News from Around the World

Asia-Pacific turns to innovative finance to stamp out malaria

HANOI, Vietnam — With grant funding for malaria drying up, global health advocates have come to this year’s World Economic Forum on ASEAN with a pitch for more innovative financing — including from institutions such as the Asian Development Bank.

Asian markets gain ahead of ECB meeting

Asian markets mostly gained in early trading Wednesday, ahead of expected further monetary easing by the European Central Bank.

Bank of England Holds Rates, Keeps Options Open before Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England kept interest rates steady on Thursday and hinted at slightly faster future rises in borrowing costs if Brexit goes smoothly, but warned all bets were off if next March brought a “disruptive” EU departure.

The BoE said its nine rate-setters voted unanimously to hold interest rates at 0.75 percent, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists, after raising them in August for only the second time since before the financial crisis.

Bank of England’s gender diversity boosted by double appointment

The Bank of England’s gender diversity has been boosted by the appointment of two of the most senior women in British banking as external members of the committee that tries to spot and mitigate threats to UK financial stability.

Colette Bowe and Jayne-Anne Gadhia are to join the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee, the Treasury said on Thursday.

The central bank has come under parliamentary scrutiny recently for the dearth of women in its most senior ranks, partly because it currently has no female deputy governors.

BB&T And SunTrust To Merge, Forming 6th-Largest Bank In The U.S.

BB&T and SunTrust have agreed to merge into a new and as-yet-unnamed bank, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $66 billion.

Between Trump and Brussels, Trade Talks Face Myriad Challenges

BRUSSELS — When it comes to trade negotiations, there is Trump speed, and then there is Brussels speed. Reconciling the two will be more laborious and hazardous than expected, exposing the world’s biggest trade partnership to further turmoil in the months ahead.

Bonds Get a Taste of What Happens When Central Banks Step Back

(Bloomberg) -- Bond traders just had an inkling of what it could be like when central banks and pension funds aren’t there to support them.

Boris Johnson asks Queen to suspend UK Parliament ahead of Brexit

Parliament suspension: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after it returns from summer recess next week, and only weeks before the Brexit deadline.

Why this is happening: Johnson is seeking to suspend Parliament so his government can deliver a Queen's Speech on October 14, which lays out the government's agenda for the parliamentary session.

Boris Johnson wins Tory contest to become UK prime minister

Boris Johnson was crowned leader of the Conservative party on Tuesday and is set to become prime minister, facing perhaps the most daunting challenge of any British politician in peacetime.

Mr Johnson beat Jeremy Hunt in the race to succeed Theresa May as head of the Tory party, securing 92,153 votes to the foreign secretary’s 46,656.

The 2:1 margin of victory gives Mr Johnson a strong mandate to pursue his own version of Brexit in the coming weeks.

Brazil’s Inflation Rate Slows More Than Forecast in November

Brazil’s inflation rate slowed in November, according to new data which sharpen market expectations that the central bank will hold rates steady at next week’s meeting.

Annual consumer price inflation in Brazil — as measured by the IPCA index — eased to 4.05 per cent in the 12 months through November, according to figures released on Friday by the IBGE, the country’s statistics agency.