REUTERS Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Co (SAFCO) met analyst forecasts but extended its earnings slump, as its second-quarter net profit halved year on year as product prices remained low. SAFCO, a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp, made a net profit of 299 million riyals ($79.7 million) in the three months to June 30, compared with the 596 million riyals it ...
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G20 countries face calls for action to boost growth
AFP The world’s leading economies must do more to boost slowing global growth, the International Monetary Fund and Washington urged as G20 finance ministers gathered Saturday, with Britain’s vote to leave the European Union threatening more disruption. Central bank chiefs and finance ministers from the world’s top 20 economies met in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, and US ...
Read More »Terra Firma appoints new Chief Executive Officer
Bloomberg Terra Firma Capital Partners named Andrew Geczy, the former head of international and institutional banking at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, as its new chief executive officer. Geczy will join the UK buyout firm full-time in September, the company said in a statement Thursday. He takes over the role at the UK buyout firm from Tim ...
Read More »India bids for 300 megawatt of solar energy projects
Bloomberg India has invited its first-ever bids for solar energy projects that include storage as a requirement as part of a trial program aimed at making the renewable resource a more reliable source of power. Solar Energy Corp of India, the implementing agency for clean-energy projects, sought bids for 300 megawatts of solar power to be built in the ...
Read More »National Australia’s revamp spawns top managers’ exit
Bloomberg Two of National Australia Bank Ltd’s top managers will leave the firm as the lender overhauls its leadership team and business structure, after exiting underperforming units. Gavin Slater, who has been on the lender’s executive committee since 2009 and led the personal banking unit for more than three years, will depart along with Renee Roberts, who oversaw enterprise ...
Read More »Discovery enters Japanese Insurance with Sumitomo, SoftBank agreement
Bloomberg Discovery Ltd, South Africa’s third-largest insurer by market value, said it has set up a partnership with Japan’s Sumitomo Life Insurance Co and SoftBank Group Corp to develop and introduce products for the world’s third-largest economy. Discovery’s Vitality program, which rewards members for exercising and eating healthy, will be introduced through Sumitomo and use SoftBank’s technological and digital ...
Read More »IPOs may reach record by regulator amid India stocks rally
Bloomberg India’s market regulator is forecasting initial public offerings to reach a record in the year ending March, as improved corporate governance standards and an equities rally attracts investors. Twenty one first-time sales raised 49.4 billion rupees (US$735 million) in the quarter ended June, more than in any comparable period since 2010, data compiled. Eighteen offerings seeking 61 billion ...
Read More »US stocks up as commodities retreat on dollar strength
Bloomberg U.S. stocks rose, sending the S&P 500 Index to a record, and the dollar strengthened as speculation mounted that central banks from Japan to Europe won’t be in a rush to add to unprecedented stimulus. Emerging-market assets and commodities retreated. The S&P 500 capped a fourth weekly gain as a preponderance of earnings reports topped estimates. Verizon Communications ...
Read More »Lagarde likely to avoid jail time, keep job amid trial
Bloomberg Christine Lagarde is likely to avoid jail time and keep her job as head of the IMF after she was ordered to stand trial in France on charges that carry a potential prison term. Lagarde, 60, on Friday lost a bid to challenge a December decision to be tried for alleged negligence during her time as French finance ...
Read More »Pound outlook darkens as signs of Brexit fallout emerge after brief resilence hopes
Bloomberg The pound’s recent resilience may prove short-lived as data showed the first indications that the U.K. economy may be faltering one month after Britain voted to leave the European Union. Inflation and labor figures covering the pre-Brexit period, released earlier this week, beat analyst predictions and helped the currency climb from a 31-year low versus the dollar set ...
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