A pro-Brexit argument that always makes me giggle a little is that leaving the European Union will allow the UK to become the new Singapore. That’s right — the land of hope and glory, home to the world’s fifth-largest economy, wants to emulate its steamy little former colony, population 5.4 million. When you look at the per-capita income data, …

  DUBAI / Reuters Generally positive first-quarter results from Gulf banks helped lift financial stocks on Wednesday, while Saudi Arabia’s third-largest telecoms operator jumped by its daily limit after reporting its first ever quarterly net profit. Shares in Qatar National Bank, the largest lender by assets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), rose 1 percent after it announced net profit …

  HONG KONG / AP Stock markets were subdued and the price of oil and gold rose Wednesday as geopolitical risks kept investors on edge ahead of a long weekend. In Europe, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.2 percent to 5,113 and Germany’s DAX added 0.1 percent to 12,150. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent to 7,357. US indexes were poised …