United News of Bangladesh

Export-import activities between Bangladesh and India via the Sonamasjid Land Port will remain suspended for six days on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest festival of Muslims, port authorities said today. Abdur Rashid, general secretary of Sonamasjid Land Port C&F Agents Association, said that trade activities will remain suspended from April 19 to April 24 on the occasion of Eid. Read: Benapole Port to remain shut for 5 days Trade activities will resume on April 25, he said. However, loading and unloading activities of imported goods at the port will remain normal during this period. Besides, travelers with passports can travel between Bangladesh and India through the land port's immigration check post during this time, he added.    

After a long wait, EgyptAir, state-owned airline of Egypt, is set to begin its regular flight operations to Bangladesh on May 14, 2023. According to EgyptAir, the airline has initially planned to operate two weekly flights between Dhaka and Cairo. District manager of Egypt Air Mostafa Magdy Hussain Elkady, and executive director and chief operating officer (COO) of Egypt Air Bangladesh office Farhad Hossain met Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Md. Mahbub Ali at his ministry office on Tuesday. They discussed the celebration of the launching of bi-lateral air connectivity between Egypt and Bangladesh. During the meeting Mahbub Ali said that the start of EgyptAir flight operations in Bangladesh is a milestone in the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries. “As EgyptAir commences, its direct flights between Dhaka and Cairo will offer a great opportunity for different stakeholders intending to visit Egypt, Europe, and North America via Cairo, and would reflect exchanging businesses, cargoes, and also facilitate Bangladeshi students studying in Egyptian universities,” he said. It will help the tourists who would come to explore the multifaceted Egyptian tourism, he opined. Highlighting his country as the cradle of modern civilization Mostafa Magdy said, "Egypt and EgyptAir welcome tourists and passengers from Bangladesh to enjoy the Egyptian hospitality and various cultural heritage.” He also discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and Egypt through trade, tourism, and investment. Farhad Hossain said that commencing of the flights on this route would boost tourism, trade, and business between the two countries. The airline will operate flights to and from Dhaka twice weekly on Sunday and Wednesday with brand-new Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Now, Egypt Air will become the sole operator of nonstop flights between Egypt and Bangladesh in the aviation history of Bangladesh, he added. EgyptAir hopes the nonstop service will further boost leisure travel between the two countries and connect traffic through Cairo to the airline's onward destinations, such as the USA, Canada, Middle East, and Africa. EgyptAir operates flights to over 80 destinations, including the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the United States, with a fleet of 69 modern aircraft.    

The spring meeting of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) begins today (April 10, 2023) in Washington DC, USA. This meeting is likely to announce an allocation of USD $50 billion from the organisations to face the global crisis. The seven-day meeting will continue till April 16 at the headquarters of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington. Read More: Bangladesh's GDP growth expected to pick up to 6.2% in FY2024: World Bank According to the Ministry of Finance, a delegation of six members is participating in the spring meeting led by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Abdur Rouf Talukder. Along with the governor, Bangladesh Bank Chief Economist Habibur Rahman, Finance Secretary Fatima Yasmin and Additional Secretary of Finance Department Rehana Parveen and two officials from the Economic Relations Department (ERD) are participating in the meeting. Apart from this, three more officials from the Bangladesh Embassy in the United States are expected to join the meeting along with the Bangladesh team. Read More: World Bank agrees to finance for development of metro rail-centric communication Generally, such meetings are led by the finance minister. However, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal is not joining the meetings this time. At this meeting of the World Bank Group, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a subsidiary of the organization, may announce an additional financing of $50 billion to deal with the global crisis. Being a member of IBRD, Bangladesh will also get the benefit of this financing, the finance ministry sources said. Read More: New World Bank leadership must put Climate Action as top priority: V20 The World Bank's spring meeting will be chaired by President of France Emmanuel Macron, and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley. They will be joined by world leaders, academics, development experts and climate experts. Besides, finance ministers, central bank governors of 189 World Bank member countries will participate.

