Abu Dhabi / WAM The Union National Bank (UNB) has no intention of merging with any other bank, its chief executive officer (CEO) has affirmed. “There are no formal procedures or any intention to merge UNB with any other banking institutions,” Mohammed Nasr Abdeen told reporters after the bank’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. The bank …

  DUBAI / Reuters Most major Gulf stock markets were pulled down on Thursday by a 5 percent overnight slide in oil prices, while Abu Dhabi was hit particularly hard as heavyweights First Gulf Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi traded ex-dividend. Abu Dhabi’s stock index dropped 2.9 percent as First Gulf Bank tumbled 8.7 percent and National Bank …

  Bloomberg European Central Bank optimism on global growth bolstered the euro and sent bonds lower as the prospects for more stimulus dimmed. US stocks rose even as oil slid below $50 a barrel for the first time this year, exacerbating a slump in commodities. Lenders led the S&P 500 Index to its first gain in four days, as the …