News

Bloomberg EBay Inc. agreed to sell its online classifieds business to Norway’s Adevinta ASA for $9.2 billion, ending one of the largest auctions of the year. Under the deal, EBay will get $2.5 billion of cash and 540 million shares in the Norwegian firm, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday. Shares in Adevinta rose as much as 39%. ...

Bloomberg Novartis AG trimmed its sales forecast for the year as pandemic hit demand for eye drug Lucentis and other medicines. Sales are expected to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage, the Swiss drugmaker said Tuesday, narrowing an April forecast that ranged up to the high-single digits. Earnings excluding some items will likely increase by a low-double-digit percentage, according to a ...

Bloomberg Sales of Renault SA’s all-electric Zoe car jumped 38% in the first half, a rare bright spot amid the grim fallout of the coronavirus pandemic Most of the deliveries were made in Europe, where the Zoe became the best-selling electric car thanks in part to generous government incentives, the French automaker said in a statement. Renault’s overall sales in ...

Bloomberg The Swiss watch industry faces a 30 percent drop in exports this year as the coronavirus pandemic slashes international travel and key markets outside China still grapple with the outbreak. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry gave the forecast after shipments declined 36% to $7.4 billion in the first half. A full-year decline that big would be the ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s three largest creditor groups joined forces to submit a new bond restructuring proposal that would provide the country more than $35 billion in debt relief over the next nine years. The Ad Hoc group, the Exchange Bondholder group and the Argentina Creditor Committee, which represent investors including BlackRock Inc. and Ashmore Group PLC, said that they had agreed ...

Bloomberg Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group is seeking a valuation north of $200 billion as it goes public in Hong Kong and Shanghai, kicking off a much-anticipated market debut for China’s leader in internet finance. The parent of China’s largest mobile payment company will pursue a simultaneous dual-listing in Hong Kong and on the Shanghai stock exchange’s STAR board, the ...

Bloomberg Oil extended declines towards $40 a barrel as concerns about demand linger with coronavirus raging across many regions. Infections flared by a record in Hong Kong, and Los Angeles is on the brink of another stay-at-home order. New cases have accelerated in California, although the pace of deaths slowed in Arizona and Florida. The concerns were reflected in equity ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE national airline, Etihad Airways, will resume passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai, from July 27. “The service will operate with an initial weekly flight using a Boeing 777-300ER, featuring Business and Economy cabins,” the airline said in a statement on Monday. Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, said, “We are delighted ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai’s external food trade in the first half of the year totalled nine million tonnes, representing a value of AED32 billion, Dubai Customs announced on Monday. According to the latest trade statistics, Dubai’s food imports touched AED22 billion (6.23 million tonnes), while exports reached AED5.5 billion (2.1 million tonnes) and re-exports amounted to AED4.5 billion (733,000 tonnes) ...

Dubai / WAM Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the region, delivered a net profit of AED 4.1 billion for the first half of 2020. Net interest income increased 36% y-o-y and non-funded income grew 24% y-o-y with the acquisition of DenizBank in 2019, the bank said in a statement. Total assets at AED 694 billion, up two percent ...