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☆ 18 months after Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia's sanctioned oligarchs are still rich and even less likely to stand up to him
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Russia's oligarchs are even less likely to turn on Vladimir Putin 18 months after the invasion. In the 18 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the lives of Russian oligarchs such as Melnichenko have changed immeasurably in the face of Western sanctions. Sanctions were unleashed on Russia's billionaires as part of a wider set of economic restrictions that some hoped would inspire a revolt within the country. Russia's oligarchs have Putin to thank for their ongoing success. Revolt is possible but unlikelyIt now appears Russia's oligarchs have adapted to a new status quo where they lack political influence but still have a reliable stream of cash.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Andrey Melnichenko, Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Melnichenko, Forbes, hasn't, Putin —, Roman Abramovich, Alisher, Alisher Usmanov, Alexei Druzhinin, Ivan Fomin, Fomin, That's, Peter Rutland, Vladimir Potanin, Potanin, Rosbank, they've, there'd, Rutland, they're, Abramovich, Michael Regan Abramovich, He's, We'll, Arkady Volozh, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin oligarch, Wagner Organizations: Putin, Service, Financial Times, United Arab, Russia's, Soviet Union, Union, Kremlin, Center for, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Forbes, Wesleyan University, Bloomberg, New York Times, London, Chelsea FC, Getty, Guardian, Street, EU Locations: Wall, Silicon, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Ukraine, Soviet, EU, Russian, Rutland, France, Thailand, Turkey

☆ Clarence Thomas Supreme Court financial disclosure shows flights paid for by GOP megadonor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is seen in his chambers at the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S. June 6, 2016. Jonathan Ernst | ReutersSupreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Republican megadonor Harlan Crow paid for his travel expenses and meals on at least three occasions last year, according to the justice's new financial disclosure report released Thursday. Crow flew Thomas back to Dallas in May of that year for the same purpose, according to the filing. Crow also paid for Thomas' flights to and from the Adirondack Mountains by private plane over a week in mid-July 2022. Thomas' report said that the flights and "lodging, food, and entertainment at the Adirondacks property" were reported in compliance with updated guidance from the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Jonathan Ernst, Harlan Crow, Thomas, Crow, ProPublica, Topridge Organizations: Supreme, U.S, Reuters, Republican, American Enterprise Institute ., Dallas, Judicial Conference Locations: Washington , U.S, Dallas, Adirondacks, United States

☆ Crypto Is Dead? Or Is That Just ‘Fud’?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

FUD is an abbreviation for “fear, uncertainty and doubt” — the whirlwind of anti-crypto news, data and online chatter that evangelists deride as propaganda spread by enemies of the new financial order. The term predates crypto: For decades, corporate experts have used it to refer to disinformation spread by a business to hurt a competitor. In recent years, though, it’s become a staple of the crypto lexicon. Among blockchain believers, ignoring FUD is a badge of honor, a sign of ironclad commitment to the crypto cause.

Persons: ”, deride, it’s

☆ OnlyFans users spent more than $5 billion last year, as the number of creators surged 47%
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

OnlyFans users spent $5.6 billion on the platform in 2022, up from $4.8 billion in 2021. The total number of creators also hit 3.2 million in 2022, up 47% from 2.2 million in 2021. Gross payments made through OnlyFans increased about 17%, from $4.8 billion in 2021 to $5.6 billion in 2022. This represents the amount of money that fans are paying OnlyFans creators for photos, videos, chats, and more. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe total number of OnlyFans creators and fans has also continued to grow:The number of total creators was 3.2 million in 2022, up 47% from 2.2 million in 2021.

