Finance

Klarna, best known for its buy now, pay later loans, is launching a personal account for deposits and cashback rewards in the U.S. and Europe.
The move signals how Klarna is pushing deeper into banking with features that encourage people to move their spending and saving onto its platform.
It comes as the fintech giant edges closer toward a much-anticipated U.S. IPO.

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 Images

Financial technology firm Klarna is pushing deeper into banking with its own checking account-like product and a cashback offering that rewards users for shopping via its app.
The company — best known for its buy now, pay later loans that let consumers pay for purchases via interest-free monthly installments — said Thursday that it is launching the new products as it seeks to “disrupt retail banking” and encourage customers to move their spending and saving onto its platform.

“These new products make it easier for customers to manage multiple scheduled payments, helping our customers use Klarna for more frequent purchases and driving loyalty,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s CEO and founder, told CNBC.
Siemiatkowski said that Klarna wants to “support all consumers with their everyday spending,” adding that the products will allow people to “earn money while they shop and manage it in a Klarna account.”
The two new products, which are being rolled out in 12 markets including the U.S. and across Europe, will show up in the Klarna app as “balance” and “cashback.”
Klarna balance lets users store money in a bank-like personal account, which they can then use to make instant purchases and pay off their buy now, pay later loans.

Users can also receive refunds for returned items directly in their Klarna balance.

Cashback offers customers the ability to earn up to 10% of the value of their purchases at participating retailers as rewards. Any money earned gets automatically stored in their balance account.
It’s not Klarna’s first foray into more traditional banking; the company has offered checking accounts and savings products in Germany since 2021.
Now, the company is expanding these banking products in other markets.
Customers in the EU — where Klarna has an official bank license — will be able to earn as much as 3.58% interest on their deposits. Customers in the U.S., however, will not be able to earn interest.
The launch marks a major step up in Klarna’s product range as the fintech giant edges closer toward a much-anticipated U.S. IPO.

Klarna has yet to set a fixed timeline for the stock market listing. However, in an interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell” in February, Siemiatkowski said an IPO this year was “not impossible.”
“We still have a few steps and work ahead of ourselves,” he said. “But we’re keen on becoming a public company.”
In the meantime, Klarna is in discussions with investors about a secondary share sale to provide its employees with some liquidity, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Klarna’s valuation on the open secondary market is currently in the high-teen billions, said the source, who was speaking on condition of anonymity as details of the share sale are not yet public. More

When an economy contracts for two consecutive quarters, it is often considered to be in recession. European policymakers will be hoping that two consecutive quarters of growth are equally notable. Data released on August 14th showed that, in the second quarter of the year, the EU’s economy once again grew by 0.3% against the previous quarter. Although nothing to write home about by American standards, such growth is a relief after more than a year of stagnation. More

The outcry was immediate. On August 11th Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s minister of national security, said that his country could permanently occupy the Gaza Strip. “Sanctions,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, hit back, “must be on the agenda”. It was unclear whether Mr Borrell meant they would be placed on Mr Ben-Gvir or Israel itself; either way, European support for measures targeting Israel is growing. A few months ago Micheál Martin, Ireland’s foreign minister, and a supporter of sanctions, said that his colleagues were beginning to consider the question of “what if” they went for them. More

Over the past year-and-a-half inflation has fallen sharply across the rich world. Although some central banks have now begun to cut interest rates, few are yet ready to pat themselves on the back for a job well done. In many countries the core rate of inflation, excluding volatile energy and food prices, remains uncomfortably high—at 3.2% in America and 2.9% across the euro zone—even as underlying economies show signs of slowing and financial markets become increasingly jittery. The marathon task of returning price growth to more normal levels is not quite finished. And the last mile, as so often, is proving the toughest. More

Many governments live in fear of bond-market “vigilantes”, investors who punish errant policies by aggressively selling the sovereign’s debt, driving down its price and thereby pushing up its yield. Financial regulators also worry about bond-market malfunctions, such as unsettled trades, when one party to a transaction fails to honour its promises. These mishaps can send ripples of anxiety through an entire financial system. More

UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said Wednesday that market volatility could intensify in the second half of the year, but he does not believe the U.S. is heading into a recession.
Global equities saw sharp sell-offs last week as investors digested weak economic data out of the U.S. which raised fears about an economic downturn in the world’s largest economy.
UBS expects that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by at least 50 basis points this year.

