Bloomberg Telecom giants Orange SA and Masmovil Ibercom SA are seeking to line up a debt package of up to 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) to back a joint venture, creating one of the largest leveraged debt financings in the region, people familiar with the matter said. Orange and Masmovil entered into exclusive negotiations on March 8 to combine ...

Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co joined Goldman Sachs Group Inc in pulling back from Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine last month. JPMorgan, the biggest US bank, is currently engaging in limited activities in the country, the New York-based company said in a statement. Goldman Sachs said it plans to close its operations there. The finance-industry titans ...

  Bloomberg New Zealand banks are calling on the Reserve Bank to delay implementation of new mortgage lending restrictions such as debt-to-income ratios as the housing market cools. Existing restrictions and rising interest rates are already slowing home-lending growth, and banks are concerned the introduction of further limits could have “unintended consequences,” the New Zealand Bankers Association said in a ...

  Bloomberg US stock-index futures advanced as investors eyed cheaper valuations even as they remained concerned about global growth amid a raging war in Ukraine and an impending rate-hike cycle at the Federal Reserve. Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes added 0.5% each, after swinging between gains and losses at least six times. Europe’s Stoxx 600 gauge ...

  Bloomberg European stocks headed for their first weekly gain since the start of the Ukraine war as investors mulled central bank policy decisions and the outlook for economic growth. The Stoxx 600 Index was up 0.9% in London after briefly falling as much as 0.2% as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused continued volatility. Travel and leisure and mining stocks ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) will be expanding its regional footprint with the opening of a representative office in Iraq, as part of its targeted international growth strategy to facilitate regional trade flows and continually strengthen its global client service model. The UAE is one of Iraq’s most important trading partners, with the value of ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has announced the launch of a new route from Abu Dhabi to Mattala, Sri Lanka, to introduce a new segment of travel by adding its first destination to South Asia. Michael Berlouis, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, commented, “Sri Lanka is an exciting destination that has everything; beautiful beaches, ...

  Dubai / WAM Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal export credit company, has signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) with New Zealand Export Credit (NZEC) to boost bilateral trade relations and enhance the capabilities of SMEs in both countries to expand globally, without worrying about the payment risks due to commercial or non-commercial reasons. ECI and NZEC have ...

  DUBAI / WAM Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, has said that the UAE government is focusing on building a new generation of young coders, enhancing their capabilities and skills in the fields of coding and modern technology, and empowering them with tools and expertise. This aligns with the ...

  ABU DHABI / Agencies The UAE on Thursday affirmed its commitment to the Opec+ agreement. “The UAE remains committed to the Opec+ agreement and its existing monthly production adjustment mechanism,” affirmed Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, in a statement to Emirates News Agency (WAM). “The UAE believes in the value the Opec+ agreement brings ...