Tag: jun 8 2021

China’s central bank has raised the proportion of foreign currency commercial banks must hold from 5 percent to 7 percent in an attempt to slow the rising value of the renminbi, China’s currency, which edged up last week to its highest value against the dollar in three years. The renminbi has gained 11 percent on...

The private equity firms Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, and Hellman & Friedman have agreed to pay $34 billion to take control of the family-owned Medline company, one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of medical supplies. The deal, which Medline announced on 5 June, is the largest buyout involving a cadre of private equity firms since...

As part of HSBC’s promise to “move the heart of the business to Asia,” the London-based bank has split the management of its Asian division. Hong Kong native David Liao, who manages HSBC’s Asia-Pacific banking operations and previously ran the bank’s efforts in China, will now devote himself to building business on the mainland. HSBC’s...

Workspace, a London-based company renting out flexible office and light industrial spaces, saw its first-quarter rents fall 13 percent during Britain’s 2021 health and financial crisis, the company reported. The loss follows a year in which Workspace lost 10 percent of its tenants and 10 percent from its property values, which slipped to £2.3 billion....

Gambling that India’s disastrous second COVID surge has passed, investors have poured cash into the country’s stock market, lifting the Nifty 50 Index of India’s 50 biggest public companies 9 percent from its low six weeks ago. The rupee has gained 4 percent against the dollar during the same time. Investors apparently see little to...

Finance ministers of the G7 group of nations have reached an agreement that they should levy a minimum tax of at least 15 percent on multinational corporations that evade taxes by playing countries’ tax loopholes against each other. The group plans to finalize details of the agreement in a July meeting of the G20 nations,...

Russia’s $186-billion sovereign wealth fund will reduce its dollar holdings from $40 billion to zero this month, finance minister Anton Siluanov announced last week at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. The fund also will cut its stash of British pounds from 10 percent of the fund’s portfolio to 5 percent, and 40 percent...

Food prices around the globe increased by 40 percent in May, which raises concern for poor countries and their access to staple goods. The Financial Times, citing the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (UNFAO) monthly food price index, reported that prices saw their largest increase since 2011. On 9 February, the Trends...

An executive at American Airlines told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month that 47 of the airline’s 50 largest business accounts said they plan to start flying again after over a year of lockdowns and flight advisories. The report said some investment bankers have been traveling to see clients, and sales representatives have been trying to...