Most British businesses have made preparations for the end of the Brexit transition period, cabinet office minister Michael Gove said on Monday, adding it was important they were ready for changes to trading and regulatory rules. Asked if businesses were ready for the end of the transition period on Dec. 31, when Britain finally leaves […]
Business
Big tech bets and cryptocurrencies power 2020’s top U.S. funds
Outsized bets on large U.S. technology companies and emerging cryptocurrencies fueled the year’s top-performing U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded funds as the coronavirus pandemic upended global markets, while funds that bet on oil and gas companies fell nearly 100%, according to data from fund-tracker Morningstar. The year was a challenge like few others for the […]
SABIC seeks Clariant chairman’s ouster in post-Christmas coup
Clariant’s biggest shareholder, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, on Monday re-ignited a battle over the Swiss chemicals maker’s future by seeking a 12-year board member term limit that would force Chairman Hariolf Kottmann’s ouster. SABIC, which owns 31.5% of Clariant, asked for the new term limit, including for the chairperson, to be added to the agenda […]
China pushes Ant Group overhaul in latest crackdown on Ma
China’s central bank disclosed on Sunday it had asked the country’s payments giant Ant Group Co Ltd to shake up its lending and other consumer finance operations, the latest blow to its billionaire founder and controlling shareholder Jack Ma. The announcement came more than a month after Chinese regulators abruptly suspended Ant’s blockbuster $37 billion […]
Chinese banks to feel fund-raising pain as investors fear bad loans
Chinese banks are expected to face headwinds raising funds next year as profit-conscious investors cling to the sidelines, expecting a wave of bad loans to hammer the sector and erode already slimming margins. The sector is ending its worst annual performance in years after putting aside record provisions due to COVID-19 while Beijing urged banks […]
Brexit offers Britain chance to do financial services differently
Brexit offers Britain a chance to do things differently in financial services, finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday, but it will co-operate with the European Union on an approach to the sector despite little detail on the topic in its trade deal. From Jan. 1, British-based financial services groups lose automatic access to the […]
BMW aims for 20% of its vehicles to be electric by 2023
German luxury carmaker BMW is planning to step up its production of electric vehicles, Chief Executive Oliver Zipse told German daily Augsburger Allgemeine. “We are significantly increasing the number of electric vehicles. Between 2021 and 2023, we will build a quarter of a million more electric cars than originally planned”, Zipse told the newspaper’s Monday […]