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Swiss regulator escalates investigation into Credit Suisse

Switzerland's financial watchdog has ramped-up its probe into Credit Suisse over the spying scandal that prompted chief executive Tidjane Thiam to resign earlier this year. A 2019 investigation found former chief operating officer, Pierre-Olivier Bouee, ordered the surveillance of the bank's former head of wealth management, Iqbal Khan, who joined rival, UBS.

UK house prices in August rise by the most since 2004

House prices across the UK rose at the fastest monthly rate since 2004 thanks to surging demand following a coronavirus lockdown. The average price of a house rose by 2-percent in August from the previous month, to just below 300-thousand dollars. The annual growth rate also accelerated to 3-point-7 percent from 1-and- a-half percent in July.

Bumble dating app reportedly plans IPO for early next year

Dating and networking app, Bumble, is reportedly preparing to go public as early as next year. According to a Bloomberg report, the company is seeking a valuation of as much as 8-billion- dollars from the initial public offering. Bumble's parent company, MagicLab, has been valued at about 3-billion- dollars after selling a majority stake to BlackStone

Tesla, Apple shares jump as stock splits take effect

Shares in Tesla have rallied 10-percent while Apple has jumped over 4-percent on the first day of their stock splits. The electric carmaker has increased the number of its outstanding shares 5-to-1 while the iPhone-maker has completed a 4-for-1 split to make their stock more affordable. Meanwhile, Apple has reportedly asked suppliers to manufacture at least 75-million 5G phones for later this year.

52 ex-franchisees sue McDonald's for racial discrimination

Dozens of Black former franchise owners are suing McDonald's for 1-billion- dollars over alleged racial discrimination. In a lawsuit, the 52 plaintiffs claimed the fast-food giant systematically placed them in substandard locations that hindered profitability and growth. McDonald's denies any wrongdoing and says the claims were meritless.

South Korean prosecutors indict Samsung heir Jay Y Lee

Samsung's de-facto leader Jay Y Lee has been indicted on charges including accounting fraud and stock price manipulation. The charges are linked to the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung units that helped Lee assume greater control. Lee was released from prison in 2018 after a court suspended his sentence in a separate bribery scandal

New Chinese rules threaten sale of TikTok's US operations

TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, will now need to get approval from Beijing in order to sell its US operations to comply with the Trump administration's demands. The Chinese government has added artificial intelligence technology to a list of export-controlled products on national security grounds. The White House has threatened to ban TikTok if a sale does not go through.

Warren Buffet spends $6B on stakes in Japan trading houses

Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway has bought stakes in Japan's five major trading houses. The investment company has acquired around 5-percent of each of the so-called 'sogo sho-sha' trading houses for a total of 6.3-billion dollars. It comes as more foreign investors leave the Japanese market. Berkshire says it may increase its holdings to 9.9-percent.

French utility Veolia to buy 29.9% of rival Suez for $3.5B

French utility firm, Veolia, has offered 3-and- a-half billion dollars to buy nearly 30-percent of rival company, Suez. The merger would create a global company in waste and water services with an annual turnover of around 48-billion dollars. The bid comes as European waste firms like Veolia attempt to fend-off looming competition in the sector from China.

Softbank to sell $14B in Japan telecoms unit

Softbank says it will sell around a third of its stake in its Japanese telecoms unit for around 14-billion dollars. It's part of the conglomerate's ongoing asset sale programme to expand share buybacks and reduce debt, following massive losses in its start-up investments. The sale is expected to take place late September through a global secondary offering.

Boeing recalls eight 787 Dreamliners due to technical issues

Boeing has discovered two manufacturing problems with its 787 Dreamliner jets. The issues were found in the joint of fuselage sections. The US aircraft manufacturer says eight planes will need to be inspected and repaired before they can operate again. Meanwhile, EU aviation regulators have scheduled test flights for Boeing's grounded 737 Max plane for September

Singapore raises minimum qualifying salary for foreigners

Singapore has announced an increase to the minimum qualifying salary for foreign workers in an effort to encourage employers to hire more locals. Foreigners looking to apply for an employment pass will now need to earn more than 3-thousand 295 dollars a month. It comes after the city-state recorded a 2.9-percent unemployment rate in the second quarter - the higest since the global financial crisis.

Walmart partners with Microsoft on TikTok deal

Walmart has announced it's teaming-up with Microsoft to in a bid to buy video-sharing app, TikTok. The surprise move comes after TikTok's chief executive, Kevin Mayer, annouced he's leaving the company, just three months into the job. The Trump administration is threatening to ban the app if Chinese parent company, ByteDance, doesn't sell its US operations by mid-September.

Rolls-Royce reports record first-half loss as demand slumps

Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce has reported record losses after the coronavirus pandemic led to a slump in air travel. The British company sank into a 7-point-1 billion dollar pre-tax loss during the first six months of this year. Rolls-Royce says it will look to raise 2-point-6 billion dollars by selling some assets to boost its balance sheet.

China's industrial profit grows at fastest rate in two years

Profits at Chinese industrial companies increased at the fastest rate in two years last month, suggesting the country's economic recovery is gaining momentum. Earnings jumped 19-point-6 percent from the same month last year to 85-billion- dollars, following an 11-percent expansion in June. The growth was mainly driven by higher profits in the auto and electronics sectors.

