Reuters Saudi Arabia’s capital markets regulator approved rules for exchange-listed real estate funds on Sunday, as part of efforts to ramp up investment in the kingdom’s housing market. The kingdom requires private money to help finance construction of around 1.5 million homes planned over the next seven or eight years. In a bid to ease a shortage of affordable …

  TEL AVIV / Reuters Egypt cancelled its three and nine month treasury bill auction on Sunday, data from the central bank showed, confounding market expectations of a steep hike in benchmark interest rates. Neither the bank nor the Finance Ministry gave any reason for the cancellation but bankers said banks had asked for yields the government found too high. …

  Bloomberg Japan’s three biggest shippers agreed to combine their container operations to create the world’s sixth-largest box carrier, as the industry steps up consolidation this year amid a global turmoil in the sea-cargo business. Nippon Yusen KK, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., which are predicting operating losses this year, will create a company that will …

  Sydney / AFP Sony Corp. cut its annual profit forecast by 10 percent after taking an impairment on the sale of its battery unit in the latest move by the consumer electronics giant to focus on its most lucrative businesses. Operating income will be 270 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in the 12 months ending March, down from a projection …

  Bloomberg Honda Motor Co. raised its forecast for full-year profit as demand for Vezel and XR-V sport utility vehicle models surged in China, the carmaker’s second-largest market. Net income will probably rise to 415 billion yen ($3.96 billion) in the fiscal year ending in March, more than the 390 billion yen forecast in May, according to a statement from …

  Bloomberg South Korea, home to the world’s three biggest shipbuilders, plans to spend about 11 trillion won ($9.6 billion) by 2020 to help the industry amid a dearth of new orders and prolonged losses. The government intends to order more than 250 vessels and provide about 6.5 trillion won in financing support to strengthen shipping companies’ efficiency through the …

  Brussels / AFP Euro-area growth stayed its course in the third quarter, a sign the European Central Bank’s efforts to revive the economy have borne fruit even in the face of inadequate structural reforms. Gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in the three months to September, according to an initial estimate published by the European Union’s statistics office on …

  Bloomberg General Electric Co. agreed to combine its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes Inc., creating an industry giant with a broader suite of offerings amid the ongoing slump in crude prices. GE will own a 62.5 percent stake in the combined provider of oilfield services, which will be publicly traded and have $32 billion in sales, the …

  Bloomberg UK software company FreeAgent Holdings Ltd. has said it plans an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market for small, growth-oriented companies. Edinburgh, Scotland- based FreeAgent provides cloud-based accounting software for what it calls “micro-businesses,” a term it defines as companies with fewer than 10 employees. Its decision to float bucks strong headwinds in the …

  Bloomberg When US auto sales numbers arrive on Tuesday, Nissan Motor Co. is expected to look pretty good — or at least less bad than its competition. The Japanese automaker’s sales slipped just 1.5 percent in October, compared with drops of 6.9 percent for General Motors and 11 percent for Ford, analysts estimate. Behind Nissan’s result, though, is a …