Persons: OnlyFans, Bryce Adams, Fenix, Leo Radvinsky, Radvinsky, Keily Blair, Ami Gan Organizations: Morning, Fenix, Bloomberg Locations: OnlyFans

☆ Opinion: Prigozhin seemed to be living on borrowed time
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Opinion Daniel Treisman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — who the Russian aviation agency confirmed was a passenger on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday evening — seemed to be living on borrowed time. Video of the plane debris taken at the purported crash site in the western Tver region of Russia matches the plane registered to Prigozhin. Investigations were started within the armed forces, and probably within the security forces as well. Any effort to paint Prigozhin as wealthy and corrupt stopped almost immediately, and no new financial investigations were announced. And in what might have been the last straw for Putin, Prigozhin released a video on Monday of himself standing in what looked like an African desert, boasting of his men’s exploits.

Persons: Daniel Treisman, “, CNN — Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, William Burns, “ I, Alexander Zemlianichenko, –, —, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Afzalov Organizations: University of California, CNN, Belarus, CIA, Kremlin, Central African, Investigations, Washington, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, Russian, Russia, Tver, Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Moscow, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Sudan, Ukraine, Petersburg, Sahel, St . Petersburg

☆ Furious Chinese investors lodge complaints over trust firm's missed payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Angry investors in trust products of a leading Chinese shadow bank have lodged complaint letters with regulators, pleading with the authorities to step in after the big Chinese trust firm missed payments on dozens of investment products. "Every day, a large number of people gathered at business departments of Zhongrong Trust are praying for the firm can give an explanation to investors ... investors are immersed in unlimited horror and fear every day." In the letter to the NFRA , investors demanded that Zhongrong provide reports of the underlying assets of defaulted products. "We hope officials can attach great attention to Zhongrong Trust ... and not let this to become a milestone vicious economic event," the letter sent to the NFRA said. In the letter to the CCDI, investors complained that management of Zhongrong failed to fulfill their responsibilities and caused huge losses to investors.

Persons: Aly, Zhongrong, didn't, NFRA, Ziyi Tang, Ryan Woo, Sumeet Chatterjee, Kim Cogill Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Trust Co, Investors, Financial Regulatory Administration, Central Commission, Reuters, Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, Zhongrong, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, Zhongrong

☆ Saudi binge is fiscal free kick for European clubs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Streisand Neto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Saudi binge may help European teams raise funds and meet tough new financial rules. The Roshn Saudi League is a top scorer in the football transfer market. UEFA, the governing body for European football, has introduced new rules limiting clubs’ spending on wages, transfers and agent fees to 70% of revenue. European clubs should take the money before the referee's whistle blows. Saudi clubs have spent over 550 million euros buying players from European clubs in the 2023/2024 transfer season, according to Transfermarkt.

Persons: Al Hilal's, Neymar, Fahd bin Saad Al, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, Germain, Rúben Neves, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Len Blavatnik, China’s, Oscar, Marouane, Hilal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neil Unmack, Thomas Shum, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Soccer, Al, Saudi Pro League, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Paris Saint, Saudi, Saudi Public Investment Fund, Britain’s Premier League, Premier League, Deloitte’s Sports Business, UEFA, Deloitte, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Bloomberg, BBC, Thomson Locations: Al Hilal, Paris, France, Saudi, Hilal, Saudi League, Al, Ittihad, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Kingdom, Saudi Arabian

Donald J. Trump’s legal problems aren’t just piling up — his legal bills are, too. The total amounts to more than $27 million in legal fees and other investigation-related bills in the first six months of 2023, according to a New York Times analysis of federal records. The new disclosures revealed the remarkable degree to which Mr. Trump’s political and legal cash are intermingled, much like his own political and legal fate. Mr. Trump’s complex political orbit is already spending more than it is taking in, and tapping into money it raised years ago — an unusual trajectory this far out from an election. And the burn rate raises questions about whether such an approach is untenable, or whether Mr. Trump will eventually need to dip into his own fortune to pay for his lawyers, his 2024 campaign or both.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, billings Organizations: PAC, New York Times, D.C Locations: New York , Florida, Washington

☆ From banking giants to lending up-and-comers — here are the world's top 200 fintech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Statista identified 40 firms as top digital payments companies. While digital payments is often the area that draws most investor buzz, lending generates more money in financial services. Statista identified 25 fintech companies that fall into the category of top alternate lending firms. They include American small business lending firm Biz2Credit, Irish e-commerce lending company Wayflyer, and Latvian loan refinancing startup Mintos. Digital business solutions

