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RIYADH / WAM Members of the Cooperation Council for Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) have declared their full backing for Saudi Arabia’s decision to conduct a comprehensive review of its relations with Lebanon and halt its US$4 billion arms deals for the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces. “The members of the GCC back the decision which the ...

Hong Kong / Bloomberg Hong Kong’s developers, who are throwing in enticements from iPhones to wine coupons in response to the slowest home sales in 25 years, might be running out of gimmicks to stoke demand. Most buyers aren’t biting as property analysts predict prices will fall as much as 25 percent this year after declining 11 percent since September. ...

Bloomberg Online grocer Fresh Direct LLC sold its longtime home in the Long Island City section of Queens to a developer, drawing an outsized price for a property in a rapidly gentrifying area, even though it can’t be converted into residences. The 276,705-square-foot warehouse at 23-30 Borden Ave. was sold for $48 million, according to a person with knowledge of ...

NEW YORK / Bloomberg Fairway Group Holdings Corp., the New York gourmet grocery chain that once had ambitions of a nationwide expansion, is approaching default after years of red ink. After gorging on debt to finance its growth plans, the company is now at risk of breaching its credit covenants when its fiscal quarter ends on April 3, according to ...

Bloomberg Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage company, will pay the U.S. Treasury Department $2.9 billion after reporting net income of $2.5 billion for the fourth quarter. The company, which was placed under conservatorship along with smaller rival Freddie Mac during the 2008 financial crisis, will have returned $147.6 billion in dividends to the federal government, according to a regulatory filing ...

Las Vegas / Bloomberg The scars of the housing collapse in Nevada are deep and still fresh, making the state a proving ground for the power of Bernie Sanders’s anti-Wall Street message to drive voters to the polls. Sanders has surged in what had been considered a stronghold state for Hillary Clinton heading into Saturday’s Democratic presidential caucus, adding staff ...

ALMATY / Emirates Business Majid Al Futtaim Retail, the retail arm of Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has announced the opening of its first Carrefour hypermarket in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in line with the company’s rapid expansion across the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Russia. The ...

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. workers who handle baggage, stock planes with food and operate airport jetways barely approved a contract that will raise pay more than 20 percent over its five-year term. Members voted 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent in favor of the agreement, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 555 said. The contract also provides $80 million in bonus pay ...

Singapore / AFP US aircraft maker Boeing said it had won a $440 million deal with Papua New Guinea’s flag carrier Air Niugini for four 737 MAX 8 planes. Announcing the deal along with Boeing at the final trade day of the Singapore Airshow, Air Niugini chairman Sir Frederick Reiher said the carrier needed the planes “urgently”. The airline currently ...

Bloomberg VF Corp., owner of the North Face, Lee and Wrangler clothing brands, sees change coming to its stable of brands as valuations begin to decline. Sluggish consumer demand has taken a toll on retail and apparel companies, leading VF to reevaluate what’s not working and what’s missing in its business, Chief Executive Officer Eric Wiseman said in an interview. ...