Samsung Electronics said Friday it's cutting the production of its computer memory chips in an apparent effort to reduce inventory as it forecasted another quarter of sluggish profit. The South Korean technology giant in a regulatory filing said it has been reducing the production of certain memory products by unspecified "meaningful levels" to optimize its manufacturing operations, adding it has sufficient supplies of those chips to meet demand fluctuations. The company predicted an operating profit of 600 billion won ($455 million) for the three months through March, which would be a 96% decline from the same period a year earlier. It said it sales during the quarter likely fell 19% to 63 trillion won ($47.7 billion). Samsung, which will release its finalized first quarter earnings later this month, said the demand for its memory chips declined as a weak global economy depressed consumer spending on technology products and forced business clients to adjust their inventories to nurse worsening finances. Samsung had reported a near 70% drop in profit for October-December quarter, which partially reflected how global events like Russia's war on Ukraine and high inflation have rattled technology markets. SK Hynix, another major South Korean semiconductor producer, said this week that it sold $1.7 billion of bonds that can be exchanged into the company's shares to help fund its purchases of chipmaking materials as it weathers the industry's downswing. SK Hynix had reported an operating loss of 1.7 trillion won ($1.28 billion) for the October-December period, which marked its first quarterly deficit since 2012. "While we have lowered our short-term production plans, we expect solid demand for the mid- to long-term, so we will continue to invest in infrastructure to secure essential levels in clean room capacities and expand investment in research and development to strengthen our technology leadership," Samsung said. Samsung last month announced plans to invest 300 trillion won ($227 billion) over the next 20 years as part of an ambitious South Korean project to build the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing base near the capital, Seoul. The chip-making "mega cluster," which will be established in Gyeonggi province by 2042, will be anchored by five new semiconductor plants built by Samsung near its existing manufacturing hub. It will aim to attract 150 other companies producing materials and components or designing high-tech chips, according to South Korea's government. The South Korean plan comes as other technology powerhouses, including the United States, Japan and China, are building up their domestic chip manufacturing, deploying protectionist measures, tax cuts and sizeable subsidies to lure investments.  

Fair Technology on Sunday announced the Launching of the  Hyundai Experience Center at Babylonia, Tejgaon.  The Experience  Zone will showcase Hyundai's latest models, cutting-edge technology and exciting  Features to visitors in near Future. National Film Award winning actor Tariq Anam Khan, Global  Television CEO Mrs. Nima Rahman and journalist Syed Ishtiaq Reza were present on the occasion as  guest. "We are excited to bring the Hyundai Experience Center to Babylonia and showcase  our latest vehicles and technologies to customers of Bangladesh," said Mutassim  Daiaan, Director and CEO at Fair Technology.  At this time Mr. Mutassim Daiaan, Director & CEO of Fair Technology  announced the new price of HYUNDAI CRETA GRAD 2023 in the presence of everyone. The price is fixed at 44 lakh 50 thousand taka. At the same time, buyers  will get 5 years warranty and up to 60% buy back facility. The Hyundai Experience Center will be open to the public from now on and is  located at Babylonia, Tejgaon. For more information visit the Fair Technology Hyundai website.  

Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers on Sunday announced surprise cuts totaling up to 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year, a move that could raise prices worldwide. Higher oil prices would help fill Russian President Vladimir Putin's coffers as his country wages war on Ukraine and force Americans and others to pay even more at the pump amid worldwide inflation. It was also likely to further strain ties with the United States, which has called on Saudi Arabia and other allies to increase production as it tries to bring prices down and squeeze Russia's finances. The production cuts alone could push U.S. gasoline prices up by roughly 26 cents per gallon, in addition to the usual increase that comes when refineries change the gasoline blend during the summer driving season, said Kevin Book, managing director of Clearview Energy Partners LLC. The Energy Department calculates the seasonal increase at an average of 32 cents per gallon, Book said. So with an average U.S. price now at roughly $3.50 per gallon of regular, according to AAA, that could mean gasoline over $4 per gallon during the summer. However, Book said there are a number of complex variables in oil and gas prices. The size of each country's production cut depends on the baseline production number it is using, so the cut might not be 1.15 million. It also could take much of the year for the cuts to take effect. Demand could fall if the U.S. enters a recession caused by the banking crisis. But it also could increase during the summer as more people travel. Even though the production cut is only about 1% of the roughly 100 million barrels of oil the world uses per day, the impact on prices could be big, Book said. Also Read: As Biden weighs Willow, he blocks other Alaska oil drilling “It's a big deal because of the way oil prices work,” he said. “You are in a market that is relatively balanced. You take a small amount away, depending on what demand does, you could have a very significant price response.” Saudi Arabia announced the biggest cut among OPEC members at 500,000 barrels per day. The cuts are in addition to a reduction announced last October that infuriated the Biden administration. The Saudi Energy Ministry described the move as a “precautionary measure” aimed at stabilizing the oil market. The cuts represent less than 5% of Saudi Arabia's average production of 11.5 million barrels per day in 2022. Also Read: Oil giant Saudi Aramco has profits of $161B in 2022 Iraq said it would reduce production by 211,000 barrels per day, the United Arab Emirates by 144,000, Kuwait by 128,000, Kazakhstan by 78,000, Algeria by 48,000 and Oman by 40,000. The announcements were carried by each country's state media. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak meanwhile said Moscow would extend a voluntary cut of 500,000 until the end of the year, according to remarks carried by the state news agency Tass. Russia had announced the unilateral reduction in February after Western countries imposed price caps. All are members of the so-called OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries, which includes the original Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as Russia and other major producers. There was no immediate statement from OPEC itself. The cuts announced in October — of some 2 million barrels a day — had come on the eve of U.S. midterm elections in which soaring prices were a major issue. President Joe Biden vowed at the time that there would be “consequences” and Democratic lawmakers called for freezing cooperation with the Saudis. Both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia denied any political motives in the dispute. Since those cuts, oil prices have trended down. Brent crude, a global benchmark, was trading around $80 a barrel at the end of last week, down from around $95 in early October, when the earlier cuts were agreed. Analysts Giacomo Romeo and Lloyd Byrne at Jefferies said in a research note that the new cuts should allow for “material” reductions to OPEC inventory earlier than expected and could validate recent warnings from some traders and analysts that demand for oil is weakening. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the Saudis are determined to keep oil prices high enough to fund ambitious mega-projects linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to overhaul the economy. “This domestic interest takes precedence in Saudi decision-making over relationships with international partners and is likely to remain a point of friction in U.S.-Saudi relations for the foreseeable future,” he said. Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant Aramco recently announced record profits of $161 billion from last year. Profits rose 46.5% when compared to the company’s 2021 results of $110 billion. Aramco said it hoped to boost production to 13 million barrels a day by 2027. The decades-long U.S.-Saudi alliance has come under growing strain in recent years following the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist, and Saudi Arabia's war with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. As a candidate for president, Biden had vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the Khashoggi killing, but as oil prices rose after his inauguration he backed off. He visited the kingdom last July in a bid to patch up relations, drawing criticism for sharing a fistbump with Crown Prince Mohammed. Saudi Arabia has denied siding with Russia in the Ukraine war, even as it has cultivated closer ties with both Moscow and Beijing in recent years. Last week, Aramco announced billions of dollars of investment in China's downstream petrochemicals industry.