Persons: Monzo, there's, Statista, Afterpay, It's, Binance, eToro, Equity crowdfunding, hasn't, Peter Hazlehurst Organizations: JPMorgan —, Orange, Digital, U.S, SEC, European, Education, Equity, Republic, Tech, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, CNBC, Solaris Locations: fintech, Europe, Nigeria, Orange, Africa, Terra, U.S, Cayman Islands, American, Latvian, U.K

☆ India lets firms list on Modi's flagship finance hub to draw foreign capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Listed and unlisted companies can list their shares in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) housed in the Gujarat International Financial Tech City (GIFT), which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship project. "I'm pleased to announce that the government has taken a decision to enable direct listing of listed and unlisted companies on the IFSC exchanges," Sitharaman said. Indian companies can currently only list on foreign exchanges through instruments such as depository receipts. The government had announced plans in 2020 to allow firms to have their primary listings on foreign exchanges. The government has said companies can use the IFSC route to access similar benefits of foreign capital.

Persons: Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Modi's, I'm, Sitharaman, Manch, Aftab Ahmed, Muralikumar Organizations: International Financial Services, Gujarat International Financial Tech City, Singapore, International Exchange, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, Gujarat, Singapore, City, New Delhi

☆ Amazon leaders are worried that a 'Day 2' mindset is seeping in at the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Selipsky does work at a "big company" of course, but he doesn't want Amazon to feel that way. At Amazon, it's always supposed to be "Day 1," the dawn of a new era where the customer comes first and bold bets are backed. Selipsky said in the staff meeting that Amazon has to keep the mentality that "we are going to be the insurgents." Economic update: I wrote a week ago that the dream scenario for the economy was looking more likely by the day. More than 30 people involved in the tech industry told us the real problem was lazy managers.

Persons: Adam Selipsky, it's, Insider's Eugene Kim, Selipsky, that's, Andy Jassy, let's, Arantza Pena, —, David Clapp, Insider's Adam Rogers, Rogers, Phil Rosen, George Mickum Mike Vitelli, George Mickum, he'd, Birkin, Mitchie Nguyen, Matt Turner, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: AWS, Federal Trade Commission, San, Getty, Google, LinkedIn Locations: San Francisco San Francisco ,, San Francisco, Manhattan

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., raised $6.1 million for his presidential campaign in the second quarter, a campaign spokesperson said. It marks Scott's first financial report since jumping into the 2024 presidential race with an exploratory committee in early April. The Scott campaign got off to a quick-spending start because it transferred a sizable sum from his Senate account to fund his presidential bid. The campaign spokesperson said Scott had $21 million cash on hand at the end of June, which is down slightly from the nearly $22 million that Scott had in his Senate account at the end of March. Ron DeSantis' campaign announced raising $20 million as he jumped into the race last quarter.

Persons: Sen, Tim Scott, Scott, —, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump Organizations: TIM, — Trust, Mission PAC, NBC News, Fox News, Florida Gov

Phillip alleged Barclays owed her a duty to ignore her instructions if the bank had reasonable grounds to suspect she was being defrauded. "Where the customer has authorised and instructed the bank to make a payment, the bank must carry out the instruction promptly," he said. "It is not for the bank to concern itself with the wisdom or risks of its customer's payment decisions." James Levy, a partner at law firm Ashurst, said the onus was on customers to ensure payment instructions were bona fide. The Supreme Court, however, allowed Philipp to pursue an alternative case against Barclays on the grounds that the bank breached its duty by failing to take adequate steps to recover the money transferred to the UAE.

