Lagos / AFP Nigeria’s central bank said it was investigating some banks in connection with slush funds allegedly set up by a former oil minister to rig last year’s elections. The Central Bank of Nigeria said it was “fully aware and indeed a part of the ongoing investigation of certain financial transactions in some banks by law enforcement authorities”. ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq has raised the interest rate on a local bond issue worth 1.5 trillion Iraqi dinars ($1.3 billion) to boost sales, central bank spokesman Aycar Jabbar recently said. The central bank has increased the rate to 8 percent from the 6 percent offered on March 15, when the two-year bonds went on sale, he told. All those ...

  Bloomberg Bluesky Hotels & Resorts Inc., a closely held company backed by capital from Hong Kong, agreed to buy InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust for C$2.1 billion ($1.6 billion), giving the firm a stake in some of Canada’s most historic hotels and beachhead for expansion in North America. Bluesky will pay C$7.25 a share, the companies said in a ...

  Bloomberg SC Capital Partners, a Singapore private equity real estate firm with $1.2 billion in assets, said recent price declines make investing in Hong Kong property attractive. Founder Suchad Chiaranussati said he expects the Singapore government to maintain residential curbs in the city-state until the end of next year. Hong Kong offers more value after prices for homes, offices ...

  Bloomberg A country house in West Sussex, an hour and a half by train from London, is about to hit the market for £6 million ($8.6 million). Designed by Edwin Lutyens, arguably the most famous father of Arts and Crafts architecture, the manor house known as Little Thakeham dates to 1902 and sits on a 3.2 rolling acres comprising ...

  Bloomberg Developers started a record number of central-London office projects in the six months through March as they tried to capitalize on rising rents. Construction work began on 51 office buildings during the period, Deloitte LLP said in a report on Wednesday. About 14 million square feet (1.3 million square meters) of space is now under construction, 28 percent ...

  Bloomberg A glum outlook from Macy’s Inc. renewed concerns about the broader retail industry, contributing to a stock rout for consumer companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., Ralph Lauren Corp. and Ross Stores Inc. Macy’s cut its profit forecast for this year and posted first-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates — a sign that slow ...

  Bloomberg Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA posted its first quarterly profit since 2011 after the Brazilian airline trimmed operations to compensate for plunging demand in its home market. First-quarter net income totaled 757.1 million reais ($219 million), compared with a loss of 672.7 million reais a year earlier, Gol said in a statement after the close of trading in ...

  Bloomberg French retailer Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA will pay as much as $196 million to buy out its Cnova NV online retail business, just a year and a half after listing about 6 percent of the unit in New York. Casino is offering $5.50 a share, it said in a statement on Thursday. That’s 62 percent higher than Cnova’s closing ...

  Bloomberg Aircraft-leasing firm Doric is preparing to take back five Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos from Singapore Airlines Ltd. starting next year, in a move that would be the first test of second-hand demand for the world’s biggest jetliner. While Singapore Air hasn’t officially decided to return the planes, London-based Doric and fellow owner Dr. Peters Fund KG of ...