Bloomberg Shares in the sister company of Godiva Chocolatier Inc. plunged in Istanbul after an April Fools’ Day-themed commercial went wrong. The confectioner, Ulker Biskuvi AS, faced an immediate and intense backlash to its 50-second animated clip, with protesters including a government lawmaker gathering outside President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Istanbul residence over the weekend. The politician, Metin Kulunk, said …

  Bloomberg Japanese stock benchmarks advanced on their first trading day of the new fiscal year as industries focused on Japan’s domestic economy helped prop up the market. The Topix rose 0.3 percent, as foodmakers, retailers and telecommunications companies boosted the gauge. Defensive sectors were likely to be bought after an advance in their US counterparts, Shoji Hirakawa, chief global …

  Emirates Business Despite sluggish global economic growth, low oil prices, ‘Trumponomics’ and Brexit, the UAE will lead Middle East passenger growth in 2017 with an annual increase of more than 6.3%, according to estimates from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). However, aviation-related discussions during Arabian Travel Market this year will no doubt be dominated by the recent US-led …