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☆ S&P Global raises reinsurance sector view to stable from negative on higher prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Carolyn Cohn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The S&P Global logo is displayed on its offices in the financial district in New York City, U.S., December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - S&P Global has raised its view of the global reinsurance sector to stable from negative, it said on Tuesday, due to higher reinsurance rates and increasing investment income, while rival Moody's kept its outlook for the sector stable. The COVID-19 pandemic, war, inflation and climate change-fuelled natural catastrophes have put upward pressure on reinsurance rates in recent years. S&P Global said this "resulted in the hardest market in decades" in some lines of business. "Challenges such as elevated natural disasters, increasing cost of capital, financial market volatility, and inflation risk persist," S&P Global added.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Moody's, Gallagher Re, reinsurers, Laline Carvalho, Neff, Re, Carolyn Cohn, Jason Neely, Alex Richardson, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Global, P Global, P, reinsurer, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, California, Florida, Monte Carlo

☆ GLOBAL ECONOMY Global business activity showed signs of slowdown in August -PMIs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Germany's services sector contracted for the first time this year and France's shrank more than first estimated. Japan proved an outlier as service sector activity expanded there at its quickest pace in three months, underpinned by robust consumer spending as inbound tourism regained momentum. "August's services PMI pointed to a contraction in UK private sector activity. ASIAN PAINChina's Caixin/S&P Global services PMI dropped to 51.8 in August from 54.1 in July, the lowest reading since December when COVID-19 confined many consumers to their homes. The data broadly aligned with the official services PMI released last week, which showed the sector continued to trend downwards.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Adrian Prettejohn, Martin Beck, Duncan Wrigley, Jonathan Cable, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, RBC, P Global, Capital Economics, PMI, Bank of Japan, Pantheon, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, India, Japan, Asia, July's, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, COVID

☆ Factbox: How China is trying to boost its stock market
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 4 (Reuters) - China is launching a campaign to revive its lagging stock market, and boost investor confidence in an ailing economy. A slew of measures announced include reducing trading costs, slowing the pace of initial public offerings (IPOs), encouraging margin financing and protecting small investors. IMPROVING BEIJING STOCK EXCHANGE:China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) aims to boost liquidity in the market by relaxing investor thresholds and improving trading mechanisms. It will seek to reform and invigorate the market, focusing on funding innovative small companies that specialise in niche sectors. TRANSACTION COSTS:The stamp duty on stock trading was halved on Aug 28, the finance ministry announced.

Persons: Aly, Li Gu, Jason Xue, Tom Westbrook, Simon Cameron, Moore, Lincoln Organizations: Shanghai Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Beijing Stock Exchange, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Thomson Locations: Pudong, Shanghai, China, BEIJING, Singapore

☆ Asia shares extend rally as China mood turns less bleak
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China October 25, 2022. There was relief that embattled property developer Country Garden won approval from its creditors to extend payments for an onshore private bond. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) added 1.0%, having climbed 2.3% last week. EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 0.3% and FTSE futures rose 0.4%. Central banks in Canada and Australia hold their own meetings this week and both are expected to hold rates steady.

Persons: Aly, Stocks, Goldman Sachs, Treasuries, Christine Lagarde, Brent firmed, Wayne Cole, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Country Garden, Japan's Nikkei, Nasdaq, Holdings, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, U.S, SYDNEY, Beijing, United States, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia

☆ The UK economy is bigger than we thought. It still has ‘a growth problem’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The UK economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic much faster than previously thought, according to major revisions of official statistics that have erased Britain’s laggard status overnight. The ONS had said as recently as last month that UK GDP had still not reached its pre-pandemic size by the second quarter of this year. “UK growth has still been very sluggish, even if it’s not at the bottom,” said Prof. Huw Dixon, who leads research in economic measurement at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. So while the size of the economy is bigger than we thought, Britain still has a growth problem.”Richer dataIn 2020, the UK economy suffered its biggest slump in more than three centuries, recovering sharply the following year off a low base. Annual GDP growth for 2021 was also revised up by 1.1 percentage points to 8.7%.

