News Headlines - 21 November 2018

▽U.S. Prosecutors Are Said to Be Investigating Japan’s Largest Bank - The New York Times

Japan’s largest bank has already been penalized by the State of New York for letting countries on sanctions lists like Iran and Myanmar route payments through its systems, but a current inquiry is more serious: It’s a federal case involving North Korea.
The bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, was subpoenaed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan late last year as it was locked in a court fight with the New York Department of Financial Services, according to two people who were briefed on the investigation but not permitted to speak publicly. That litigation involves the department’s attempts to punish the bank, known as MUFG, for breaking anti-money-laundering rules.

▽Carlos Ghosn was planning Nissan-Renault merger before arrest | Financial Times

Carlos Ghosn had been planning a merger between Renault and Nissan before his arrest in Tokyo this week, a deal that the Japanese carmaker’s board opposed and was looking for ways to block.
Several Nissan board members expected a bid to materialise in the coming months, according to one person close to the board. Another source said that a merger was likely to happen “within months”, and a third said it was under active consideration.

The popularity of French President Emmanuel Macron has dropped to just 25%, according to a major tracker poll published on Sunday.
The poll by research group Ifop was published in the Journal du Dimanche a day after a nationwide "yellow vest" protest against high fuel prices that analysts say has come to represent widespread frustration with the 40-year-old president.

▽Spain threatens Brexit deal over Gibraltar status - CNN

Spain has long claimed sovereignty over Gibraltar, which has been a British territory since 1713. But Gibraltarians, who voted almost unanimously to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, are fiercely loyal to Britain and have resisted Spanish claims.
The draft Brexit deal must be agreed on at an EU summit on November 25. An EU official told CNN that it was likely the issue would be ironed out before the EU Council meets over the weekend: "I am confident this will be solved before Sunday," the official said.

▽Ex-Macedonia PM Gruevski says he has been granted asylum in Hungary | Reuters

Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled abroad after being sentenced to two years in prison on corruption-related charges, said on Tuesday that he had been granted political asylum in Hungary.
Macedonian police had issued an arrest warrant for Gruevski, who resigned in 2016 after a decade in power, after he failed to show up to begin his sentence, following a Nov. 9 court ruling against his motion for a reprieve.