The CEO of Chinese e-commerce and financial giant Alibaba said Thursday that the company is moving toward giving up control of some of its business units in a transition toward becoming a capital operator to optimize the value of its sprawling businesses. Daniel Zhang outlined details of a plan announced earlier this week to split Alibaba into six main groups as a prelude toward stock listings of some of its companies. The restructuring marks a new stage in Alibaba's growth after a series of setbacks as regulators cracked down on it and other tech companies. Alibaba, whose headquarters is in the eastern city of Hangzhou, will be "in the nature of a holding company that is the controlling shareholder of the business group companies," Zhang said in a conference call. Alibaba's CFO, Toby Xu, said the company would continue to evaluate the strategic importance of group companies after they go public and decide whether or not to retain control. He declined to say when they might go public. "We believe the market is the best litmus test, so each business group company can pursue independent fundraising and IPOs as and when they are ready," Xu said. Alibaba's stock prices in Hong Kong and New York have rallied nearly 15% since the restructuring was announced Tuesday. The firm's Hong Kong-listed stock was up 0.9% by midday Thursday. The plan, and the recent return of Alibaba founder Jack Ma to China after months abroad appear to mark a turnaround after several hard years. Chinese regulators singled out Alibaba for scrutiny in a crackdown on technology and internet companies, putting the brakes on a planned initial public offering in 2020 of Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Group. Ma had kept a low profile with few public appearances since Nov. 2020, when he had publicly criticized China's regulators and financial systems during a speech in Shanghai. Ant had been set to raise $34.5 billion in what would have been the world's largest share offering at the time. Alibaba was later investigated and fined $2.8 billion for breaching antitrust rules as Chinese authorities cracked down on the once-freewheeling technology industry. "The looser connections between the business units is in line with the regulatory stance of encouraging competition," said an analyst's note from Moody's Investor Service. Among other things, the restructuring plan might allay such antitrust concerns, since as Zhang explained, each Alibaba business unit would be empowered to make its own decisions and raise capital independently. He said that having business units operate independently should also foster innovation and growth after years of harsh COVID-19 restrictions that battered China's economy. Alibaba's restructure — the first of its kind in the Chinese technology industry — also could serve as an example for similar companies such as online games company Tencent to follow suit. Tencent's shares rallied after Alibaba's announcement on Monday. "We think that Alibaba's new organizational structure could be used by Chinese regulators as a template for other Chinese Big Tech firms," said a report by CreditSights.  

Starbucks officially has a new CEO. The Seattle coffee giant said Monday that Laxman Narasimhan has assumed the role of CEO and joined the company’s board of directors. Narasimhan succeeds longtime Starbucks leader Howard Schultz, who came out of retirement last spring to serve as interim CEO while the company searched for a new chief executive. Schultz will remain on the company’s board. Starbucks announced last Septembe that Narasimhan would become its new CEO. Narasimhan, 55, most recently served as CEO of Reckitt, a U.K.-based consumer health, hygiene and nutrition company. Prior to that he was a longtime executive at Pepsico. Since he was named incoming CEO, Narasimhan has traveled to more than 30 stores, manufacturing plants and support centers around the world, the company said. He also earned his barista certification. In a prepared statement, Narasimhan said he was humbled as he stepped into his new role. “The foundation Howard has laid – building from scratch an iconic global brand fueled by a lasting passion to uplift humanity – is truly remarkable, and I am honored to have the opportunity to build on this deep heritage,” Narasimhan said. Narasimhan is scheduled to lead Starbucks’ annual meeting on Thursday. Read more: Starbucks to have 6,000 stores in China by 2022 In his year as interim CEO, Schultz has announced hundreds of millions in investments to improve worker pay and benefits and revamp Starbucks’ North American stores. The company posted record sales in its most recent quarter, which ended Jan. 1. But Schultz also faced a growing unionization effort at its U.S. stores, which the company opposes. Schultz is scheduled to testify March 29 before a Senate committee examining the company’s labor record.