Persons: Fiona Philipp, Phillip, George Leggatt, James Levy, Ashurst, Philipp, Sam Tobin, Kirstin Ridley, Louise Heavens, Barbara Lewis, Jane Merriman Organizations: Barclays, Wednesday, Court, United Arab Emirates, Payment Systems, Financial Services, UAE, Thomson Locations: fraudsters, UAE

☆ Daimler Truck targets above 12% adjusted returns by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 11 (Reuters) - Daimler Truck (DTGGe.DE) set new financial targets for 2030 ahead of its Capital Markets Day on Tuesday, aiming for at least 12% adjusted returns for its industrial business under favourable conditions and 40-60% revenue growth from 2025-2030. The truck and bus maker expects to generate over 3 billion euros ($3.30 billion) in revenue and 1 billion euro earnings before interest and taxes from autonomous driving in 2030, it said in a statement. The company on Monday announced a 2-billion-euro share buyback programme as it increased its guidance for 2023 revenue and profits, citing a recovering supply chain and stronger demand. ($1 = 0.9098 euros)Reporting by Victoria WalderseeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Victoria Waldersee Organizations: Daimler, Victoria, Thomson

☆ Pension funds reform: Britain is banking on this $3 trillion cash cow to revive its economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The UK economy badly needs a boost — and the government hopes the nation’s vast pension savings might deliver one. All UK workplace pension plans offer default funds, which savers who don’t choose their own investment strategy are automatically enrolled into. Measures to tap pension fund cash come at a crucial time for an economy suffering from stubbornly high inflation, depressed investment and feeble growth. UK pension funds’ exposure to domestic stock markets has fallen even more sharply: from 53% in 1997 to 6% in 2021. The combination of measures is likely to have “far-reaching” effects on the types of assets pension funds invest in, easing companies’ access to the capital they need to grow, he added.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Mercer, ” Hunt, Hunt, “, ”, Nicholas Lyons, Julia Hoggett, Nigel Peaple Organizations: London CNN, Aviva, London, European, London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, EU, chipmaker ARM, House, of London Corporation, City of, Financial, New Financial, Pension, Lifetime Savings Association Locations: London, Britain, Frankfurt, Paris, New York, United States, United Kingdom, Edinburgh, City of London

☆ Watchdog with teeth can help EU hunt unicorns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Yet the EU today is a long way from uniting its capital markets. By comparison, the United States has seven exchange groups, three listings exchanges and 16 trading exchanges, along with one clearing house and one depository. Bringing capital markets together through better regulation, as well as better market incentives, could keep the next generation of unicorns home. Follow @rebeccawire on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSEuropean Union leaders called for the EU to improve capital markets as part of a push for competitiveness at summits in March and June. Capital markets union is an EU endeavour launched in 2014 as a long-term project to boost investment across borders.

Persons: –, Austria’s i5invest, Backes, Magdalena Rzeczkowska, Nadia Calviño, ESMA, ” Calviño, won’t, centralisation, Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, EU, ABC Fitness Solutions, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Canada, Berlin Brands Group, European Securities and Markets Authority, European, Central, Union, European Commission, Capital, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, China, Ukraine, Arkansas, London, Switzerland, United States, IPOs, Belgian, U.S, Paris, spillovers, Luxembourg, Poland, Brussels, EU, wean

That initiative follows a visit to Japan by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in January when he said the lessons China was learning from Ukraine could influence its decisions. NATO documents have begun to reflect concern about China, East Asia and the Indo-Pacific, but Japan needs to deepen its awareness of those issues, a Japanese official involved in discussions about NATO ties said. Diplomats from two European NATO countries who spoke to Reuters said unease in the alliance about a Tokyo office went beyond France. Another Japanese official involved in preparations for Kishida's NATO visit said the idea of a NATO office in Japan had nothing to do with China, but that is how it became framed, and each NATO country has its own relations with China. Under Yoon, South Korea has set up a liaison office with NATO in Brussels and has embraced a call for unity among like-minded countries.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, ”, Michito Tsuruoka, Kishida, Jens Stoltenberg, Emmanuel Macron's, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Anthony Albanese, We’ll, Albanese, Sakura Murakami, Tim Kelly, John Irish, Josh Smith, Praveen Menon Organizations: NATO, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Keio University, NATO's, Diplomats, Reuters, Japanese, SYDNEY South, Australian, Asia Pacific, Ukraine, Sky News, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Lithuania, Ukraine, Asia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, U.S, Europe, Russia, NATO, East Asia, China, Taiwan, North Korea, Lithuania's, Vilnius, Tokyo, France, Brussels, Danish, SEOUL, Poland, Paris, Seoul, Sydney

