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By Stefanie Eschenbacher and Anna Irrera MEXICO CITY/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mexico's new leftist government is betting on financial technology to help lift people out of poverty. The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador recently announced measures aimed at making financial services more affordable in a nation where more than half the population is unbanked. It is planning a digital payments system run and built by the central bank that will allow Mexicans to make and receive payments through their smartphones free of charge. A pilot roll-out for the platform, known as CoDi, is expected by March. "In the future, it will no longer be necessary to have a bank in the sense of a traditional, established bank," said Arturo Herrera, Mexico's deputy finance minister. "Mobile phones will become banks." Phone-based banking has proven a hit among the poor in other emerging markets such as China, India and Kenya. Those efforts have been driven by private sector companies that … [Read more...] about Mexico pushes mobile payments to help unbanked consumers ditch cash

(Reuters) - The world’s biggest miner BHP Group said on Tuesday its first-half profit fell 8 percent because of production disruptions and a decline in commodity prices during the period. Underlying profit from continuing operations for the six months ended Dec. 31 fell to $4.03 billion from $4.40 billion a year ago. That missed consensus estimates of $4.209 billion. BHP declared an interim dividend of $0.55 per share, the same as last year. (Reporting By Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; editing by Christian Schmollinger) … [Read more...] about Global miner BHP Group reports first-half profit fell 8 percent

By James Davey and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Britons could face shortages of fresh food, price rises and less variety if the country leaves the European Union next month without agreeing trade terms, food industry officials say. With no deal in sight as Britain's March 29 exit date approaches, supermarkets are stockpiling, working on alternative supplies and testing new routes to cope with an expected logjam at the borders but say they face insurmountable barriers. "You can't stockpile fresh produce, you haven't got any space and it wouldn't be fresh," said Tim Steiner, head of online supermarket pioneer Ocado. The warnings, including talk of whether rationing would be needed, are part of a chorus of concern from businesses who say they are weighed down by uncertainty in what was once considered a bastion of Western economic and political stability. The last time Britain's food supplies were seriously hit was when fuel protests prompted panic buying almost two decades ago, … [Read more...] about British supermarkets battle to secure stocks as chaotic Brexit looms

TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday the central bank was ready to ramp up stimulus if sharp yen rises hurt the economy and derail the path towards achieving its 2 percent inflation target. But he said the BOJ would carefully weigh the benefits and costs if it were to ease monetary policy further. "Currency moves could have an impact on the economy and prices, so it's crucial we take into account these factors when guiding monetary policy," Kuroda told parliament. "If (currency moves) are having an impact on the economy and prices, and if consider it necessary to achieve our price target, we'll consider easing policy," he said. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim) … [Read more...] about Kuroda says BOJ ready to ease if yen rise hurts price goal path

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc posted on Tuesday an increase of 15.9 percent in 2018 profit, as the bank avoided tax writedowns that marred its results a year earlier and earnings in its key market of Asia grew. HSBC reported a profit before tax of $19.9 billion for 2018 compared with $17.2 billion the year before. The profit for the year, however, was below an average estimate of $22 billion, according to Refinitiv data based on forecasts from 17 analysts. Europe's biggest bank by market capitalisation said it would pay a full-year dividend of $0.51 per share, roughly in line with analysts' expectations. The bank was confident of maintaining the dividend at this level, it said. (Reporting By Sumeet Chatterjee and Lawrence White; additional reporting by Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Himani Sarkar) … [Read more...] about HSBC 2018 profit rises 16 percent, lags estimates