Persons: ” Ruth Gregory, “, ”, Huw Dixon, ” Dixon, ” John Springford, Richer, That’s, Frost, Darren Morgan, Henry Nicholls, Jeremy Hunt, Gregory, Nomura Organizations: London CNN, Office, National Statistics, ONS, Capital Economics, National Institute of Economic, Social Research, CNN, Centre, European Reform, Getty Images, Bank of England Locations: Germany, United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Britain, Petticoat Lane, AFP, United Kingdom

☆ Architects explain how they're turning office buildings into apartments with high ceilings and more natural light
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Steven Paynter, an expert in office-to-residential conversions at the architecture firm Gensler, thinks converted office buildings will be a trendy, new type of housing. Advertisement Advertisement Watch:The renovated exterior of Franklin Tower, a 24-story former office building in downtown Philadelphia that now contains luxury residences. But renovating old office buildings is no simple task. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn some cases, particularly when it comes to postwar high-rises, it's more economical to tear old office buildings down and replace them with new housing, Hogan said. When Gensler renovated Franklin Tower, a vacant 1970s office building in downtown Philadelphia, it fully reconstructed the facade and windows.

Persons: Steven Paynter, Paynter, Robert Deitchler, Mark Hogan, who'd, you've, Charles Bloszies, Hogan, " Hogan, John Cetra, Cetra, Bloszies Organizations: Service, Broad, Coast, Franklin Locations: Wall, Silicon, Manhattan , New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Franklin Tower, Manhattan, San Francisco's

The Chinese national flag is seen in front of the financial district Central on the Chinese National Day in Hong Kong, China October 1, 2022. Most were on the fund's private equity team and were informed early last month, according to two of the people. CPP, which employs more than 150 people in Hong Kong, its Asia hub, declined to comment. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) closed down its China equity investment team based in Hong Kong in April, Reuters has reported. There have been $3.2 billion worth of acquisitions of firms in China by private equity so far this year.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Gina Raimondo, Canada's, Michel Leduc, Julie Zhu, Kane Wu, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Investments, U.S, . Commerce, The Ontario Teachers, Reuters, Caisse, Financial Times, Thomson Locations: Central, Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, Asia, Canada, U.S, Washington, Shanghai

☆ UK business optimism at 18-month high on hopes for rate hike pause
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Workers walk through the Canary Wharf financial district, ahead of a Bank of England decision on interest rate changes, in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. Contrasting with signs of an economic slowdown in other recent surveys, the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer measure of confidence jumped by 10 points in August to 41%, its highest since February 2022. "The bounce in economic optimism this month is the stand-out point," Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank, said. The BoE raised rates for the 14th time in a row this month to counter an inflation rate running at almost 7%. Investors mostly expect the Bank Rate to peak this year at 5.75%, up from its current level of 5.25%.

Persons: Toby Melville, " Hann, Ju Ho, BoE, William Schomberg, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Bank of, REUTERS, Bank of England, Lloyds Bank, Lloyds, Thomson Locations: Bank of England, London, Britain, Ukraine

☆ Factbox: What are global companies saying about China's economy?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People cross a street near office towers in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China, February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 29 (Reuters) - United States Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said U.S. companies have raised concerns that China has become "uninvestible", pointing to fines, raids and other actions that have made it too risky to do business in the world's second-largest economy. Major global firms ranging from banks to chipmakers are taking a largely cautious stance on their China business amid a frail recovery of the country's economy from a pandemic slowdown. Following are comments from some of the top firms on their China business during the latest reporting season:Compiled by Savyata Mishra, Arunima Kumar, Niket Nishant, Granth Vanaik, Aditya Soni and Bhanvi Satija; Edited by Shinjini Ganguli and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, Gina Raimondo, Savyata Mishra, Arunima Kumar, Niket Nishant, Granth Vanaik, Aditya Soni, Bhanvi, Shinjini Ganguli, Shounak Organizations: REUTERS, United States, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, U.S

A record 38 QDII funds had been launched this year until August 17, outpacing the 31 funds launched in 2022, Morningstar data shows. Tianhong, which is planning new QDII products, obtained a $120 million fresh QDII quota in July, less than it had hoped for. Rather than foreign capital selling China equities, this time it's Chinese investors’ outbound investment,” Liu said. HUGE DEMANDThe QDII program, launched in 2006, remains a key outbound investment channel for mainland Chinese investors, alongside the Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP) programme. Tracy Liu, an individual investor working in the information technology industry, invested in an India-focused QDII fund in March.

Persons: Aly, Ivan Shi, Liu Dong, Becky Liu, Liu, ” Liu, Desiree Wang, Tracy Liu, Summer Zhen, Samuel Shen, Jason Xue, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: REUTERS, Morningstar, Domestic Institutional, Nasdaq, Ben Advisors, Connect, Bond, U.S, Dow Jones, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Tianhong, Management, Ant Financial, Standard Chartered Bank, Reuters, Qualified Domestic Limited, Asset Management Association of China, Guangfa NASDAQ, Technology, Morgan Asset Management, Morgan Asset Management China, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, U.S, HONG KONG, SHANGHAI, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, outflows, Japan, Russia

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China October 25, 2022. "It's pretty weak," said Sat Duhra, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson who devises a macro score for countries by tracking seven factors including PMI surveys, real exchange rates, current accounts, growth estimates and liquidity. Even in Japan, the stock market success story of the year so far, portfolio manager Zuhair Khan at UBP Investments says he's shorting or avoiding companies reliant on China sales. However, I think more importantly, it has fallen short of initial expectations," said Jagdeep Ghuman, a portfolio manager for U.S. asset manager Nuveen. Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Rae Wee in Singapore, Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Summer Zhen and Xie Yu in Hong Kong.