☆ Payments processor FIS to sell stake in merchant unit to GTCR for $11.7 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 6 (Reuters) - Fidelity National Information Services (FIS.N) is selling a majority stake in its merchant business to private equity firm GTCR, the payments processor said on Thursday, in a deal that will fetch $11.7 billion. The company built its merchant business through a $43-billion purchase of Worldpay in 2019. As part of the deal, the private equity has committed an additional investment of up to $1.25 billion in Worldpay. Reuters had earlier this week reported that GTCR was in advanced talks for a majority stake in the merchant business. Charles Drucker, former CEO of Worldpay, will lead the merchant business after the spinoff, FIS said.

Persons: GTCR, Charles Drucker, Niket Nishant, Manya, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Fidelity National Information Services, FIS, GTCR, Reuters, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: Worldpay, Bengaluru

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - British banks should have to serve a customer even if they disagree with his or her lawful political views, and should apply anti-money laundering checks proportionately, financial services minister Andrew Griffith said on Tuesday. Griffith was asked about his views on recent issues around banking services for politicians and other 'politically exposed persons' by the House of Lords' Economic Affairs Committee, which did not name Farage directly. Griffith said Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) now had powers under a new financial services law approved last week to revisit these rules. "The second thing that we've asked is that the FCA look at creating a domestic politically exposed persons (category) to reflect the lower category of risk associated with those whose affairs are wholly domestic," Griffith said. Reporting by David Milliken, Editing by Huw Jones and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrew Griffith, Nigel Farage, Coutts, Griffith, it's, David Milliken, Huw Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: Brexit Party, NatWest, Economic Affairs Committee, Authority, FCA, Thomson

☆ China plays it safe with new central bank chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The new boss of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is probably a relief to those anxiously watching the future of the most meritocratic regulator in the country. The ruling Communist Party on Saturday appointed Pan Gongsheng, who has been deputy governor for the past 11 years, as party secretary – the de facto boss that supervises the institution. The Wall Street Journal said that would be a prelude to Pan becoming governor next, citing unnamed sources. The appointment of Pan, who has since 2015 also run the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), is a surprise. It’s unlikely Pan will deviate much from the current monetary policy trajectories, even if he helms both the party secretary and governor roles.

Persons: Pan Gongsheng, –, Pan, Yi Gang, helms, Yawen Chen, ’, George Hay, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, People’s Bank of China, Communist Party, Saturday, Street Journal, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Committee, Cambridge, Harvard, Agricultural Bank of China, U.S ., Twitter, KKR, Thomson Locations: United States, Hong Kong, Shanghai, China

☆ Mike Pence raked in $1.4 million for book divulging his pushback against Trump on January 6
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Simon & Schuster paid him a $1.4 million advance for the book, new documents show. In the Simon & Schuster-published book, "So Help Me God," Pence vividly described how Trump tried to pressure him against certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 victory. Hillary Clinton received an $8 million advance for her memoir "Living History," about her time as First Lady. CNN previously reported that the book advance was estimated at being somewhere between $3 million to $4 million, though that reportedly included a contract to write a second book. An Insider analysis of financial disclosures found that members of Congress together raked in $1.8 million in 2020 from book advances and royalties.