Sergio Ermotti, chief executive officer of UBS Group
Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images

ZURICH, Switzerland ꟷ UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said Wednesday that market volatility could intensify in the second half of the year, but he does not believe the U.S. is heading into a recession.
Global equities saw sharp sell-offs last week as investors digested weak economic data out of the U.S. which raised fears about an economic downturn in the world’s largest economy. It also raised questions about whether the Federal Reserve needed to be less hawkish with its monetary policy stance. The central bank kept rates on hold in late July at a 23-year high.

When asked about the outlook for the U.S. economy, Ermotti said: “Not necessarily a recession, but definitely a slowdown is possible.”
“The macroeconomic indicators are not clear enough to talk about recessions, and actually, it’s probably premature. What we know is that the Fed has enough capacity to step in and support that, although it’s going to take time, whatever they do to be then transmitted into the economy,” the CEO told CNBC on Wednesday after the bank reported its second-quarter results.

UBS expects that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by at least 50 basis points this year. At the moment, traders are split between a 50 and a 25 basis point cut at the Fed’s next meeting in September, according to LSEG data.
Speaking to CNBC, Ermotti said that we are likely to see higher market volatility in the second half of the year, partially because of the U.S. election in November.
“That’s one factor, but also, if I look at the overall geopolitical picture, if I look at the macroeconomic picture, what we saw in the last couple of weeks in terms of volatility, which, in my point of view, is a clear sign of the fragility of some elements of the system, … one should expect definitely a higher degree of volatility,” he said.

Another uncertainty going forward is monetary policy and whether central banks will have to cut rates more aggressively to combat a slowdown in the economy. In Switzerland, where UBS is headquartered, the central bank has cut rates twice this year. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England have both announced one cut so far.
“Knowing the events which are the unknowns on the horizon like the U.S. presidential election, we became complacent with a very low volatility, now we are shifting to a more normal regime,” Bruno Verstraete, founder of Lakefield Wealth Management told CNBC Wednesday.
“In the context of UBS, [more volatility is] not necessarily a bad thing, because more volatility means more trading income,” he added. More

Just ignore it. That, in short, is the advice given to retail investors when stockmarkets convulse, as plenty have over the past few weeks. Watching hard-earned savings disappear in a flash tends not to promote a cool head. So do not check your portfolio, do not tot up your losses and, above all, do not decide that now is the time to overhaul your entire investment strategy. Simply wait for the storm to pass and for share prices to resume their long march upwards. More

In just 10.5 minutes, Zeekr’s new batteries can go from a 10% to an 80% charge, using the automaker’s ultra-fast charging stations, the U.S.-listed electric car company said Tuesday.
Tesla’s Model 3 can recharge up to 175 miles in 15 minutes, or about 48% of the stated 363 mile-range, according to the company’s website.
Zeekr said its 2025 007 sedan, which is set to begin deliveries next week, will be the firm’s first model to use the new batteries.

The New York Stock Exchange welcomes Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Limited in celebration of its initial public offering on May 10, 2024.

BEIJING — Chinese electric car brand Zeekr announced new batteries on Tuesday, which it says boast the fastest charge in the world.
The offering aims to address consumers’ long-standing worries about battery driving range and ease of charging.

In just 10.5 minutes, Zeekr’s new batteries can go from a 10% to an 80% charge, using the automaker’s ultra-fast charging stations, the U.S.-listed company said. Zeekr said that the new battery could achieve the same charge performance even in negative 10 degree Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) weather in about 30 minutes.
Comparatively, Elon Musk’s Tesla says its supercharger allow the company’s vehicles to charge up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.
The company’s website says the Model 3 can recharge up to 175 miles in 15 minutes, or about 48% of the car’s stated 363 mile-range.
Chinese automaker Nio has also offered the alternative of a three-minute battery swap. The subscription service automatically changes out the battery of designated car models with a charged one at specific swap stations.

Zeekr said that its 2025 007 sedan, which is set to begin deliveries next week, will be the first model to use the new batteries.

The company noted it has opened more than 500 ultra-fast charging stations in China and plans to double that tally by then end of this year. Zeekr aims to operate more than 10,000 ultra-fast charging stations in 2026.
The Geely-owned electric car company delivered a record number of vehicles in June, making its deliveries for the first half of the year the largest among U.S.-listed Chinese companies that only sell pure electric cars. Deliveries fell slightly in July. More