DUBAI / Reuters A small rebound in the Brent crude oil price towards $52 a barrel helped lift Saudi Arabia’s stock index on Wednesday, in an otherwise sluggish trading session in the region. The Saudi index rose 1.1 percent to 6,949 points as almost three-quarters of traded stocks advanced. Petrochemical shares were particularly strong with all but one of ...

  As UK Prime Minister Theresa May starts the clock on Britain’s departure from the European Union, there’s no real question that the divorce is going to hurt both parties — and the UK, to be sure, much more than the EU. But this isn’t to say there’s no upside. The right kind of deal will recognize these opportunities and ...

  China’s banks are turning the corner — or are they? A surprise increase in full-year profit at Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and better-than-estimated 2016 earnings at Bank of Communications Co., or Bocom, are reinforcing the view that lenders in the People’s Republic are getting a grip on their multiyear bad-loan problem. And with short-term interest rates starting to ...