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☆ White House prepares new bank rule proposal after failures - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The White House is preparing to release more of its promised plans to strengthen U.S. bank oversight as soon as this week after Silicon Valley Bank's collapse of earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the preparations. The White House declined to comment. The measures, which are still being hatched, are likely to fall short of broad changes to existing law. The White House is skeptical that such measures can win passage in a closely divided Congress. Instead, they would require implementing by the Fed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

☆ Credit Suisse has violated U.S. tax evasion deal, Senate Committee finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) violated a 2014 plea deal with U.S. authorities by continuing to help ultra-wealthy Americans evade taxes and concealing more than $700 million from the government, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee found on Wednesday. After concluding a two-year investigation into Credit Suisse - which this month agreed to a rescue takeover by rival UBS (UBSG.S) - the committee said it had uncovered "major violations" of the 2014 agreement between the Swiss lender and the U.S. Department of Justice for enabling tax evasion. In an emailed statement, Credit Suisse said it did not tolerate tax evasion and had been cooperating with U.S. authorities. Credit Suisse in 2014 became the largest bank in 20 years to plead guilty to a U.S. criminal charge, agreeing to pay a $2.5 billion fine to authorities for helping Americans evade taxes in a conspiracy that spanned decades. Swiss authorities engineered the rescue of Credit Suisse earlier this month as they scrambled to prevent the lender from collapsing.

☆ Syria port authority shuts all ports due to bad weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Waves crash during high winds in the Syrian port city of Banias, Syria, March 29, 2023. SANA/Handout via REUTERSDAMASCUS, March 29 (Reuters) - Syria's port authority has shut down all the country's sea ports including Tartous due to poor weather and high winds, state media reported on Wednesday. The port of Tartous had initially been exempt from the closure but the country's ports authority later said it was shutting down as conditions worsened. "There are winds and high waves in bursts and we cannot risk opening the ports at this time," Brigadier General Samer Kobrosli, the director general of the authority, told Reuters. The war-ravaged country operates seven sea ports through which it brings in basic needs including food and petroleum products.

☆ White House preparing call for new bank rules - WaPo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The White House is readying plans to push federal banking regulators to impose new rules on midsize banks after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the preparations. The planned recommendations for Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden would push for rules to be reinstated for banks with between $100 billion and $250 billion that were deregulated by Congress and the Federal Reserve during former Republican President Donald Trump's administration, the Post said. Representatives for the White House could not be immediately reached for comment on the reported plans. Potential moves include requiring banks to have higher capital requirements, more safe assets relative to riskier loans, and crisis-ready plans for dissolution as well as more frequent so-called stress tests, the Post reported. Writing by Susan Heavey in Washington; additional reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Top security aide for S.Korea's Yoon offers to resign
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, March 29 (Reuters) - A top security adviser for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday he had offered to step down. His resignation comes ahead of Yoon's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden next month. Media reports said earlier National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han could be replaced over planning issues related to Yoon's visit to Washington. He added that Yoon's upcoming trip to the United States was being well prepared so his successor could take over smoothly. Yoon nominated Cho Tae-yong, ambassador to the United States, as Kim's successor, Yonhap news agency reported following the announcement.

☆ Credit Suisse still helping wealthy dodge U.S. taxes, U.S. Senate Committee finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) is still helping ultra-wealthy Americans evade taxes, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee said on Wednesday following an investigation into the Swiss bank. In an emailed statement, Credit Suisse said it did not tolerate tax evasion and that it had been cooperating with U.S. authorities. "Credit Suisse’s new leadership team has cooperated with the Committee’s inquiry and has supported the work of Senator Wyden, including in respect of suggested policy solutions to help strengthen the financial industry’s ability to detect undisclosed U.S. persons," the bank said. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK watchdog to soften sustainability disclosures for asset managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Wednesday the introduction of new sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR) for asset managers to prevent greenwashing will be pushed back and softened to avoid excluding many funds. The new requirements aim to stop asset managers over-inflating the sustainability credentials of investment funds they sell - so-called greenwashing. The watchdog will also widen the scope products that are labelled as sustainable so fewer funds would be excluded. The FCA said the new rules would clarify that it will not need independent verification of product categorisation to qualify for a sustainability label. There will also be a place for all "in scope" products within the overall package of measures, it said.

☆ Britain eyes shake-up in listing rules to attract more company flotations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Wednesday it will consult on streamlining its company listing rules to help London compete better with New York in company floats. It said it would consult on replacing its twin-track standard and premium company listing regime with a single regime and set of requirements. Britain made some changes to listing rules in 2021 to help attract tech company flotations as part of a wider set of reforms to keep London a globally competitive financial centre after being largely cut off from the European Union by Brexit. The watchdog will propose scrapping requiring companies to have a three-year financial track record as a condition of listing, a challenge for start ups, Rathi said. A more permissive approach to dual class share structures - whereby founders can retain control of a company - would also be proposed.

