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  Bloomberg An agent of China “has been engaged in political interference activities” in the UK Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle warned lawmakers in an email seen by Bloomberg. Citing an alert from British security service MI5, Hoyle named Christine Lee and said she has been working for the Chinese Communist Party to engage with members ...

  Bloomberg North Korea hit back at US sanctions in response to recent hypersonic missile tests that raised new security concerns, vowing a “stronger and certain reaction” to Washington’s attempt to halt its weapons programs. The pursuit of the advanced hypersonic missiles system, which are designed to evade existing defenses, is North Korea’s “legitimate right,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said ...

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s office apologized to Queen Elizabeth II following revelations of partying in Downing Street the night before her husband’s funeral, heaping further pressure on the prime minister as his government faces a string of allegations over pandemic rule-breaking. The Daily Telegraph on Friday said that on April 16, 2021, two parties were held in Downing Street to ...

  Bloomberg Several of China’s largest banks have become more selective about funding real estate projects by local government financing vehicles, concerned that some are taking on too much risk after they replaced private developers as key buyers of land. At least five state-run banks have imposed new restrictions this year on loans to weaker local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) ...

  Bloomberg Visa Inc joined its rival Mastercard Inc. in offering central banks a way to test retail applications for digital currencies they might issue. The card payment provider will begin piloting a program this spring with ConsenSys Inc, a blockchain software company, after discussions with roughly 30 central banks about goals related to government-backed digital currencies. Governments across the ...

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and partner organisations said they successfully conducted the second stage of their experiment to process digital currencies within the country’s financial system. During a three-day test in December, five commercial banks — Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG and UBS Group AG — were able to ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s central bank signalled inflation will end 2022 above target while saying a “significantly restrictive” cycle of interest rate hikes will help pull cost of living increases be low 5%. Inflation is converging to target over the relevant time horizon, which includes 2022 and 2023, bank chief Roberto Campos Neto wrote in a letter published on Tuesday. “In ...

  Bloomberg Coinbase Global Inc is acquiring futures exchange FairX in its biggest step yet towards expanding into crypto derivatives. Already registered with US regulators, the firm could give Coinbase the edge it needs in getting a derivatives marketplace up and running. Terms of the deal were not provided. “This is the most important stepping stone for us to help ...

  Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to stand pat on policy, but adjust its view of inflation risks for the first time since 2014 to account for the global price spikes pushing other central banks to rein in stimulus. All 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg see the BOJ keeping its negative interest rate and asset purchases unchanged ...

  Bloomberg A record wave of share repurchases by Hong Kong-listed companies could be a signal that the city’s beaten-down equities are ready for a turnaround after a year of underperforming global peers. Last year, 192 firms bought back a combined $9.2 billion worth of their own shares, the biggest annual tally on record, according to data on announced deals ...