Persons: Mike Pence, Simon, Schuster, Pence, —, Donald Trump, Simon & Schuster, Trump, Joe Biden's, You'll, Indiana — Pence, deferential, Hillary Clinton, GOP Sen, Tim Scott of, Sen, Elizabeth Warren of, they're Organizations: Service, Simon &, Trump, GOP, Democratic, CNN, Federal, Commission, Hoosier Heartland, Indiana Bank, Apple, Pfizer, Meta, UnitedHealth, Netflix Locations: Indiana, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

[1/6] A general view of the Bank of America financial center in New York City, U.S., June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) is adding consumer branches in four new U.S. states, it said on Tuesday, bringing its national footprint closer to rival JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). Bank of America will open new financial centers in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Alabama and Louisiana as part of a four-year expansion across nine markets, including Louisville, Milwaukee and New Orleans. The openings will give BofA a retail presence in 39 states, compared with JPMorgan, the largest U.S. lender, which has branches in 49 states. Holly O'Neill, Bank of America's president of retail banking, said last month that she expects good performance for the unit in the second quarter.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Brian Moynihan, Moynihan, Aron Levine, Holly O'Neill, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Deepa Babington Organizations: Bank of America, REUTERS, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase &, JPMorgan, Federal Reserve, Consumer, CNN, Reuters, Bank of, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Nebraska , Wisconsin , Alabama, Louisiana, Louisville, Milwaukee, New Orleans

☆ Britain says insurer capital rule changes to start by end of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The government and Bank of England had clashed over how far to ease the rules, and industry has repeatedly called for the changes to be implemented speedily. "The Government expects that reform of the risk margin will be in force in legislation by year end 2023," the ministry said in a statement. The risk margin refers to the potential cost for a failing insurer to transfer its policies to a third party to avoid disruption to customers. Parliament is finalising a new financial services bill to amend rules inherited from the EU, giving the ministry and regulators powers to make changes. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Toby Chopra and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Huw Jones, Toby Chopra, Christina Fincher Organizations: European Union, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Britain, London

☆ Brazil's Americanas rushes to produce new financials, strike deal with debt holders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Carolina Pulice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Americanas, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January after uncovering 20 billion reais, some $4 billion, in accounting fraud, is now negotiating changes in the plan to win over debt holders who have previously indicated they would reject it. Americanas said in a securities filing it expected to disclose its previous financial information by August 31. With almost 11 billion reais ($2.31 billion) in Americanas debt in hand, the debt holders are considering demanding smaller haircuts than the roughly 70% the restructuring plan calls for and additional compensation for their losses, according to two sources close to the matter. "Most of the (debt) can't be converted into shares - for pension or credit funds, there are legal restrictions, said Adriano Casarotto, a credit manager at Western Asset which holds 300 million reais in Americanas debt. In a statement, Americanas said it remains "committed to its creditors" to build a consensus on its recovery plan and that is still subject to adjustments.

Persons: Americanas, Leonardo Coelho, Adriano Casarotto, Carolina Pulice, Anthony Esposito, Diane Craft Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Americanas SA, Americanas, Western, Thomson Locations: MEXICO

China's top graft-busting watchdog earlier this year vowed to eliminate ideas of a Western-style "financial elite" and rectify the hedonism of excessive pursuit of "high-end taste". Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SS) and China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) (601939.SS) plan to cut some allowances of employees at the banks' headquarters from this year, two sources familiar with the matter said. Domestic rival China International Capital Corp (CICC) (3908.HK) last month cut this year's bonuses for investment bankers by 30%-50% from a year earlier, Reuters has reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Besides anti-corruption crackdown and "common prosperity" drive, financial firms are also reining in the flashy lifestyle of their staff to make sure they are not violating the Communist Party's ideology, said industry officials. China's securities regulator and the central bank cut the budget allocation for employee salaries in 2023, following reforms ordered as part of a broader drive to reduce income disparity, Reuters reported last month.

Persons: Xi Jinping's, CCB, Xin Sun, Sun, Xie Yu, Julie Zhu, Selena Li, Ziyi Tang, Binbin Huang, Rong Ma, Sumeet Chatterjee, Lincoln Organizations: Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp, Securities, Reuters, China International Capital Corp, HK, Party, King's College London, Thomson Locations: China, HONG KONG, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai

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