Bloomberg Hudson’s Bay Co. Chairman Richard Baker’s plans to take the Canadian retailer private were dealt a setback as a prominent shareholder advisory firm came out against the deal. Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. urged investors to vote against Baker and his partners’ plans to take the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue private for C$1.9 billion ($1.4 billion). The advisory firm …

Bloomberg Tesco Plc analysts see the potential for a special dividend after the UK supermarket chain confirmed it’s carrying out a strategic review of its operations in Thailand and Malaysia. The Asian assets could be worth as much as 9.5 billion pounds, which would hypothetically equate to a special dividend of up to 100 pence a share when adjusting for …

Bloomberg The unexpected drop in China’s exports in November shows one reason why the nation wants to agree on a phase one trade deal as US tariffs are hurting China’s exports at a time when global demand is already weak. Total exports in November dropped 1.1% from a year ago, and to the US they were down 23%, the customs …

RIYADH / WAM A UAE delegation led by Younis Haji Al Khoori, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Finance has participated in the G20 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is the second meeting held in Riyadh after the G20 ‘Sherpa’ meeting, part of the 124 G20 meetings to take place during the Kingdom’s presidency …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s main equity index advanced the most in more than a year after the pricing of Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering and amid hopes of higher oil prices. The Tadawul All Share Index rose 2.4%, the most for a session since October 2018. The kingdom raised $25.6 billion from the world’s biggest IPO after selling shares at 32 …

SHARJAH / WAM Air Arabia won another recognition, winning ‘Best Low-Cost Airline’ in Middle East and Africa at AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards. Judged by seven editors with vast industry experience and evaluate against 12 criterial including fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, product offerings and staff relations, the honour further underlines Air Arabia’s credentials as the first choice for …

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc has begun to reshape top management, laying the groundwork for a new direction under its next boss. The bank is expected to announce the retirement within days of Marc Moses, chief risk officer and board member, said people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be named as the details aren’t public. The qualified accountant …

Bloomberg Ukraine sealed a preliminary $5.5 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), giving President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a boost before peace talks with Russia. The staff-level agreement includes policies to be carried out by Ukraine’s government to underpin the three-year programme, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement after a phone call with Zelenskiy. “The president …

Bloomberg First there was the financial crisis of 2008. Then years of negative interest rates. Now, banks face what one financial regulator calls the “real game changer.” Jesper Berg, the head of the Financial Supervisory Authority in Denmark, says the next big threat for banks is the rapid spread of big tech into financial services. The competitive tool is personal …

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc said investors should diversify their long-term bond holdings with gold, citing “fear-driven demand” for the precious metal. “Gold cannot fully replace government bonds in a portfolio, but the case to reallocate a portion of normal bond exposure to gold is as strong as ever,” Goldman analysts including Sabine Schels said. “We still see upside in …