Headlines

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to continue the bank’s massive bond-purchase program through the end of the year, brushing off calls in Germany for an early exit and underlining a policy divergence with the Federal Reserve, which has started to raise interest rates, The Wall Street Journal reported. At a news conference, Mr. Draghi welcomed recent signs of strength in the eurozone’s €10 trillion economy, including a rebound in consumer confidence and employment, but said the improvements weren’t yet enough to trigger a course change from Frankfurt.

Tough new banking rules will increase borrowing costs for the Republic’s aircraft leasing industry, a conference heard on Thursday, the Irish Times reported. Proposed Basel IV reforms of the rules governing how banks manage their risks are likely to make it more expensive for lenders to provide cash for assets such as aircraft and ships. In a discussion at the Global Airfinance Conference in Dublin, Stephan Sayre, managing director of aviation investment management at DVB Bank, said it was too early to assess the exact impact of the proposed change.

The banking woes of Italy, the euro area’s third-biggest member, pale next to those that, four years ago, plagued Cyprus, its second-smallest. Now there is cause for cautious optimism, The Economist reported. This month Bank of Cyprus, the biggest local lender, finished repaying €11.4bn ($12.2bn) of emergency liquidity assistance from the country’s central bank. It followed that by returning to the bond markets, raising €250m in a sale of unsecured notes, albeit with a stiff 9.25% coupon. Even better, on January 19th Bank of Cyprus listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Finding a resolution to the problem of unsustainable losses at Bus Éireann is a matter for management and trade unions, Minister for Transport Shane Ross has indicated, the Irish Times reported. He told the Dáil that Bus Éireann was losing some €6 million a year, and this was not as a result of the State’s subvention to the company but rather due to losses being run up by its commercial Expressway arm, which faces intense competition from private operators.

Failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing is pressing ahead with a stock market listing of its domestic arm Arion, people close to the matter said, a key step in Iceland's rehabilitation in the global financial system, Reuters reported. Kaupthing, once a major international bank, went into administration and its domestic operations were separated into Arion Bank in 2009. Iceland became the first western European country in more than three decades to be bailed out by the International Monetary Fund.

Bankrupt South Korean shipping line Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd won U.S. court approval at a hearing on Wednesday for the $78 million sale of its stake in U.S. terminal operator Total Terminals International LLC, overcoming objections of container companies. "My decision is to approve the sale," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood said, adding he would approve the transfer of the sale's proceeds to South Korea.

Germany’s largest bank said on Wednesday that it would “substantially limit” bonuses for the 2016 financial year. The announcement comes after it agreed in December to pay $7.2 billion to resolve an investigation by American authorities into its sale of toxic mortgage securities, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. Concerns about the potential size of the settlement have weighed heavily on the bank’s stock price and its reputation.

A South Korean court on Thursday blocked a prosecutor’s attempt to arrest Jay Y. Lee, the leader of Samsung, saying there was not enough evidence that Mr. Lee had bribed President Park Geun-hye, in a scandal that led to her impeachment, the International New York Times reported. A justice on the Central District Court in Seoul, Cho Eui-yeon, rejected the prosecutor’s request to issue an arrest warrant, saying said it was “difficult to recognize the need” to incarcerate Mr. Lee. Mr.

Australia’s economy added jobs in December, although not enough to prevent the unemployment rate edging up as participation in the workforce increased, Bloomberg News reported. December’s data caps a volatile year for Australian jobs, as declining participation for much of 2016 signaled more spare capacity than improved hiring figures suggested. There is some cause for optimism as participation picked up and full-time roles climbed toward the end of the year.

Bus Eireann told staff about a series of large cuts to payments and allowances and a reduction in temporary staff today as it seeks to avoid insolvency, The Irish Mirror reported. The company said that if the programme of cuts are implemented fully it would be ready to offer staff an average pay rise of 2% a year over four years. The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) responded to the offer and described the proposed pay increase, which they calculated at between 1% and 3%, as “insulting”.