Bloomberg Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) SA and Banco de Sabadell SA ended short-lived takeover talks in a disagreement over the price, setting back consolidation in a banking market hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Discussions about a purchase of Sabadell by BBVA to create the second-largest domestic lender in Spain collapsed after the two sides couldn’t agree on the ...

Bloomberg In a record-breaking month that added $1.7 trillion to European equities, none rallied as hard as unloved bargain stocks. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index has surged 15% in November, on track to overtake the previous record set in April 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Now, like then, value and cyclical sectors such as banks, insurance ...

Bloomberg Most Middle East stock markets advanced, taking their cue from rising crude oil prices and gains elsewhere in emerging markets last week. Indexes in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman climbed as much as 0.3%, while those in Kuwait slipped. The Tadawul All Share Index in Riyadh rose for the sixth consecutive session to trade at the highest ...

Bloomberg Count Guggenheim Partners LLC among those institutional investors casting an eye on cryptocurrencies. Guggenheim is reserving the right for its $5.3 billion Macro Opportunities Fund — which aims for total return via fixed income and other debt and equity securities — to invest in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The trust’s shares are solely invested in Bitcoin, and track the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Upon the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, has ordered the disbursement of housing loans worth over AED7 billion to ...

SYDNEY / WAM Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, and Tribe Infrastructure Group, an infrastructure advisory and development firm, will strengthen their collaboration in the deployment of utility-scale energy-from-waste (EfW) projects by establishing a joint venture in Australia. The announcement was made by Christopher Pyne, Former Australian Defence Minister, and Abdullah Al Subousi, UAE Ambassador to Australia, ...

DUBAI / WAM DIFC FinTech Hive, the largest financial technology hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (Measa) region, part of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has signed a landmark agreement with Israel’s FinTech-Aviv. FinTech-Aviv was established in 2014 and serves the needs of the Israeli FinTech ecosystem and counts more than 6,000 startups and 300 research and ...

DUBAI / WAM On its completion, the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, that Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) is building, will have the largest energy storage capacity in the world of 15 hours, allowing for energy availability around the clock. This phase will provide clean energy for 320,000 residences and will reduce 1.6 ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE-Japan Friendship Committee for Women (FCW) held its 12th forum meeting, under the patronage of HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation. The forum, which supports the empowerment of women in the oil and ...

Bloomberg Oil rose for a fourth straight week, buoyed by optimism over Covid-19 vaccine progress ahead of an Opec+ ministerial gathering next week. Futures in New York advanced 8% this week, despite edging lower. The shape of the oil futures curve firmed over recent sessions with some nearer-dated futures contracts rising above later-dated ones. It’s a sign of how the ...