Lebanon's inflation rate surges to 112% in July

Lebanon's inflation skyrocketed in July as a sharp drop in its currency continued to fuel import prices. Consumer prices rose an annual 112-percent, compared with just under 90-percent the previous month. The average cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks shot-up 336-percent year-on-year, with Lebanon importing more than two-thirds of its food needs.

UK to lose $29B due to collapse in international tourism

The UK economy is set to lose around 29-billion- dollars this year as coronavirus travel restrictions hit the tourism industry. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, international visitor spending will plunge nearly 80-percent in 2020. The industry body says that puts nearly 3-million jobs at risk, and is calling on the government to scrap quarantine measures for returning travellers.

American Airlines could cut up to 19,000 jobs in October

American Airlines says it will cut 19-thousand jobs from October, unless the government extends aid for employee payrolls. The US carrier says the layoffs are in addition to voluntary departures, and will shrink its workforce by 30-percent. Earlier this year, US airlines received 25-billion- dollars from the government to help cushion the blow from the pandemic.

India reportedly removes Huawei equipment from networks

India is reportedly removing Huawei equipment from its mobile networks. This comes amid rising tensions between New Delhi and Beijing over their disputed Himalayan border. According to the Financial Times, rather than formally imposing a ban, the Indian government is quietly phasing-out Chinese vendors from its network in a bid to avoid retaliation.

Ant Group files for dual listing in Hong Kong, Shanghai

Jack Ma's Ant Group has filed its prospectus to go public in what could be the world's largest-ever initial public offering. The Chinese fintech powerhouse is expected to raise as much as 30-billion- dollars in a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The filings reveal the company's net profit jumped more than 1-thousand percent in the first half of this year to 3-point-2 billion dollars.

UK software group Aveva agrees to buy OSIsoft for $5B

UK software group, Aveva, has agreed to buy rival O-S-I Soft for 5-billion- dollars. The acquisition will help Aveva expand its position in industrial software at a time when clients are going digital in order to cut costs. Aveva says it's planning a 3-and- a-half billion- dollar rights issue to fund the transaction.

Nigeria's economy shrinks 6.1% in second quarter

Nigeria's economy has contracted for the first time in three years due to lower oil prices and coronavirus lockdowns. Gross domestic product shrank by 6-point-1 percent in the second quarter, compared with an expansion of 1-point-8 percent in the first three months. Africa's largest economy is expected to contract by up to 8-point-9 percent this year.

Rio Tinto cuts executive bonuses over sacred caves blast

Mining giant Rio Tinto has slashed bonuses for three senior executives following the destruction of two ancient caves in Australia. The decision comes after an internal review found systemic failures in heritage management practices. In May, the world's biggest iron ore miner destroyed the 46-thousand- year-old Aboriginal rock shelters as part of a mine expansion.

Microsoft backs Epic Games in battle with Apple

Microsoft is backing Fortnite maker, Epic Games, in its legal battle with Apple. In a court filing, the US software giant said Apple's threat to cut-off Epic Games from developing tools would hurt a sizeable community of game creators. The iPhone-maker removed Epic's titles from its App Store, accusing it of violating its in-game payment rules.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon arrested on fraud charges

US President Donald Trump's former senior advisor, Steve Bannon, has been arrested and charged with fraud. Prosecutors allege Bannon and three associates orchestrated a scheme to defraud donors in a fundraising campaign to build a wall along

Turkey's central bank keeps policy rate unchanged at 8.25%

Turkey's central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 8-point-25 percent for the third consecutive meeting. The bank had slashed its one-week repo rate nine times since last July when it stood at 24-percent, before halting the cuts in June. With inflation running at 11-point-7 percent, the real interest rate remains in negative territory.

Boeing scores first 737 MAX order for 2020

Boeing has scored its first order for its troubled 737 MAX aircraft after Poland's Enter Air agreed to buy up to four variants of the jet. The aircraft has been grounded worldwide following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.

Japan's exports fall 19.2% as coronavirus hits car sales

Japanese exports fell in July as the pandemic continued to hit global car sales. Total exports declined 19-point-2 percent from a year ago, while shipments from abroad were also down around 22-percent. The world's third-largest economy shrank an annualised 27-point-8 percent in the second quarter, marking its worst performance on record.

Australia signs deal with AstraZeneca for COVID-19 vaccine

Australia has signed a deal with British drugmaker, AstraZeneca, to secure 25-million doses of Oxford University's potential COVID-19 vaccine. If it proves successful, the Australian government will manufacture and supply doses to its entire population free of charge. The vaccine is one of five promising candidates to reach an advanced stage of clinical trials.

Maersk reports 25% rise in Q2 earnings to $1.7B

The world's largest container shipping line, Maersk, has reported better-than-expected second-quarter profits, despite a slump in global trade. Earnings rose 25-per cent from a year ago to 1-point-7 billion dollars, driven by its cost-cutting efforts. The Danish company expects demand to pick-up in the third quarter but has warned of a 'significant decline' across the year.