Global stock markets sank Monday after Swiss authorities arranged the takeover of troubled Credit Suisse amid fears of a global banking crisis ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting to decide on more possible interest rate hikes. Hong Kong's main index slid 2.7%. London, Frankfurt and Paris opened down more than 1%. Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney also declined. Wall Street futures were off 1%. Oil prices plunged more than $2 per barrel. Swiss authorities on Sunday announced UBS would acquire its smaller rival as regulators try to ease fears about banks following the collapse of two U.S. lenders. Central banks announced coordinated efforts to stabilize lenders, including a facility to borrow U.S. dollars if necessary. Switzerland’s share benchmark was down 1.8%, while Credit Suisse’s shares plunged 63% and rival UBS, which is acquiring it, sank 14%. Also Read: UBS to buy Credit Suisse for nearly $3.25B to calm turmoil Investors worry banks are cracking under the strain of unexpectedly fast, large rate hikes over the past year to cool economic activity and inflation. Prices of bonds and other assets on their books fell, fueling unease about the industry’s financial health. “Investors are waiting to see where the dust settles on the banking saga before making any bold moves,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management in a report. In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 1.6% to 7,220.62. Frankfurt's DAX fell 1.4% to 14,555.79 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.2% to 6,842.36. On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index was off 1%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2%. On Friday, the S&P 500 lost 1.1%. The Dow fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.7%. In Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 2.7% to 18,879.20 after being down 3.3% at one point. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 1.4% to 26,945.67. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5% to 3,234.91 after the Chinese central bank on Friday freed up more money for lending by reducing the amount of their deposits commercial lenders are required to hold in reserve. The Kospi in Seoul retreated 0.7% to 2,379.20 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 1.4% to 6,898.50. India's Sensex lost 1.3% to 57,241.45. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also declined. The Swiss government said UBS will acquire Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion after a plan for the troubled lender to borrow as much as $54 billion from Switzerland’s central bank failed to reassure investors and customers. U.S. regulators have also tried to calm fears over threats to banking systems. The Federal Reserve said cash-short banks had borrowed about $300 billion in the week up to Thursday. Separately, New York Community Bank agreed to buy part of failed Signature Bank in a $2.7 billion deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Sunday. The FDIC said $60 billion in Signature Bank’s loans will remain in receivership and are expected to be sold off in time. Investors worry about other lenders with shaky finances. Credit Suisse is among 30 institutions known as globally systemically important banks. Traders expect last week’s turmoil to push the Fed to limit a rate hike at this week's meeting to 0.25 percentage points. That would be the same as the previous increase and half the margin traders expected earlier. A survey released Friday by the University of Michigan showed inflation expectations among American consumers are falling. That matters to the Fed, which has said such expectations can feed into virtuous and vicious cycles. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude plunged $2.45 to $64.29 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.61 on Friday to $66.74. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil, lost $2.67 to $70.30 per barrel in London. It retreated $1.73 the previous session to $72.97. The dollar declined to 130.70 yen from Friday’s 131.67 yen. The euro retreated to $1.0647 from $1.0681.

Banking giant UBS is buying troubled rival Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion, in a deal orchestrated by regulators in an effort to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking system. Swiss authorities pushed for UBS to take over its smaller rival after a plan for Credit Suisse to borrow up to 50 billion francs ($54 billion) failed to reassure investors and the bank’s customers. Shares of Credit Suisse and other banks plunged this week after the failure of two banks in the U.S. sparked concerns about other potentially shaky institutions in the global financial system. Credit Suisse is among the 30 financial institutions known as globally systemically important banks, and authorities worried about the fallout if it were to fail. The deal was “one of great breadth for the stability of international finance,” said Swiss President Alain Berset as he announced it Sunday night. “An uncontrolled collapse of Credit Suisse would lead to incalculable consequences for the country and the international financial system.” Switzerland’s executive branch, a seven-member governing body that includes Berset, passed an emergency ordinance allowing the merger to go through without shareholder approval. Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann called the sale “a clear turning point.” “It is a historic, sad and very challenging day for Credit Suisse, for Switzerland and for the global financial markets,” Lehmann said, adding that the focus is now on the future and in particular on the 50,000 Credit Suisse employees, 17,000 of whom are in Switzerland. Following news of the Swiss deal, the world’s central banks announced coordinated financial moves to stabilize banks in the coming week. This includes daily access to a lending facility for banks looking to borrow U.S. dollars if they need them, a practice which widely used during the 2008 financial crisis. Three months after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of 2008, such swap lines had been tapped for $580 billion. Added swap lines were also rolled out during market turmoil in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. “Today is one of the most significant days in European banking since 2008, with far-reaching repercussions for the industry,” said Max Georgiou, an analyst at Third Bridge. “These events could alter the course of not only European banking but also the wealth management industry more generally.” Read: Startup-focused Silicon Valley Bank becomes largest bank to fail since 2008 financial crisis Colm Kelleher, the UBS chairman, hailed the “enormous opportunities” that emerge from the takeover, and highlighted his bank’s “conservative risk culture” — a subtle swipe at Credit Suisse’s reputation for more swashbuckling, aggressive gambles in search of bigger returns. He said the combined group would create a wealth manager with over $5 trillion in total invested assets. Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said the council “regrets that the bank, which was once a model institution in Switzerland and part of our strong location, was able to get into this situation at all.” The combination of the two biggest and best-known Swiss banks, each with storied histories dating to the mid-19th century, amounts to a thunderclap for Switzerland’s reputation as a global financial center — leaving it on the cusp of having a single national champion in banking. The deal follows the collapse of two large U.S. banks last week that spurred a frantic, broad response from the U.S. government to prevent any further panic. Still, global financial markets have been on edge since Credit Suisse’s share price began plummeting this week. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde lauded the “swift action” by Swiss officials, saying they were “instrumental for restoring orderly market conditions and ensuring financial stability.” She said the banks “are in a completely different position from 2008” during the financial crisis, partly because of stricter government regulation. UBS officials said they plan to sell off parts of Credit Suisse or reduce the bank’s size in the coming months and years. The Swiss government is providing more than 100 billion francs in aid and financial backstops to make the deal go through. As part of the deal, approximately 16 billion francs ($17.3 billion) in Credit Suisse bonds will be wiped out. European bank regulators use a special type of bond designed to provide a capital cushion to banks in times of distress. But these bonds are designed to be wiped out if a bank’s capital falls below a certain level, which was triggered as part of this government-brokered deal. Berset said the Federal Council had already been discussing a long-troubled situation at Credit Suisse since the beginning of the year and held urgent meetings in the last four days amid spiraling concerns about its financial health that caused major swoons in its stock price and raised the specter of the 2007-08 financial crisis. Investors and banking industry analysts were still digesting the deal, but at least one analyst was sour on the news because it could damage Switzerland’s global banking image. Read: Ford to cut 1,100 jobs in Spain after other European layoffs “A country-wide reputation with prudent financial management, sound regulatory oversight, and, frankly, for being somewhat dour and boring regarding investments, has been wiped away,” said Octavio Marenzi, CEO of consulting firm Opimas LLC, in an email. Credit Suisse is designated by the Financial Stability Board, an international body that monitors the global financial system, as one of the world’s important banks. This means regulators believe its uncontrolled failure would lead to ripples throughout the financial system not unlike the collapse of Lehman Brothers 15 years ago. The Credit Suisse parent bank is not part of European Union supervision, but it has entities in several European countries that are. Lagarde reiterated what she said last week after the central bank raised interest rates — that the European banking sector is resilient, with strong financial reserves and plenty of ready cash. Many of Credit Suisse’s problems are unique and do not overlap with the weaknesses that brought down Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, whose failures led to a significant rescue effort by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve. As a result, their downfall does not necessarily signal the start of a financial crisis similar to what occurred in 2008. The deal caps a highly volatile week for Credit Suisse, most notably on Wednesday when its shares plunged to a record low after its largest investor, the Saudi National Bank, said it wouldn’t invest any more money into the bank to avoid tripping regulations that would kick in if its stake rose about 10%. On Friday, shares dropped 8% to close at 1.86 francs ($2) on the Swiss exchange. The stock has seen a long downward slide: It traded at more than 80 francs in 2007. Its current troubles began after Credit Suisse reported on Tuesday that managers had identified “material weaknesses” in the bank’s internal controls on financial reporting as of the end of last year. That fanned fears that Credit Suisse would be the next domino to fall. While smaller than its Swiss rival UBS, Credit Suisse still wields considerable influence, with $1.4 trillion assets under management. The firm has significant trading desks around the world, caters to the rich and wealthy through its wealth management business, and is a major advisor for global companies in mergers and acquisitions. Notably, Credit Suisse did not need government assistance in 2008 during the financial crisis, while UBS did. The Swiss bank has been pushing to raise money from investors and roll out a new strategy to overcome an array of troubles, including bad bets on hedge funds, repeated shake-ups of its top management and a spying scandal involving UBS.