Persons: Aly, Janus Henderson, Seema Shah, Zuhair Khan, Prashant Bhayani, it's, Jagdeep Ghuman, Nuveen, Tom Westbrook, Rae Wee, Dhara, Zhen, Xie Yu, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, BHP, PMI, Global Investors, UBP Investments, Vegas Sands, Wealth Management, U.S, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, Rights SINGAPORE, London, Bangkok, Zealand, Europe, Thailand, Asia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong

[1/2] A BNY Mellon sign is seen on their headquarters in New York's financial district, January 19, 2011. A lawyer for BNY Mellon also declined to comment. They have long said their contracts shielded them from liability for RMBS losses, and that particularly sophisticated investors should have known the risks. In its December 2015 complaint, Commerzbank accused BNY Mellon of sitting "idly" as losses piled up, rather than force lenders to buy back and servicers to address troubled loans. The case is Commerzbank AG v. The Bank of New York Mellon et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Germany's, George Daniels, Commerzbank's, Dave Wollmuth, BNY Mellon, Commerzbank, Daniels, The Bank of New York Mellon, Jonathan Stempel, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of New York Mellon, District, BNY Mellon, Countrywide, NovaStar, BNY, New York, CDO, Commerzbank, The Bank of New York, Court, Southern District of, Thomson Locations: New, U.S, Manhattan, Barrington, Southern District, Southern District of New York, New York

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 28 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. As the week gets underway, asset markets across Asia yet again will be dominated by key economic indicators, market- and growth-supportive policy steps and diplomatic signals from China. The Asian market headwinds are strong and clear - financial conditions are tightening sharply, in large part due to the steady rise in U.S. Treasury yields. According to Goldman Sachs's financial conditions indexes, global, emerging market and Chinese financial conditions last week hit their tightest levels this year.

Persons: Aly, Jamie McGeever, Jackson, Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Kazuo Ueda, Gina Raimondo, Goldman, Fed's MIchael Barr, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, China Securities Regulatory Commission, . Commerce, Treasury, Higher, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, Asia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Beijing, Japan, U.S, Australia

☆ China halves stamp duty on stock trades to boost flagging market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING/SHANGHAI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - China halved the stamp duty on stock trading effective Monday in the latest attempt to boost the struggling market as a recovery sputters in the world's second-biggest economy. The finance ministry said in a brief statement on Sunday it was reducing the 0.1% duty on stock trades "in order to invigorate the capital market and boost investor confidence". Along with the finance ministry move, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is rolling out measures to shore up market confidence in investing in listed companies. China's leaders vowed late last month to reinvigorate the stock market - the world's second largest - which has been reeling as the post-pandemic recovery flags and a debt crisis in the property market deepens.

Persons: Aly, Xie Chen, CSRC, China's, Judy Hua, Joe Cash, Li Gu, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Shanghai Jianwen Investment Management, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Regulators, Ministry of Finance, State Council, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, Rights BEIJING, SHANGHAI, Beijing

☆ Your next apartment could be someone's old cubicle as developers rush to convert empty offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eliza Relman | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The mayor of New York City aims to turn old office buildings into 20,000 new apartments. The Manhattan-based architect John Cetra, who has worked on office conversions since the 1980s, calls it "the amenity war." His firm, CetraRuddy, recently announced it's leading the conversion of a 30-story office building, formerly home to Goldman Sachs, in Manhattan's financial district. Adams' goal is to create up to 20,000 new homes for 40,000 New Yorkers in converted office buildings over the next decade. AdvertisementAdvertisementNew York City has already had some success in converting office buildings to homes.

