Bloomberg US stocks added to records as consumer-focussed shares led gains amid data showing a surge in the American services sector. The dollar and Treasuries edged lower amid speculation over a new Federal Reserve chair. The S&P 500 Index added to records for the seventh day. Carmakers, producers of household products and food retailers led gains after services industries rose …

Reuters Qatar’s stock index sank to a five-year low on Wednesday as foreign funds continued to sell ahead of third-quarter corporate earnings, while banks in Egypt were hit by news that the central bank would raise the required reserve ratio. The Qatari index lost 1.6 percent in thin trade, bringing its losses since four other Arab states broke off ties …

Bloomberg Egypt’s central bank will increase the reserve requirement for lenders next week, potentially paving the way for cutting interest rates even as it battles soaring inflation triggered by a sharp currency devaluation. The reserve ratio, used to control money supply, will increase to 14 percent from 10 percent from October 10, the regulator said. It said the measure was …

Bloomberg Malaysia, and to a lesser degree Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, remain more exposed to exchange rate risk than other developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific as global financial conditions tighten, the World Bank said. Companies and banks in these countries have sizeable external debt, although foreign exchange reserves currently appear adequate, the Washington-based multilateral lender said …

Bloomberg India’s sovereign bonds dropped, reversing earlier gains, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates unchanged as expected and lowered the proportion of deposits that lenders must invest in specified securities such as government notes. The benchmark repurchase rate was left at 6%, with five on the six-member monetary policy committee voting for no change. The outcome …

ZURICH / Reuters The number of banks in Iran should at least halve over the next six years, with closures and mergers needed to modernise an industry laden with toxic loans, one of the country’s top bankers said on Tuesday. Parviz Aghili, chief executive of Middle East Bank, estimated at a conference in Zurich that a full re-organisation of the …

RIYADH / Reuters The Saudi central bank has received three applications for banking licences and processing them is at an advanced stage, central bank governor Ahmed al-Kholifey told a news conference on Wednesday. Kholifey did not name the applicants. Another central bank official said no more bank mergers were expected. Alawwal Bank and Saudi British Bank agreed in April to …

Bloomberg Ghana’s banks face a daunting race to meet new capital rules by the end of next year. Lenders will need to raise 9 billion cedis ($2 billion), which the local equity and debt market is too small to supply, according to George Bodo, the head of banking research at Ecobank Capital Ltd. in Nairobi, Kenya. While it may trigger …

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG could take the biggest hit to trading revenues when Europe’s MiFID II rules come into force because of its exposure to the continent, according to a UBS Group AG report. In its most severe “bear case” scenario, where growth in European trading revenue slows by 9 percent next year, Deutsche Bank would see growth cut by …

Bloomberg The UK is said to see Canada as primarily responsible for the trade dispute between Boeing Co. and Bombardier Inc. because of the level of its state aid to the aerospace company. Publicly, the British government has said that the US imposition of punitive duties on Bombardier is disproportionate, and Prime Minister Theresa May even lobbied US President Donald …