Companies Binance Labs FollowLONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Investors withdrew $1.6 billion of cryptocurrency from crypto exchange Binance since it was sued by the U.S. CFTC on Monday, blockchain data tracker Nansen said on Wednesday. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance - the world's biggest crypto exchange - along with its CEO and former top compliance executive, alleging that they were operating an "illegal" exchange and a "sham" compliance program. Since the lawsuit, Binance has seen $1.6 billion of overall withdrawals and $852 million in the last 24 hours, Nansen said, in a step up from the average of $385 million per day over the last two weeks. Martin Lee, research analyst at Nansen, said that the outflows were higher than usual, but still not as high as Dec. 13, when investors pulled $3 billion from Binance as they grew nervous about the status of Binance's reserves. Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China plans to improve national blockchain tech standards system by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, March 28 (Reuters) - China plans to improve its blockchain tech standards by 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the country's industry watchdog, said on Tuesday. The country will aim to clarify the top-level design of its blockchain and distributed ledger technology standards system by 2023, before further improving the standards system by 2025, according to a draft guideline on the ministry's website. The MIIT is seeking comment on the draft until April 28. Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China urges Apple to strengthen data security
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters) - China has urged Apple (AAPL.O) to strengthen its data security and personal privacy protection, the country's state planner said in a statement on Tuesday. Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission Zheng Shanjie made the comments when he met Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday, the statement said. Reporting by Ella Cao and Meg Shen, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alibaba to split into six units
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 28 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) said it plans split its business into six main units covering e-commerce, media and the cloud, adding that each of the units will explore fundraising or initial public offerings. STUART COLE, HEAD MACRO ECONOMIST AT EQUITI CAPITAL, LONDON"I am not sure how quickly Alibaba could be broken up. To me, it suggests something that Alibaba has been wanting to do for some time, but has been waiting for the opportunity to do so." With this expectation, investors will be more positive on Alibaba. It may reflect a new round of development for the business and reduce worries of regulatory issues."

☆ Shanghai exchange cancels Syngenta IPO hearing -filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Stock Exchange has cancelled a hearing to review Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta's initial share offering (IPO) plan, a filing posted on the exchange showed. Syngenta, which planned to raise 65 billion yuan ($9.44 billion) in its Shanghai flotation, was bought for $43 billion by ChemChina in 2017 and folded into Sinochem Holdings Corp in 2021. The Shanghai exchange, which planned to conduct the hearing on Wednesday, did not provide a reason for the cancellation. Companies planning IPOs on the exchange need to appear before a panel for a hearing as a requirement for proceeding with their listing. ($1 = 6.8821 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Meg Shen and Twinnie Siu; editing by Jason Neely, Jane Merriman and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) and Abu Dhabi's state oil giant on Tuesday offered to acquire 50% of Israeli offshore natural gas producer NewMed Energy (NWMDp.TA) for around $2 billion, making their entry into Israel's growing energy sector. The offer would involve acquiring NewMed's free floating shares and taking the company private. BP shares gained 2% by 0810 GMT while NewMed shares were up around 30%. For BP, the deal highlights the British company's focus on growing natural gas production after Chief Executive Bernard Looney last month slowed down its shift away from fossil fuels. After the deal closes NewMed will become a private corporation equally held by the BP-ADNOC JV and Delek Group (DLEKG.TA), which holds the remaining 50%.

☆ Nestle to examine banking relationships following Credit Suisse downfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ZURICH, March 28 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) will examine its banking relationships following the planned takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) by UBS (UBSG.S), the food group's Chief Executive Mark Schneider said on Tuesday. The world's largest food group was a client of Credit Suisse, Schneider told broadcaster TeleZueri in an interview to be shown on Tuesday evening, and had been following the collapse of Switzerland's second-biggest bank. "We have worked closely with Credit Suisse for many decades in a spirit of trust," Schneider told the broadcaster. "You can see from such an example that Switzerland as a business location and a financial centre are very closely linked. We now have to see how to reorganise our banking relationships, both with Swiss and international providers."

☆ Adidas ends partnership with Beyonce - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Beyonce accepts the award for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for "Renaissance" during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniLONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) has ended its fashion partnership with Beyoncé, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. If confirmed, it would mark a second high-profile split between Adidas and a celebrity partner, after the German sportswear giant ended its collaboration with Kanye West over his antisemitic comments. Adidas, which had signed a deal with Beyoncé in April 2019 to relaunch her brand Ivy Park, declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal said sales of Ivy Park have been underperforming expectations for years.

