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Aaron P | Bauer-Griffin | GC Images | Getty ImagesHSBC on Tuesday unveiled a new geographic setup and consolidated its operations into four business units, amid a key overhaul that delivered the lender's first female finance chief.The bank's shares were flat in early London trade Tuesday. The U.K.-listed stock is up more than 6% over the year-to-date.As part of the restructuring outlined in regulatory filings with the Hong Kong bourse, HSBC plans to divide its operations between an "Eastern markets" branch, reuniting Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, along with a "Western markets" division, comprising the non-ringed-fenced U.K. bank, the continental European business and the Americas.Chinese insurer Ping An, HSBC's largest shareholder with a more-than-9% stake, has previously campaigned fo...

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the BRICS Business Forum in Moscow, Russia October 18, 2024. Alexander Zemlianichenko | Via ReutersRussia is rolling out the red carpet to its geopolitical allies as it hosts the latest BRICS summit on Tuesday, pushing its agenda to create a "new world order" that challenges the West.The group was initially comprised of Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined in 2010, giving the organization of rapidly economically-developing nations its current name. It has since morphed into a geopolitical forum for the world's most powerful nations outside of the West.The BRICS now have additional clout after Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the group in January, with membership to the bloc becoming an attractive prospe...

Buy now, pay later firms like Klarna and Block's Afterpay could be about to face tougher rules in the U.K.Nikolas Kokovlis | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesLONDON — More startups are being spun out of Swedish digital payments firm Klarna than any other financial technology unicorn in Europe, according to a new report from venture capital firm Accel.Accel's "Fintech Founder Factory" report shows that alumni from Klarna have gone on to create a total of 62 new startups, including the likes of Swedish lending technology firm Anyfin, regulatory compliance platform Bits Technology and AI-powered coding platform Pretzel AI.That is more than any other venture-backed fintech startup worth $1 billion or more in the region.This includes the digital banking app Revolut, whose former employees have founded 49...

The S & P 500 will serve up a minuscule return over the next decade that falls far short of the booming gains from the last decade, forecasts Goldman Sachs' equity strategy team, citing today's high concentration in just a few stocks and a lofty starting valuation. The broad market index will produce an annualized nominal total return of just 3% the next 10 years, according to the team led by David Kostin, which would rank in just the 7th percentile of 10-year returns since 1930. The S & P 500 returned 13% annually the last 10 years, above the long-term average of 11%, according to Goldman. Goldman's bearish long-term forecast comes just as the S & P 500 has entered the third year of a bull market, garnering a 27% annual total return the last two years. Investors are extremely ...

Google Gemini, the flagship generative AI from Alphabet, is is being tapped by Honeywell to provide insights across the industrial giant's massive data set that can lead to reduced maintenance costs, increased productivity and opportunities to upskill employees. "The path to autonomy requires assets working harder, people working smarter and processes working  more efficiently," said Vimal Kapur, Honeywell CEO, in a statement announcing the collaboration, which will begin offering gen AI insights to industrial clients in 2025.Kapur recently told CNBC that the biggest problems AI can solve in an industrial context start with a generational labor shortage, with declining birth rates in the industrialized world resulting in less available workers to do jobs that were popular 25 years ago. "Ev...

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:1. Can stocks keep rising?U.S. stocks have carved out a winning streak. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have posted six straight positive weeks. Both indexes closed at record highs on Friday. A busy week of earnings, along with the approaching presidential election, will help to determine where stocks go in the days ahead. Follow live market updates.2. Earnings in transitModel Y cars are pictured during the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul | Pool | Via ReutersEarnings season is picking up, as about one-fifth of the S&P 500 will post results this week. With 14% of the S&P reporting as of Friday, bo...