Persons: you'll, they've, everyone's, Steven Paynter, we've, John Cetra, it's, Goldman Sachs, Cetra, Eric Adams, Paynter, He's, who's, Adams, We've, Dan Garodnick, Mark Hogan, Hogan, Charles Bloszies, I've, that's, Bloszies, Garodnick, Arpit Gupta Organizations: Service, CetraRuddy, York, US Department of Housing, Urban Development, Yorkers, New York City's Department of City Planning, San Francisco, Supervisors, New York Stock Exchange, NYU Stern School of Business, Research Locations: New York City, Wall, Silicon, York, San Francisco, Manhattan, Toronto, Calgary , Alberta, York City, Francisco, New York

☆ A turbulent few years for stocks has led to a boom in therapy services for stressed out traders
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

After a stressful few years for stocks, traders are flooding the offices of therapists and mental health professionals. Wall Street is seeing elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, psychologists told Insider. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. That even applies to professional Wall Street traders, who already work grueling hours in cutthroat environments. Meanwhile, 32% of trading professionals said they had at least considered therapy or mental health services due to stress at work.

Persons: It's, Megan, it's, Goldman Sachs, Dr, Greg Kushnick, he's, Reid Daitzman, He's, Kushnick, Créde Sheehy, Kelly Organizations: Service, Wall, Oasis, Bank of America, of America, Financial, Finance, Quest Diagnostics Locations: Wall, Silicon, California, New, Connecticut

☆ Amid a slogging counteroffensive, Ukraine sees a day of good fortune: a Russian air defense system was destroyed, one Russian pilot successfully defected, and, now, the Wagner leader may be dead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wednesday brought a string of good news for Ukraine amid the 3-month-long counteroffensive. That same day, a Russian helicopter pilot defected to Ukraine, landing a Mi-8 AMTSH helicopter at the Ukrainian Poltava military air base. An official for HUR, the military intelligence agency, told local media that this was the result of a planned six-month operation. But the most significant turn of events that came Wednesday was the possible death of the Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Social media channels associated with Wagner claimed that the plane was shot down by an air-defense system.

Persons: HUR, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Angela Stenet, Vladimir Putin's, Stenet, Mykhailo Podolyak, Putin Organizations: Service, Ukrainian, Directorate of Intelligence, Wagner Group, National Intelligence, PBS, New York Times, Washington Post, Institute for Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Russian, Crimean, Ukrainian Poltava, Moscow, Tver, Eurasia, The U.S, Melitopol, Washington, DC

The country's second-largest bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), however, missed Bay Street estimates for quarterly profit hurt by higher expenses and rainy day funds to cover for unpaid loans. The bank's earnings were also impacted by a C$306 million charge related to the termination of its First Horizon acquisition. "The higher interest rate would put pressure on the consumer. The banks set aside more money for bad loans compared to the prior quarter as consumers struggle to make payments amid high costs of living. RBC set aside C$616 million for credit losses, up from C$340 million a year ago, and TD set aside C$766 million, a jump from C$351 million.

Persons: Mark Blinch, Dave McKay, John Aiken, Kelvin Tran, Nivedita Balu, Sri Hari, Pritam Biswas, Shilpi Majumdar, Mark Potter Organizations: Royal Bank of Canada, REUTERS, RBC, Barclays, Dominion Bank, The Bank of Canada, Thomson Locations: Toronto, Canada, Sri, Bengaluru

☆ German business activity suffers steepest decline since May 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Aug 23 (Reuters) - German business activity contracted at the fastest pace for more than three years in August, a preliminary survey showed on Wednesday. A deepening downturn in manufacturing output was accompanied by a renewed contraction in services activity. Business activity in the services sector contracted for the first time in eight months. The manufacturing PMI rose to 39.1 in August from 38.8 in July but remained deeply in contraction territory, the survey showed. There was an increase in inflationary pressures, driven by accelerated cost and price increases in the service sector.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Cyrus de la Rubia, Rubia, Maria Martinez, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, P Global, Hamburg Commercial Bank, Services, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Hamburg

☆ Bond investors show confidence in Schwab after cost-cutting
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Matt Tracy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The company logo for Financial broker Charles Schwab is displayed at a location in the financial district in New York, U.S., March 20, 2023. The announcement led to a 5% fall in Schwab shares on Tuesday but did not hurt investor appetite for its new bonds. "The strong response shows bond investors, at least in the near term, have gotten over their worries about the credit fundamentals of top-tier regional banks after the banking crisis in March," said Richard Wolff, head of U.S. syndicate at Societe Generale (SOGN.PA). Schwab's bond trade also drew attention as new investment grade bond supply this month has so far been lower than expected. Counting Schwab's $2.35 billion in bonds, investment-grade bond volume sits at just $3.45 billion for the week and $67.1 billion so far in August, according to Informa Global Markets data.

