SHARJAH / WAM Real estate transactions valued AED5.2 billion in the Emirate of Sharjah in the first quarter of this year, according to Sharjah Real Estate Registration Directorate (SRERD). The latest figures show that the emirate recorded 13,195 transactions, including 1,131 sales in 122 areas that covered 10 million square feet. Investors from 31 nationalities worldwide were involved in these …

Bloomberg Another week, another leg of the emerging-market rout. An MSCI gauge of developing-nation stocks slipped 3.7 percent, setting the stage for the worst month since October. It was even worse for currencies, which capped a fifth straight week of declines, erasing gains for the year. Brazil’s real led the drop as protests added to political tensions and growth forecasts …

Bloomberg The Australian dollar is set to strengthen against the greenback after the nation’s center-right government clung to power in a surprise election victory at the weekend. Despite trailing in most opinion polls, Prime Minister Scott Morrison waged a relentless attack on the Labor Party’s progressive agenda to take action on climate change and strip tax perks from wealthy Australians. …

Bloomberg The biggest Nordic asset managers are either holding on to, or increasing, stakes in banks dragged down by vast money laundering scandals. In a region where the concept of ethical investing is regularly held up as a goal, none of the big institutional investors contacted by Bloomberg said they would consider divesting shares of banks under investigation for laundering. …

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan says trade tensions might have a chilling effect on the US and global economy, and he’s also watching for the potential effects on inflation. Some end-markets may be jeopardised by the US-China trade dispute, but “the bigger thing is logistics and supply chain arrangements,” Kaplan said during a wide-ranging discussion at …

Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) warned that the escalating trade war could destabilise the global economy, and vowed to continue with its targeted stimulus policy at home. “Trade friction and uncertainties in global policy could impact the global economy negatively” by driving up inflation, damaging household and corporate confidence and causing financial market turbulence, the PBOC said in …

Bloomberg The biggest banks in the UK are among the worst offenders in paying women less than men and face being summoned to explain themselves, according to Nicky Morgan, the Conservative member of Parliament who will chair hearings this summer into the finance industry’s alarming gender pay gap. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays Bank Plc and others …

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co, which has tied all of its future growth to the grounded Boeing Co 737 Max, says the aircraft’s return to the skies this summer is still within reach. “I’m not predicting, but I’m hopeful,” Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said following the carrier’s annual shareholder meeting in Denver. “Is it possible? Absolutely.” The largest operator …

Bloomberg Target Corp rolled out a Vineyard Vines collection with perhaps inevitable results: buyers snapped up lower-priced versions of the upmarket brand, irritating some shoppers looking for a less predatory retail experience. “So it begins, everything is already sold out online and posted to eBay,” Kayla Griffin, 30, a photographer in Washington who wanted to purchase products from the new …

Bloomberg Avianca’s dollar bonds are trading at distressed levels following a spate of bad news for Colombia’s biggest airline. Avianca Holdings SA $550 million of dollar bonds due in May 2020 plunged this week, sending the yield to 18.6 percent, from 9.7 percent at the start of the month. The shares also fell to a record low, making them both …