Bloomberg Some borrowers with interest-only mortgages may lose their homes as a result of shortfalls in repayment plans, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority warned. The FCA has identified three peaks in interest-only mortgage repayments, the first of which is currently underway. Defaults are less likely in the present wave of maturities because the homeowners are approaching retirement and have higher …
Read More »Once-hot Toronto housing hits deep freeze as lending rules bite
Bloomberg The only thing that might be colder than Toronto in January is the Canadian city’s housing market. While the bleak mid-winter is never the best time to sell a home in Canada, a string of open houses in the country’s largest city were chillingly empty on a recent afternoon. Tougher mortgage rules went into effect on January 1 just …
Read More »China’s risk crackdown gives giant bank stocks a boost
Bloomberg China’s top banks — the biggest in the world — have typically traded below the value of their assets on concern over rising bad debt and falling profitability. That’s starting to change, and quickly. A recent surge in the Hong Kong-traded shares of China’s Big Four state banks lifted their average price-to-book value ratio to 1. That’s the highest …
Read More »Lloyds set to merge consumer finance unit earnings with retail
Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc is changing the way it reports some of its key numbers ahead of its annual results next month. The earnings of the consumer finance unit, whose assets increased by 12 percent to 39.2 billion pounds ($54.8 billion) in 2016, will be merged with the retail division, according to a memo sent to investors and seen …
Read More »Mauritius inflation contained for now
Bloomberg Inflation expectations in Mauritius are contained for now, leaving room for the central bank to stick to its accommodative stance to support economic growth, Governor Yandraduth Googoolye said as he prepares to chair his first Monetary Policy Committee meeting next month. The pick-up in the average rate of price growth in the 12 months through December was due to …
Read More »Australian bank sued for ‘rate rigging’
Bloomberg Commonwealth Bank of Australia is being sued by the nation’s securities regulator for allegedly rigging the benchmark bank-bill swap rate, adding to legal problems for the nation’s largest lender. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission said it began legal proceedings on Tuesday in the Federal Court in Melbourne, alleging the bank engaged in “unconscionable conduct and market manipulation†between …
Read More »Morocco currency float up to 15yrs away as reforms vital
Bloomberg Morocco may need anything from five to 15 years to fully float the dirham, with further currency liberalisation dependent on other reforms including strengthening the country’s export base and reducing the current-account deficit, central bank Governor Abdellatif Jouahri said. Policymakers finally eased their grip on the dirham on January 15, allowing the currency to trade 2.5 percent above or …
Read More »Keurig to take control of Dr Pepper in $18.7bn deal
Bloomberg JAB Holding Co.’s audacious effort to build a food-and-beverage empire, which already includes Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Caribou Coffee, has taken a surprise turn into soft drinks. The investment firm’s Keurig Green Mountain Inc. business, known for its single-serve coffee brewers, agreed to take control of Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. The deal will pay $18.7 billion in cash …
Read More »Ryanair reaches first union deal with pilots
Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc recognised the union representing its UK pilots, reaching its first formal labour agreement in the discount airline’s history. The 600 UK pilots directly employed by the carrier will be represented by the British Airlines’ Pilots Association, Ryanair said in a statement. All 15 of its bases in the market—the company’s biggest—have also voted to accept management’s …
Read More »China Eastern cancels flights over Taiwan row
Bloomberg China Eastern Airlines Corp. and Xiamen Airlines Co. cancelled 176 additional flights to Taiwan after failing to gain approval from the island’s authorities amid an escalating dispute between the two governments. The flights are a newest sticking point between China and Taiwan, which Beijing considers a province to be reunited with the mainland. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, whose ruling …
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