WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve policy makers were cautiously optimistic about their ability to hold interest rates steady this year, minutes of the central bank’s last policy meeting showed, even as they acknowledged new risks caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

HONG KONG/LONDON — Noel Quinn, the interim chief executive of Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC), says this time things are going to be different.

THE PESO slightly weakened on Thursday on risk-off sentiment due to new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outside China and with signals that the US Federal Reserve might not tweak its rates anytime soon.

YIELDS ON the central bank’s term deposit facility (TDF) continued to inch down despite lower bids on Wednesday, with the market still packed with liquidity and investors factoring in the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

PRU LIFE UK launched its artificial intelligence-powered digital app in the Philippines which offers health management to both policyholders and non-policy holders.

SINGAPORE’S CURRENCY may tumble to the lowest level since 2017 if the central bank responds as strongly to the spread of the coronavirus as it did to the SARS epidemic two decades ago.

NOMURA HOLDINGS Inc.’s investment banking business in Asia is set to return to profit this fiscal year after more than a decade of losses since its Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. acquisition, according to its division chief.

LONDON — JPMorgan is reshuffling senior management at the top of its investment bank, naming two new global co-heads and shifting some of its most senior dealmakers into new jobs focused purely on bringing in business, two sources told Reuters.

THE PESO rebounded on Wednesday after two straight days of decline on the back of profit taking and amid positive sentiment in other Asian markets.

THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the Treasury bonds (T-bonds) it offered on Tuesday as yields sought by investors declined, with the Treasury also opening its tap facility to accommodate strong demand for the papers.

EAST WEST Banking Corp. (EastWest Bank) raised P3.7 billion from its maiden issuance of fixed-rate bonds, more than its initial target following strong demand from investors, it said on Tuesday.

TOKYO — The widening economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak and soft consumption are forcing the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to message more strongly that it is no longer inclined to chase its elusive 2% inflation target, sources familiar with its thinking say.