Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG exonerated Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam as one of his key allies took the fall for a corporate spying scandal that shook Zurich’s financial elite and tainted the bank’s reputation. Chief Operating Officer Pierre-Olivier Bouee, the CEO’s chief lieutenant at three companies for more than 10 years, stepped down after ordering detectives to shadow former …

Bloomberg Pilots at Southwest Airlines Co, the largest operator of the beleaguered Boeing Co 737 Max, warned that the grounded plane may not resume commercial flights until as late as March. The carrier’s internal plans call for the Max to carry its first paying customers 45 to 60 days after US regulators lift a no-fly order on the plane, Greg …

Bloomberg Mother Nature is figuring into consumers’ holiday spending plans this year. The environmental impact of fast-delivery options, which may include using planes and shipping multiple items separately, is a concern resonating with Americans, according to Accenture’s Annual Holiday Shopping Survey. Half of respondents said they’d choose options that leave a smaller carbon footprint, such as slower shipping or in-store …

Bloomberg Richemont is acquiring Italian jewellery brand Buccellati to bolster its existing portfolio of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. The Swiss luxury-goods maker bought the Milan-based brand from Gangtai Group Corp, a Chinese investment company, for an undisclosed price. Luca Solca, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein, said it probably paid less than the $250 million the Shanghai-based investment …

Bloomberg The UK’s accounting watchdog opened an investigation into Ernst & Young’s audit of Thomas Cook Group Plc’s financial statements after the 178-year-old tour operator collapsed. The Financial Reporting Council began the probe amid a growing political outcry over the failure last month, which cost thousands of jobs and left tourists stranded across Europe. The Big Four accounting firms have …

GENEVA / WAM The UAE affirmed its support for the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and UN Special Envoy for Yemen to encourage conflicting Yemeni parties to implement all relevant Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2216/2015, without conditions. The UAE’s statement was delivered by Ambassador Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the UN and Other International Organisations in …

AMSTERDAM / WAM OCI N.V. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), on Monday announced the completion of their transaction to combine Adnoc’sfertiliser business into OCI’s Middle East and North Africa (Mena), nitrogen fertiliser platform, creating a world-leading joint venture. The combined company, which has been named Fertiglobe and is headquartered in the international financial centre Abu Dhabi Global Market, …

Bloomberg Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned that war between his country and Iran would lead to a “total collapse of the global economy” and should be avoided. In comments that echo clear signals from the Trump administration that it doesn’t want to resort to conflict to punish Iran for disputed attacks on Saudi oil facilities, the prince said …

Abu Dhabi / WAM The National Election Committee (NEC), announced that early voting in the 2019 Federal National Council, FNC, elections will commence on October 1, and will continue until October 3, from 9 am until 6 pm. Confirming the readiness of the polling stations for early voting, Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health …

Bloomberg Saudi Aramco will increase dividend payments and pay less tax as the government tries to secure the $2 trillion valuation targeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the state oil company’s initial public offering (IPO). The state-run company, which produces about 10% of the world’s oil, plans to announce its intention to float later this month with the …