Persons: Charles Schwab, Brendan McDermid, Schwab, Richard Wolff, Dan Krieter, Brian Mulberry, David Del Vecchio, Natalie Trevithick, Matt Tracy, Nupur Anand, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Societe Generale, BMO Capital, Zacks Investment Management, Federal Home Loan Bank, Payden, Informa, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Los Angeles

☆ Leaving the office for dead may haunt investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Those moves may herald a requirement for a return to a five-day office week. Average office attendance is only 35%, according to AWA, a consultancy that studied companies in 22 countries during April and May of 2023. Still, a mass exodus of tenants is unlikely as office leases in financial districts like London’s Canary Wharf have around 10 years left. But investors fear that once leases come up for renewal, companies will cull space. If bosses have it their way, office stocks may come back from the dead.

Persons: France’s, BNY Mellon, Jamie Dimon, “, ” BNY Mellon, Francesco Guerrera, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Boston Properties, Google, JPMorgan, . Tech, Communications, Reuters Graphics, AWA, Alexandria Real, Thomson Locations: London , New York, San Francisco, London, U.S, Alexandria, Britain

☆ UK pay deals cool for first time in 2023, easing pressure on BoE: XpertHR
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Median basic pay deals in the three months to the end of July fell to 5.7% following six consecutive quarters at a record 6%, human resources publication and data provider XpertHR said. Pay awards remained below the rate of inflation. Sheila Attwood, senior content manager at XpertHR, said pay awards had likely hit their peak and expects the gap between pay deals and inflation to narrow. However, official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed annual wage growth excluding bonuses rose to 7.8% in the three months to June, the highest in records going back to 2001. XpertHR said median pay awards for the public sector stood at 5% in the year to July, up from 3.2% in the year before.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, XpertHR, BoE, Sheila Attwood, Attwood, Suban Abdulla, Andy Bruce Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Bank of England, Bank of England, Office, National Statistics, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain, XpertHR

A Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) logo is seen on Bay Street in the heart of the financial district in Toronto, January 22, 2015. The shares of the top five banks - Royal Bank of Canada , TD Bank (TD.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and CIBC (CM.TO) - have lost between 2% and 8% so far this year. Reuters GraphicsRoyal Bank of Canada and TD Bank will kick off third-quarter results on Thursday. RBC analyst Darko Mihelic forecast a 9% third-quarter revenue decline from a year ago for the capital-market business of the large Canadian banks. Investors will also watch for any updates on Bank of Nova Scotia's (BNS.TO) turnaround plan for its international business.

Persons: Mark Blinch, Mike Rizvanovic, Darko Mihelic, Cowen, RBC's Mihelic, Nivedita Balu, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Royal Bank of Canada, REUTERS, RBC, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova, CIBC, National Bank, Toronto Stock, Bank of Canada, Reuters Graphics Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC Canada, Laurentian Bank, Thomson Locations: Toronto, dealmaking, TORONTO, Bank of Nova Scotia

☆ S&P downgrades multiple US banks citing 'tough' operating conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

S&P downgraded the ratings of Associated Banc-Corp (ASB.N) and Valley National Bancorp (VLY.O) on funding risks and a higher reliance on brokered deposits. It also downgraded UMB Financial Corp (UMBF.O), Comerica Bank (CMA.N) and Keycorp (KEY.N), citing large deposit outflows and prevailing higher interest rates. A sharp rise in interest rates is weighing on many U.S. banks' funding and liquidity, S&P said in a summarized note, adding that deposits held by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC)-insured banks will continue to decline as long as the Federal Reserve is "quantitatively tightening." The rating agency also downgraded the outlook of S&T Bank and River City Bank to negative from stable on high commercial real estate (CRE) exposure among other factors. Reporting by Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Akanksha Khushi; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Moody's, Bank of New York Mellon BK.N, Gokul, Akanksha Khushi, Varun Organizations: Global, National Bancorp, UMB Financial Corp, Comerica Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Federal, T Bank, City Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, US Bancorp, Truist, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Silicon, Bengaluru

The company logo for Financial broker Charles Schwab is displayed at a location in the financial district in New York, U.S., March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Charles Schwab (SCHW.N) fell by nearly 5% to a one-month low on Tuesday after the U.S. brokerage unveiled a cost-cutting plan that came with steep one-time charges. Charles Schwab announced on Monday that it planned to layoff staff and close or downsize some corporate offices to save about $500 million. But Charles Schwab is expected to incur one-time charges of up to $500 million from the cost-cutting measure, potentially dampening its profit in the second half of this year. Charles Schwab's stock fell as much as 5.3% to $56.26, the lowest level since July and the biggest one-day percentage drop since March.

Persons: Charles Schwab, Brendan McDermid, Charles Schwab's, Morningstar, Michael Wong, Chibuike Oguh, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, State, Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon, U.S . Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Northern

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