UK wage growth strongest since 2008 as labour market tightens

Bloomberg Britons are enjoying the strongest wage growth since the financial crisis a decade ago as the labour market tightens. Average earnings excluding bonuses continued to increase an annual 3.3 percent in the three months through November and unemployment fell to 4 percent, matching the lowest rate since 1975, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Separate figures showed ...

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Top Brazil coffee roaster eyes South American deals

Bloomberg Brazil’s largest coffee roaster is on the prowl for acquisitions in less-consolidated South American markets. The Tres Coracoes venture is looking to buy coffee-roasting companies in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, its president, Pedro Lima, said in an interview in Sao Paulo. In Brazil, Tres Coracoes accounts for 27 percent of the roasted-coffee market, ahead of Dutch giant ...

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UBS warns of headwinds as clients pull $13bn in assets

Bloomberg UBS Group AG warned that the worst may not be over after clients pulled $13 billion in assets during a market meltdown in the final months of 2018. Increased volatility, rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions are still weighing on investors, which will hit wealth and asset management revenue in the first quarter, the Zurich-based bank said on Tuesday. Withdrawals ...

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Ireland’s Lane in suspense as backing sought for ECB job

Bloomberg Philip Lane has staked his claim to become the European Central Bank’s (ECB) next chief economist — now he must wait to see if he has the field to himself. At a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers, the Irish central-bank governor became the first nominee to replace Peter Praet on the ECB’s Executive Board in June. That puts him ...

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Ex-Credit Suisse banker faces fresh investigation over forgery in Geneva

Bloomberg Geneva prosecutors have opened a fresh investigation into alleged forgery by former Credit Suisse Group AG banker Patrice Lescaudron, seven weeks after his release from prison and just as appeals in the case got underway in Geneva. Swiss prosecutors in the more than three-year-old case are looking into how Lescaudron allegedly faked dozens of bank statements for one of ...

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BofA’s Moynihan sees more US bank mergers

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan predicted another round of consolidation in the US that could lead to the emergence of a new competitor. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender, which controls about 13 percent of the US retail banking market, came together through the merger and acquisition of hundreds of companies, Moynihan said on a panel ...

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Pit stop or peak is the big question for Fed this year

Bloomberg Deciphering the intentions of Federal Reserve officials rarely gets this easy. As one after another preaches patience before their next interest-rate move, a tougher question is emerging about their plans to pause: Is this a pit stop or the peak? After nine rate increases since December 2015, Fed officials have shifted from signalling “gradual” tightening to a stance that ...

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Jet Airways crisis casting shadow on India’s elections

Bloomberg India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode to power five years ago on his business friendly credentials and the promise of generating millions of jobs. Now an airline is on the verge of collapse, bringing Modi’s image under attack just months before national elections. Struggling in a competitive market where basic air fares can get as low as 2 cents, ...

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Drop in airfare to accelerate: EasyJet

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc said a decline in ticket prices is accelerating amid a fare war prompted by overcapacity across the European airline industry. Britain’s biggest low-cost airline said on Tuesday that revenue per seat, a measure of fares, will drop by mid-to-high single digit percentage points in the fiscal second quarter through March, at constant currencies. That’s after a 4.2 ...

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Taco Bell plans to open 40 restaurants in Thailand

Bloomberg US fast-food chain Taco Bell Corp is planning a spiced-up expansion in Thailand as the company grows its global footprint. The firm expects to open 40 restaurants in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy by 2023, Liz Williams, the president of its international division, said in an interview. The first is due to open in Bangkok on January 24 and flavors ...

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