’s plan to combat inflation with higher interest rates is coming to fruition as Asian stock markets tumble into the bear markets and technical corrections. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid as much as 2.7% on Thursday, pushing it down more than 17% from its recent high, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell ...
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