The biggest misconception about next month’s referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union is that it will put the issue to rest. That’s unlikely. Whichever way the vote goes, Brexit isn’t going away. The referendum on Scottish independence is a good guide to what’s coming. Scots in 2014 voted with their heads not their hearts to stay in the ...

Barry Ritholtz It is never wise to ignore market, economic or voter sentiment. Discount it, yes. Put it into broader context, for sure. But ignore it at your peril. As too many retailers, fund managers and politicians have discovered, the public is often a good barometer of what is occurring in the broader economy. But not always: the public can ...

  Samridhi Pant SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Over the past six months, the Nepal Army (NA) has stepped up its engagement with the country’s economy. First, in December 2015, the NA declared that it will invest in a hydropower project for the first time. Then, on March 2016, the NA – in another first — got permission from the government ...

  BLOOMBERG Stocks slid with U.S. equity-index futures and the yen advanced with Treasuries as evidence of limp economic growth around the world permeated through global financial markets. Europe’s main stock-market index tumbled for a third day. The Japanese currency rose against all of its major counterparts except the Swiss franc. Gold advanced to a 15-month high and oil fell ...

  ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has decreased by -1.56% to close at 4458.28 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has lost AED 11.46 billion attaining AED 723.19 billion. A total of 0.5 Billion Shares were traded with a total value of AED 0.65 billion during the trading session of 03-05-2016 through 7769 transactions. The number of companies ...

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc reported a bigger first-quarter profit than analysts forecast, as Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver guided the Asia-focussed bank through turbulent global markets while paring back costs. Pretax profit fell to $6.1 billion from $7.1 billion a year earlier, the London-based bank said on Tuesday, beating the $4.3 billion average estimate of 14 analysts compiled by ...

  Reuters Summit Bank has received approval from Pakistan’s central bank to conduct due diligence on Burj Bank, it said in a stock exchange filing, in the latest bid for the unlisted lender, which is seeking to boost capital through a stake sale. The acquisition of a majority shareholding in Burj Bank would fit the long term strategy of Summit ...

  BLOOMBERG Commerzbank AG fell as much as 9.4 percent in Frankfurt, the most in almost three months, after market turmoil and a squeeze to margins hurt sales and halved first-quarter profit. Net income fell to 163 million euros ($188 million) from 338 million euros a year earlier, the Frankfurt-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Analysts expected profit ...

  Sydney / AFP ANZ Bank’s interim net profit slumped 22 percent on Tuesday on the back of impairment and restructuring charges, but the result was welcomed by the market as the lender repositions for a challenging future. The Australia and New Zealand Banking (ANZ) Group’s result for the six months to March 31 came in at Aus$2.73 billion (US$2.0 ...

  Bloomberg UBS Group AG said first-quarter profit dropped 64 percent, missing analyst estimates, as market turbulence eroded earnings at the wealth-management and securities units. The shares plunged. Net income declined to 707 million Swiss francs ($741 million) from 1.98 billion francs a year earlier, the Zurich-based bank said on Tuesday. That fell short of the 735 million-franc average estimate ...