Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is in exclusive discussions to buy the B&B Hotels chain from European buyout firm PAI Partners. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, PAI Partners said in a statement on Monday, without providing any financial details. Goldman Sachs is doing the deal through its merchant banking division, according to …

Bloomberg Czech banks have avoided a threat of special taxes for the industry by agreeing in principle to contribute a portion of their profits to a national development fund proposed by Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Babis said on Monday he wants the units of Societe Generale SA, Erste Group Bank AG, KBC Groep NV, and UniCredit SpA, to pay an …

Bloomberg The race to lead the Bank of England could turn on who heads the government by the time the decision is made in October. Much has been made of Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond’s comments that he seeking a governor with international stature, prompting a flurry of speculation around former Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan. Still, …

Bloomberg Europe’s biggest insurers are on the hook for as much as $450 million from a pair of airline crashes involving Boeing Co 737 Max planes. Munich Re reckons it could pay $168 million, an estimate that Chief Financial Officer Christoph Jurecka called “very conservative.” Swiss Re expects to pay up to $135 million; Hannover Re says it will pay …

Bloomberg Rakesh Gangwal, one of the founders of IndiGo, has no desire to take control of India’s biggest airline, according to a statement by Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta. “I am categorically and clearly stating that there is no interest or desire whatsoever on the part of the RG Group to take control of the company,” Gangwal said in a …

Bloomberg Thomas Cook Group Plc’s crisis deepened as the debt-laden travel group warned of another tough summer and said it will get a 300 million-pound ($385 million) rescue loan only if it makes progress with the sale of its airline. The stock fell to the lowest since 2012 and the bonds hit a record low after the world’s second-biggest tour …

Bloomberg The vast supply chain that produces and sells clothing has a massive carbon footprint. That makes the clearance rack a problem, says Gap Inc Chief Executive Officer Art Peck. The carbon footprint of a blouse with an unpopular print that ultimately sells for 99 cents is “inexcusable at the end of the day,” Peck said at the Bloomberg Sustainable …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc joined a chorus of European carriers in warning that a fare war and weakening economies may hold back earnings this year. Shares of the region’s biggest discount airline fell the most in six months on Monday as it posted a 39 percent drop in net income for the 12 months through March and said profit could …

Bloomberg Efforts by Opec and its allies to balance the global supply and demand of oil aren’t complete because crude inventories continue to rise, according to United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei. “The job is not complete,” Al Mazrouei told reporters in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. “We are still seeing some inventory buildup and we …

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 …