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Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Co increased its operating profit for the first time in six quarters, helped by strong demand for new sport utility vehicles (SUV) and decreasing incentive spending in the US. First-quarter operating profit climbed to 824.9 billion won ($718 million), compared with the average analyst estimate of 777.3 billion won. After defeating activist Elliott Management Corp in a ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump is seriously considering waiving the requirement that only US flagged vessels can move goods from American ports to Puerto Rico or energy-starved areas of the Northeast, according to people familiar with the deliberations. The issue was debated during an Oval Office meeting, following requests from Puerto Rico and pressure from oil industry leaders to ease the ...

Bloomberg The UK government is borrowing less than at any time since turn of the millennium, fuelling pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to end austerity. The budget deficit in the fiscal year through March fell to 24.7 billion pounds ($32 billion), or 1.2 percent of gross domestic product, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. That’s the least since ...

Bloomberg Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG is plotting a faster course after spinning off its Alcon eye-care business. Earnings excluding some items are expected to increase by a high single-digit percentage, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said on Wednesday, raising its guidance. Adjusted earnings per share beat analysts’ estimates in the first quarter. The stock rose as much as 2.8 percent in ...

Bloomberg Key gauges of confidence in the euro area’s two largest economies unexpectedly deteriorated, signalling that a long-expected rebound may still be some way off. Manufacturing has been at the heart of economic weakness in Germany, fed by fears of protectionist trade policies and weakening global demand. In France, disruption caused by Yellow Vest protests has damped growth momentum. Consumers ...

Bloomberg Bayer AG is facing mounting opposition ahead of what’s shaping up to be its most contentious annual meeting in years, with influential shareholders faulting management for failing to foresee the risks of the company’s biggest deal ever. A growing number of shareholders have said they won’t support executives and supervisory board members in a no-confidence vote at Friday’s annual ...

Bloomberg Crude leapt to its highest level in almost six months after the Trump administration said it wouldn’t renew Iran oil waivers for China, India and other countries once they expire in May. Futures in London traded near $74 a barrel after jumping as much as 3.3 percent and reaching the highest since early November in anticipation of the statement ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) reported a net profit growth of 1.7 percent for Q1 2019 to AED 600.3 million. Revenues increased by 5.3 percent to AED1,436.6 million driven by growth in customer financing of 2.8 percent to AED 78.1 billion, and a 57.5 percent rise in investment income, which reached AED 185.3 million, in addition ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The digital transformation of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) small- and medium-sized enterprises and smart cities is driving regional software spend to top $6 billion, industry experts announced on Monday. The Mena region is a fast-growth market for digital transformation, as organisations look to gain greater business agility, better understand customer needs and trends, ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said the UAE leadership is empowering the nation’s youth as part of its efforts ...