☆ China says U.S. presumption of guilt against TikTok is baseless
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. has made a presumption of guilt against TikTok without presenting any evidence that threatens its national security, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday regarding the TikTok bill. "U.S. should respect fair competition, and stop suppressing foreign companies," Mao said, while answering a question about U.S. lawmakers pushing forward with the bill, which is designed to address national security worries relating to the popular video app. Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan ruling party group eyes ban on TikTok, other apps -lawmaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - A group of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers plans to compile a proposal next month urging the government to ban social networking services such as TikTok if they are used for disinformation campaigns, an LDP lawmaker said on Monday. Many U.S. lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app, alleging the app could be used for data collection, content censorship and harm to children's mental health. "If it's verified that an app has been intentionally used by a certain party of a certain country for their influence operations with malice ..., promptly halting the service should be considered," Norihiro Nakayama told Reuters in an interview. Nakayama, a senior member of a ruling party lawmakers' group looking into ways to enhance Japan's economic security, said the group plans to compile the recommendation next month, adding that the proposal will not be targeting at any particular platform. Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BRUSSELS, March 27 (Reuters) - Alitalia, the predecessor of Italian state-owned airline ITA Airways, will have to repay a 400 million-euro ($430 million) loan to the Italian government because the money breached EU state aid rules, EU competition authorities said on Monday. Italy granted the loan in 2019, two years after giving a 900 million-euro loan to keep the loss-making company operating. The European Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog in the 27-country bloc, subsequently ruled that both loans constituted illegal state aid. The Commission had in 2021 it ordered Alitalia to repay the 900-million-euro illegal loan. Successive governments pumped an estimated 10 billion euros into Alitalia to keep it afloat in its last 14 years of life, despite heavy losses and bad management.

☆ Standard Chartered agrees to sell business in Jordan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, March 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (STAN.L) plans to sell its Jordanian business to Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) (AJIB.AM), the two parties said on Sunday, as the emerging markets-focused lender presses ahead with plans to exit seven markets in Africa and the Middle East. All Standard Chartered Bank employees in Jordan will be transferred to AJIB, it said an emailed statement. AJIB said the purchase falls within the Jordanian lender's strategy to grow its market share in the country, which continues to grow after it acquired HSBC's banking business in Jordan in 2014 and National Bank of Kuwait's banking business in Jordan in 2022. Standard Chartered in April 2022 said it plans to leave seven markets, consisting of Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh, Editing by Louise Heavens and Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Standard Chartered enters agreement to sell business in Jordan - statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, March 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (STAN.L) said on Sunday it plans to sell its Jordanian business to Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) (AJIB.AM), as the emerging markets-focused lender presses ahead with plans to exit seven markets in Africa and the Middle East. The bank entered into an agreement with AJIB, subject to central bank approval, which will see Standard Chartered's corporate, commercial and institutional banking, consumer lending and private banking businesses migrated to AJIB. All Standard Chartered Bank employees in Jordan will be transferred to AJIB, it said an emailed statement. Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Man City beat Chelsea to move level with WSL leaders Man Utd
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANCHESTER, March 26 (Reuters) - Manchester City shook up the Women's Super League (WSL) title race with a 2-0 win over reigning champions Chelsea on Sunday to move up to second place behind leaders Manchester United, level on 38 points but behind on goal difference. Chelsea had the opportunity to move to the top of the standings with a victory but looked far from their best as the result dropped Emma Hayes's side to third, one point behind United and City. City took the lead in the 21st minute when Filippa Angeldahl scored her first WSL goal from the corner of the box, floating a shot past goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who stood rooted to the spot as she watched the ball sail into the top corner. The home side doubled the lead at the half-hour mark when Lauren Hemp, who assisted the opener, pounced on a poor clearance and took her shot on the half-volley to beat the keeper. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's Paytm wins regulator extension for payment aggregator licence application
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 26 (Reuters) - Indian financial technology company Paytm Payments Services Ltd has received an extension from the country's banking regulator to apply for a payment aggregator licence and aims to reapply in about 15 days, the company said on Sunday. Paytm Payments Services, in the meantime, can continue with the online payment aggregation business for its existing partners, without taking on any new merchants, the company said in a notification to stock exchanges on Sunday. Paytm Payments Services Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of One 97 Communications (PAYT.NS). Payment aggregators, platforms that bring together various online payment options, must be licensed by India's central bank and banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India. In November, India's banking regulator had declined a payment aggregator licence for the One 97 Communications unit that owns the popular Paytm brand.

☆ Aramco affirms support for China's energy secrutiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company JSC FollowMarch 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco (2223.SE) affirmed on Sunday its support for China's long-term energy security and development, the company's CEO Amin Nasser said in remarks made before a forum in Beijing. Nasser said that the company has partnerships and emission-reducing technologies with China to make lower carbon products. Reporting by Omar Abdel-Razek, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin: Russia, China not creating military alliance -agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Russia and China are not creating a military alliance and are hiding nothing in terms of their military cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state television broadcast on Sunday, news agencies reported. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping professed friendship and pledged closer ties at a summit in Moscow early this week, as Russia struggles to make gains in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine. "We are not creating any military alliance with China," Interfax quoted Putin as saying. Putin also said Western powers were trying to form more global alliances, accusing the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of starting to build a new "axis", bearing some resemblance to Germany, Italy and Japan's World War Two alliance. Reporting by Alexander Marrow Editing by Louise Heavens and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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