Weekly Global News Wrap: Goldman Sachs asks clients to skip New York meet; StanChart 2019 profits up 46%

And Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo hires global banks as advisers in suprise takeover bid.

From CNBC:

Goldman Sachs has asked clients to skip a New York conference scheduled this week if they’ve traveled to countries affected by the coronavirus.

It asked people who have traveled to mainland China within the last 14 days, South Korea as of Feb. 19 or the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy as of Feb. 22 to stay away from the conference.

The warning also includes people who have “been in close contact” with people who have traveled to those areas, or travelers who have passed through airports and train stations in the affected regions.

From CNBC:

Standard Chartered’s 2019 pre-tax profit jumped 46% to $3.7b, but the bank has warned that the coronavirus will slow down progress toward one of its key earnings targets.

The jump was slightly below expectations, the bank said, and it is expected that it will take longer to meet its 10% return on tangible equity target.

However, fourth-quarter pre-tax underlying profit fell 25% from the same quarter in 2018, coming in at $325m, as unrest in Hong Kong and a slowing global economic environment weighed on the bank.

From Reuters:

Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo has hired J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and local broker Equita SM to complete a team of advisers led by Mediobanca supporting Italy’s biggest retail bank in its takeover offer of rival UBI Banca.

Intesa unveiled a surprise $5.3b (EUR4.9b) bid for small lender UBI Banca offering 1.7 new Intesa shares for each UBI share tendered to create the Eurozone’s seventh-largest banking group with a focus on asset management and insurance.

Intesa beefed up its team of advisers after a cool reception for its offer from UBI’s board and the outright rejection by two groups of local shareholders holding roughly a combined 20% of the bank’s capital.