Bloomberg Qatar’s markets received a battering as four of the country’s Middle East neighbors cut ties in a row over its stance on Iran and extremists. The nation’s dollar bonds tumbled and contracts used to bet the Qatari riyal will weaken the most since 2009. More than four times the daily average of shares changed hands on the key stock …

Bloomberg No news is good news. At least for investors seeking stable returns, it’s better to buy companies that aren’t in the spotlight. To exploit a so-called low-volatility anomaly, the head of quantitative equity management at BNP Paribas SA invests in stocks that seldom get any attention in the media. “People are attracted by companies where they get a lot …

Bloomberg The World Bank (WB) kept its outlook for the global economy unchanged, forecasting a modest pickup in growth despite uncertainty about monetary policy and the risk of a surge in protectionism. The development lender projects the world economy will grow by 2.7 percent this year and 2.9 percent the next, the same as its January forecast. “Global activity is …