WORLDWIDE : HEADLINE
Lloyds Bank CEO António Horta-Osório to step down in 2021
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) Chief Executive António Horta-Osório will step down next year after spending a decade at the helm, the lender said on Monday as it appointed industry veteran Robin Budenberg as its new chairman.
Horta-Osório said he would step down from Britain’s biggest domestic bank by June of next year and was leaving with “mixed emotions”.
After joining in 2011, Horta-Osório led the turnaround at the bank in the aftermath of its government rescue in the 2007-09 financial crisis, with the lender returning fully to private hands in 2017.
Budenberg built his career in investment banking at SG Warburg and UBS, including advising the government on its bailout of British banks including Lloyds in the crisis.
He later led the government’s UK Financial Investments and was a chairman of property developer The Crown Estate.
Budenberg will join the Lloyds board on Oct. 1 and take over as chairman in early 2021.
Full Coverage: REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : BUSINESS / FINANCE
London Stock Exchange’s FTSE Russell joins Libor replacement race
LONDON – London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) index compiler FTSE Russell began publishing forward-looking interest rates on Monday, entering a four-way race for a new market opened up by the scrapping of Libor next year.
Regulators want the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, which banks were fined for trying to rig, replaced with the Bank of England’s Sonia rate for sterling denominated swaps, loans and futures by the end of 2021.
But market participants have said that the Sonia overnight rate lacks the forward-looking variants or “tenors” that Libor has, making it harder to switch some contracts like interest rate swaps.
FTSE Russell said its Term Sonia Reference Rates or TSRR will be published on an indicative basis for six months to allow potential users to track its performance first.
It will cover 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 12 month tenors, with live rates set to be published by the end of 2020.
Full Coverage: REUTERS
Asia shares jump as China blue chips scale five-year peak
SYDNEY/HONG KONG – Asian shares scaled four-month peaks on Monday as investors counted on a revival in Chinese activity to boost global economic growth, even as surging coronavirus cases delayed business re-openings across the United States.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 1.6% to its highest since February, with the bullish sentiment spilling into other markets.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures were trading up 2.3% and FTSE futures 1.5%, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 firmed 1.1%.
Eyes were on Chinese blue chips which jumped 5.4%on top of a 7% gain last week, to their loftiest level in five years. Even Japan’s Nikkei, which has lagged with a soft domestic economy, managed a rise of 1.8%.
Full Coverage: REUTERS
Dollar steady ahead of services sector data, rising stocks sink yen
TOKYO – The dollar held steady against most currencies on Monday as investors awaited data expected to show the U.S. services sector stopped contracting, which would further lift hopea for an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The euro moved in a narrow range before economic data from Germany and the eurozone that are also forecast to show a sharp rebound in corporate activity and retail sales, which would ease concerns about the economic outlook.
The yen fell against most major currencies as gains in Asian share prices encouraged some risk-on trades.
A steady rise of new coronavirus infections in the United States has discouraged some investors from taking big positions in the currency market, but most market participants remain focused on the growing likelihood that major economies will continue to recover.
Full Coverage: REUTERS
Oil prices mixed as coronavirus spike casts shadow over U.S. demand
SINGAPORE – Oil prices offered up a mixed market snapshot on Monday, with Brent crude edging higher, supported by tighter supplies, while U.S. benchmark WTI futures dropped on concern that a spike in coronavirus cases could curb oil demand in the United States.
Brent crude LCOc1 rose 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $42.98 a barrel by 0252 GMT after a 4.3% gain last week, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was at $40.42, down 23 cents, or 0.6%, from its previous settlement on Thursday. U.S. markets were closed on Friday to mark July 4 holiday celebrations.
Amid rising numbers of coronavirus cases in 39 U.S. states, a Reuters tally showed that in the first four days of July alone, 15 states reported record increases in new COVID-19 infections with parties over the holiday weekend possibly leading to another spike.
Full Coverage: The Star
