Bloomberg Bank of Nova Scotia’s purchase of Jarislowsky Fraser is already paying off. The acquisition of the Montreal-based money manager, along with improved margins and lower provisions, contributed to record Canadian banking profit in the fiscal third quarter, Scotiabank said. Earnings from domestic banking rose 8 percent to C$1.13 billion ($880 million) from a year earlier. The C$950 million purchase ...
Read More »Singapore ‘dollar’ signals inflation battle
Bloomberg Singapore’s dollar is approaching the upper boundary of its trading band as speculation mounts that the central bank will boost the exchange rate for a second time this year to combat inflation. The currency reached a record high against a basket of major trading partners’ currencies, based on HSBC Holdings Plc’s model of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s managed ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank Japan head Makoto Kuwahara leaves for Credit Suisse
Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG’s Japan chief Makoto Kuwahara will leave the German lender after five years in charge of operations in the country, to join Credit Suisse Group AG. Kuwahara, who is also president of local unit Deutsche Securities Inc., is departing to pursue other interests, Deutsche Bank said in a statement. He will be replaced by Tamio Honma, head ...
Read More »Bank of Montreal’s US push rewarded with ‘profit’
Bloomberg Bank of Montreal (BMO) set a profit record for its US business, thanks in part to Donald Trump’s tax cuts and lower provisions for bad loans. The lender earned $281 million from its US personal-and-commercial division in the fiscal third quarter, helped by rising revenue, and tax reform gains. Earnings for the US business, which includes Chicago-based BMO Harris ...
Read More »Europe tries to avoid crisis as US-China trade war grows
Bloomberg In the shadow of an escalating trade war, momentum is picking up to protect the World Trade Organisation from turning irrelevant. The European Union will host trade ministers from the US and Japan next month in Brussels, according to two officials with knowledge of the meeting. The gathering will be part of an effort to address China’s trade practices ...
Read More »Apollo Global to acquire Aspen for $2.6 billion in insurance expansion
Bloomberg Apollo Global Management LLC, the investment firm led by Leon Black, agreed to acquire Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. for $2.6 billion, in the latest example of private equity investors expanding their insurance assets. Apollo will pay $42.75 a share for the Hamilton, Bermuda-based insurer, a premium of 6.6 percent to Monday’s closing share price, in an all-cash deal. The ...
Read More »Toyota invests $500mn in Uber for self-driving tech
Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. is expanding an alliance with Uber Technologies Inc. through a new investment and a plan to get self-driving cars on the road. The Japanese automaker is investing $500 million in Uber, the companies said. The deal values the ride-hailing giant at $72 billion, said a person familiar with the matter. As part of the pact, Toyota ...
Read More »Netflix appoints Facebook executive Rachel Whetstone
Bloomberg Netflix Inc. hired Facebook Inc. executive Rachel Whetstone as the company’s new chief communications officer, putting a Silicon Valley veteran in charge of the streaming service’s messaging as it grapples with regulators and competitors in 190 countries. Whetstone has worked in communications at Google, Facebook and Uber, three companies that have faced controversy at home and abroad. She replaces ...
Read More »Automakers jump as Trump-Mexico deal averts tariff doomsday
Bloomberg Judging from the jump in General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. shares, the market thinks President Donald Trump’s accord with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement will enable US automakers to carry on business as usual. This could be right, with one big caveat: The companies are going to need Canada to join the deal, ...
Read More »Trump’s Mexico trade deal looks like a lemon
A car can look like a fantastic bargain on the lot, only to reveal itself as a lemon when you drive it away. It’s not so different with trade agreements. Take the deal hammered out between the US and Mexico on automotive imports, which the two countries hope to extend to Canada, the third member of the North American Free ...
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