China’s largest banks signal tough times ahead
Five of China’s largest banks have said the country’s lenders face multiple headwinds this year that include the pandemic, global politics and domestic turmoil in the real estate industry.
Bank of Japan ramps up battle to defend yield cap even as weakening yen raises economic risk
The Bank of Japan kept up its relentless quest to defend a key yield cap by offering to buy unlimited amounts of 10-year government bonds on Tuesday, underscoring its resolve to keep policy ultra-loose and putting downward pressure on the yen.
Russia launches Eurobond rouble buyback offer on looming $2 bln bond payment
Russia has offered to buy back dollar bonds maturing next week in roubles in a move seen by analysts as helping local holders of the $2 billion sovereign issue receive payment, while also easing the country’s hard-currency repayment burden.
Russia should work on rouble payments for oil, grain and metals, Kremlin says
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that demanding rouble payment for exports of oil, grain, fertilisers, coal, metals and other key commodities in addition to natural gas was a good idea and should be worked on.
Factbox: What happens if Russia turns off gas flows to Germany?
Russia’s demand that some buyers pay for its gas in roubles has raised concerns in Germany, which relies on Russian fuel, that the payment dispute could escalate and disrupt supplies.
EU’s Vestager says no antitrust concerns yet about cloud computing
Cloud computing, in which Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) are the biggest players followed by Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google, doesn’t pose competition concerns yet because of Europe’s Gaia-X initiative, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Monday.
EXCLUSIVE ECB ready to set up money exchange for Ukrainian refugees with EU guarantee
The European Central Bank is ready to organise a scheme for millions of Ukrainian refugees to exchange their hryvnia currency into euros if the EU gives the ECB a guarantee that would cover the bank’s risk, an ECB document showed.
Oil prices rise on tight supplies, stable demand
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering some of the previous session’s losses as Kazakhstan’s supplies continued to be disrupted and major producers showed no sign of being in a hurry to boost output significantly.
Cryptoverse: Buoyant bitcoin helps market cruise past $2 trillion
As a bleak first quarter draws to a close, crypto seems to have the wind in its sails. It has pushed through the $2 trillion barrier and is proving surprisingly resilient amid global chaos.
UAE, Saudi say OPEC+ should not play politics
The energy ministers of Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, key members of OPEC+, said on Tuesday the producers’ group should not engage in politics as pressure mounted on them to take action against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
