It’s a bad day to be a UK press baron. Fleet Street’s finest had lined up to endorse Theresa May ahead of an election that backfired badly for her. Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid Sun, credited for swinging elections in the past, had called on Brits to keep Jeremy Corbyn’s “sinister Marxist gang†from power. Given the result could also jeopardize his ...
Read More »How to fix failed banks, and how not to
Three recent bank rescues in Europe could form the backbone of a textbook on how to deal with large, failing banks — and how not to. These are the uncompromising bail-in of Banco Popular in Spain, the controversial rescue of Monte dei Paschi di Siena in Italy and the much-praised but in fact horribly botched nationalization of Ukraine’s largest bank, ...
Read More »European stocks gain as Technology rout fades
Bloomberg Technology companies led a bounce in European stocks as a global selloff that started in the sector last week showed signs of abating. The pound managed to advance as Theresa May survived a showdown with rank-and-file lawmakers and sought to prop up her minority government. Almost every industry group in the Stoxx Europe 100 Index traded in the green, ...
Read More »Evergrande bond rally puts lingering leverage worry in focus
Bloomberg A rally in bonds of China’s most-indebted developer has some analysts warning that steps to cut borrowings have yet to bring leverage down to healthy levels. China Evergrande Group said that it has agreed to sell its stake in China Vanke Co. for 29.2 billion yuan ($4.3 billion), freeing up cash as it cuts its debt load. That came ...
Read More »Central banks in Asia to rebuild $6trn defense as Fed hike looms
Bloomberg Asia’s central banks are stacking the sandbags. Foreign-exchange reserves are being rebuilt as monetary authorities brace for the Federal Reserve’s third rate hike in six months. While the expected move has been well telegraphed, prolonged periods of Fed tightening can cause jitters for emerging markets. Asia was slammed in 2013 when then-Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s hint of an end ...
Read More »Credit Agricole plans part sale of Saudi Fransi stake
Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA is considering selling part of its 31 percent stake in Saudi Arabian lender Banque Saudi Fransi, reversing earlier plans to completely exit the business, according to people familiar with the matter. France’s second-largest lender has discussed the partial sale of its Saudi operations with the country’s central bank, and has started talking to potential buyers, the ...
Read More »Deutsche offers ex-managers portion of their bonuses
Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG Chairman Paul Achleitner has offered a good news-bad news deal to former management board members: We’ll pay the unvested portion of your bonuses if you give up claims to payments withheld by the lender. The proposal is meeting resistance from some ex-board members with a larger share of the suspended bonus payments, said three people with ...
Read More »NBK makes takeover bid for state-owned rival
Bloomberg Kenya’s biggest bank by assets offered to buy a state-owned lender as the industry struggles to cope with interest-rate caps that have cut profits and curbed lending. KCB Group Ltd. provided an expression of interest to the Treasury to acquire a controlling stake in National Bank of Kenya Ltd., Judith Odhiambo, a spokeswoman for Nairobi-based KCB, said in an ...
Read More »Nigeria bank divide widens as cash shortage chokes lenders
Bloomberg The divide between the haves and the have-nots among Nigerian banks is widening. The country’s biggest lender is so flush with cash it plans to repay $400 million of bonds when they become due in November 2018 rather than raising additional debt, while the next two largest banks sold international bonds for the first time since 2014. At the ...
Read More »Jet.com to phase out all Costco items post Wal-Mart acquisition
Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s acquisition of Jet.com last year turbocharged its online business, but one element of Jet’s success hasn’t sat well at the parent company. Since its 2015 founding, Jet has carried a broad array of products under the Kirkland Signature brand, which is owned by Wal-Mart rival Costco Wholesale Corp. A recent search for ‘Kirkland Signature’ on Jet’s ...
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