Bloomberg Morgan Stanley and Principal Financial Group Inc. were among banks and insurers that rallied after a US appeals court struck down a sweeping Obama-era rule that aimed to protect millions of Americans from conflicted investment advice. The rule, imposed by the Labor Department (DOL), would have added an extra layer of scrutiny for the industry and increased compliance costs. …

RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s central bank raised its two key interest rates by 0.25 percentage points in an apparent effort to prevent Saudi money rates from falling far below US rates, which could trigger capital outflows from the kingdom. The central bank lifted its repo rate, at which it lends to commercial banks, to 2.25 percentage points and its …

Bloomberg The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has made a 2.51 percent equity investment in Lebanon’s Bank Audi, the EBRD’s first investment in Lebanon, Audi said. The EBRD, a multilateral development bank, said the investment in Lebanon’s largest bank aims to support Lebanese financial markets, influence the broader economy and strengthen the financial sector. Lebanon has one of the …