Bloomberg President Emmanuel Macron would face conservative candidate Valerie Pecresse and defeat her in a runoff if elections were held now, according to a poll. Support for Macron was at a field-leading 24% in the Ipsos Sopra Steria poll, followed by Pecresse of the Republicans at 16.5%. If replicated in the first round of voting in April, that outcome ...

  Bloomberg Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party cranked up the prospects of a prolonged political crisis following the resignation of the region’s First Minister, warning it won’t return to the power-sharing Executive unless issues related to Brexit are resolved. “The DUP will not be involved in forming a government in Northern Ireland until those issues have been satisfactorily addressed,” the ...

  Bloomberg Europe’s biggest bank payout-plan failed to excite investors who’ve grown accustomed to fat payout ratios and dividends at Intesa Sanpaolo SpA. The Milan-based lender said it will disburse more than 22 billion euros ($25 billion) to shareholders through 2025. While that put it ahead of Italian rival UniCredit SpA in the contest to offer Europe’s bank investors the ...