Bloomberg Mattel Inc. soared as much as 30 percent, the biggest intraday gain on record after the toymaker’s quarterly results blew past estimates, and posted its first earnings beat in three years. Analysts applauded the Barbie- and Hot Wheels-driven sales strength and believe that, together with the gross margin and earnings beat, shares should move higher. And, while highlighting global …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has approved a plan to ease levies businesses pay on foreign workers to help revive economic growth. Authorities will exempt some companies from paying the 2018 fees or reimburse those that have already paid, according to the official-Saudi Press Agency. To qualify for the aid, businesses need to have made strides in hiring more Saudi …

Dubai / WAM Rt Hon Liam Fox, UK Secretary of State for International Trade, has said that the UK enjoys strong trading relations with GCC countries and is looking forward to have a free trade agreement with the bloc in the right time. He also said that the World Government Summit is very indicative of the UAE getting increasingly outward …

Emirates Business Lockheed Martin, the United States-based global technology leader, is set to showcase its latest advanced technology solutions at the 14th edition of the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (Idex), the only one in the Mena region, to be held in Abu Dhabi from February 17-21. At Idex, the defense and security firm will highlight a diverse portfolio of …

Dubai / WAM The Legislative Week, organised by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Legislation Committee of the Emirate of Dubai (SLC), was launched on Sunday, with the opening of the “Legislation Lab”, an interactive platform that gave representatives from 67 government entities the opportunity to discuss current and emerging challenges and to explore ways to further develop government legislation, …

Bloomberg As stock rebounds go, this one has been big, sudden, and decidedly broad, with signs megacap titans are relaxing the stranglehold in which they’ve held the S&P 500 for two years. While the rally took a breather last week, it remains the best annual start for US equities in almost three decades, with $1.7 trillion added to share values. …

Bloomberg Treasuries traders may get a feeling of deja vu next week — they’ll be contending with some familiar geopolitical risks as they also absorb key economic data that could help solidify expectations for Federal Reserve policy. Brexit negotiations, trade talks and the specter of another US government shutdown loom against the backdrop of growing concern over the global economy. …

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA is shrinking its markets business and cutting an additional 500 million euros ($567 million) of costs to combat the market rout that sent trading revenue tumbling. The Paris-based bank is replacing global markets head Frank Drouet and cutting about 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) of risk-weighted assets. SocGen will review less profitable fixed-income and currencies activities …

Bloomberg Romania left borrowing costs unchanged as the central bank complains that surprise tax measures to shore up the budget are restricting its ability to function. The benchmark was kept at 2.5 percent for a sixth straight meeting, matching the predictions of all but one economist surveyed by Bloomberg. The fiscal package, which triggered the country’s biggest market crash since …

Bloomberg The secret behind Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s surprise U-turn on monetary policy can possibly be found in comments he made in New York a year and a half ago. Asked how he’d respond to what was then a hypothetical scenario of below target price rises and low unemployment, Powell replied: “My own view would be that we have …