FINANCE & BANKING

The California-based SVB bank, which was closed by US authorities on Friday, manages the money of some of the UK's most promising businesses.

SVB's demise a sign of worry, but limited contagion risk: analysts

European bank shares tumbled on Friday in the wake of a dramatic sell-off in U.S. lenders as concern spread that the sector will be vulnerable to the rising cost of money.

Crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital Corp said on Wednesday it planned to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate after it was hit with losses following the dramatic collapse of crypto exchange FTX, sending its shares down 35% in after-hours trade.

Britain's revamped financial market rules will largely be aligned with U.S.

Markets sank Wednesday, the dollar held big gains and oil struggled to recover from hefty losses after Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell opened the door to a quicker pace of interest rate hikes as officials battle to tame inflation.

The Bank of Canada is expected to keep rates on hold on Wednesday, becoming the first of the world's major central banks to suspend their tightening campaign, after economic growth stalled in the fourth quarter of last year.

In Britain, gender inequality was exacerbated by a "childcare affordability crisis" and the "low take up by fathers of shared parental leave", the report said.

Fraud reports increased by 6.5 per cent year-on-year overall, with online shopping and auctions fraud seeing the biggest increase.

The Bank of England will decide by year end if tougher disclosure rules are needed for banks after the near meltdown in pension funds last September highlighted weaknesses in quantifying risks, it said on Tuesday.

Federal appellate court judges are set to hear arguments on Tuesday in Grayscale Investments' case against the U.S.

Australia's central bank raised its cash rate to the highest in more than a decade on Tuesday, but suggested it might be nearly done tightening as consumer spending was slowing and there was less risk of a wages-driven inflation blow-out.

Stock market investors are calling time on the idea that the Federal Reserve, and other major central banks, have their back.

Britain's proposals to loosen capital rules for insurers will increase the chances of an insurance company failing by 20% in a given year, the Bank of England has told lawmakers, reiterating its caution over the government's plan.

The main U.S. stock indexes were on track for a mixed open on Tuesday as Treasury yields resumed their gains on bets of more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

U.S. payment giants Visa and Mastercard are slamming the brakes on plans to forge new partnerships with crypto firms after a string of high-profile collapses shook faith in the industry, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The pound held steady on Tuesday, retaining gains overnight after Britain struck a new trade deal with the European Union, which brightened the outlook for the post-Brexit UK economy and signalled improved relations between London and the bloc.

G20 finance chiefs have been unable to reach a consensus on describing the war in Ukraine and are likely to end a meeting in India on Saturday.

World shares limped toward their biggest weekly fall of the year on Friday, though investors took heart from a brief dip in government bond yields as the incoming Bank of Japan chief ruled out an early end to its super-easy monetary policy.

Investors such as pension funds and family offices plan to increase allocations to credit and global macro hedge funds in 2023, although their overall appetite for hedge funds is weaker this year, a survey by Barclays PLC showed on Friday.

British banks face a tougher battle for mortgage customers and business borrowers in 2023, as rising costs and deposit rates paid to long-suffering savers threaten to outpace flatlining profit margins, senior industry executives and analysts said.

The World Bank said Wednesday it hopes to find a successor by early May to chief David Malpass, who has announced he will step down nearly a year early.

The dollar and sterling were buoyant on Wednesday, after a surprise rebound in business activity in the United States and the UK raised the likelihood that their respective central banks would have further to go in raising interest rates.

United Kingdom inflation eased to 10.1% in January 2023 and eased the pressure on the Bank of England. Many retailers, however, need to maintain higher product prices.

Tough capital rules for banks holding cryptoassets must be fast-tracked in the European Union's pending banking law if Europe wants to avoid missing a globally-agreed deadline, the bloc's executive has said.

British bank NatWest on Friday posted a jump in annual profits as it trimmed costs and the sector benefitted from rising interest rates.

British inflation fell by more than expected in January and there were signs of cooling price pressure in parts of the economy watched closely by the Bank of England, adding to signs that further hefty interest rate hikes are unlikely.

The World Bank is particularly concerned in the Middle East and North Africa region about Lebanon and Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, Egypt and Jordan, the bank's vice president for MENA said on Tuesday.

The dollar was broadly lower on Tuesday ahead of a keenly anticipated inflation report, while the yen strengthened as surprise pick Kazuo Ueda was nominated to be the next governor of Bank of Japan.