Bangkok / AFP A Pakistani man suspected of starting a devastating factory fire in Karachi four years ago that killed 255 people has been arrested in Bangkok, Thai police said on Saturday. Abdul Rehman, 46, was detained at a hotel in the red light district Nana area of the capital on Friday evening, said Thailand’s Interpol chief. “Thai Interpol ...

  The European Union’s new legislative proposals for a clean energy transition have disappointed environmentalists, policy experts and even building insulation manufacturers. And yet, given U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s lack of interest in sustainable energy, even this plan, cautious as it is, may well ensure Europe’s leadership in this area, especially if the Europeans manage to implement the best element ...

  The US jobs report for November released was met essentially with a yawn by Wall Street, causing relatively little immediate movement in stock prices. This was understandable. The data’s mixed signals suggest a short-term Goldilocks scenario (neither too hot nor too cold) for markets and Federal Reserve policies. The longer-term implications, however, are more complex. Here is a summary ...

  Amid rising Hindu nationalism, the Supreme Court of India has ordered theaters to play the national anthem before films and directed moviegoers to stand at attention — no excuses. The Indian Constitution is a wonder of the world, but this decision undercuts free-speech and individual rights at a moment when the country can ill-afford it. The court, which has ...

  Bloomberg The greatest risks facing European Union banks are high levels of bad loans and lower profitability, the bloc’s financial regulator said in a report. The European Banking Authority said that while EU-wide lenders had strengthened their capital buffers, technology-related risks were increasing amid lingering litigation concerns. Presenting its ninth report on “risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking ...

  Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc will probably deepen cuts at its investment bank and its Irish business to boost capital after flunking Bank of England stress tests, according to analysts. The Edinburgh-based lender may need to dispose of 44 billion pounds ($56 billion) of risk-weighted assets to improve its capital buffers, analysts at Barclays Plc led by ...

  Reuters Fourteen former and current executives of the Wendel investment company will face trial for tax fraud while US bank JP Morgan Chase is to be pursued for complicity, legal sources said. The former head of Wendel, Jean-Bernard Lafonta, and Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, ex-chief of the main French employer’s association, are among those to be tried, legal sources said. An ...

  Singapore / AFP Singapore’s financial regulator said it has fined two British banks and barred a former Goldman Sachs banker in a widening crackdown on money laundering linked to Malaysian state fund 1MDB. Standard Chartered Bank was slapped with a Sg$5.2 million ($3.65 million) penalty while Coutts bank was fined Sg$2.4 million for breaching anti-money laundering regulations in 1MDB-linked ...

  Reuters Islamic banks are gradually embracing socially responsible finance, from renewable energy to microfinance efforts, helping unlock new funding sources for environmentally-friendly projects, an industry survey shows. The two sectors have developed separately from each other, but green projects could benefit from tapping Islamic banks in countries like the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, where they now hold a ...

  Bloomberg The $1.5 billion privatizations of two of China’s biggest solar companies have been thrown into doubt because of concerns they may run afoul of a government effort to keep more of the nation’s money supply at home. Trina Solar Ltd. and JA Solar Holdings Co., whose chief executives have separately proposed buying back the shares they listed in ...