Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may hold a snap general election next month, local media reported, a move that would allow him to seize on opposition disarray and growing support for his handling of the North Korea crisis. Abe appears increasingly inclined to call an election amid a recovery in public support following a spate of scandals, public broadcaster …

Bloomberg A former Malaysia government minister who shifted allegiance to the opposition has returned to the ruling party, according to Prime Minister Najib Razak. Muhammad Muhammad Taib, known as Mat Taib, is rejoining the United Malays National Organisation from the People’s Justice Party, or PKR, Najib told. Local reports earlier in the day said a “major announcement” would be made, …

Bloomberg Like so many companies in America, Boeing Co. has largely neglected the gaping deficit in its employee pension as it doled out lavish rewards to shareholders. What’s raising eyebrows is how it plans to shore up the retirement plan. Last month, Boeing made its largest pension contribution in over a decade. But rather than put up cash and lock …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc scrapped 82 flights on Sunday, the start of a six-week programme of cancellations it’s making as it seeks to reduce a backlog of crew vacation required by Irish regulators before the end of the year. “We have messed up in the planning of pilot holidays and we’re working hard to fix that,” Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair’s chief …

Bloomberg Swatch Group AG Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek forecast sales growth to accelerate through the rest of the year as wholesalers stock up on watches and local demand for timepieces improves in markets from China to Switzerland and France. A stronger euro also should boost profitability at the maker of Omega and Breguet timepieces, Hayek said. “We’ve seen the …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is in the European Union’s cross hairs because its rapid expansion may have been fueled by tax measures that slashed its costs, according to the EU official spearheading a state-aid probe into the online giant. Gert-Jan Koopman, whose department at the European Commission was responsible for slapping Apple Inc. with a $15.6 billion tax repayment order last …

KHOBAR / Reuters Saudi Arabia is expected to launch a tender process for its first nuclear reactors as early as next month and will reach out to potential vendors from countries including South Korea, France and China, industry sources said. The world’s top oil exporter wants to start construction next year on two plants with a total capacity of up …

Bloomberg A dearth of new investment in oil production is stoking a risk of tighter crude supply and unstable prices, even as demand growth is expected to slow over the next five years, a senior International Energy Agency (IEA) official. The worldwide cushion of spare production capacity will shrink without further investment in exploration and output, Neil Atkinson, the head …

Bloomberg Iron ore is facing renewed pressure and risks sliding back into the $60s, as China’s economy shows signs of cooling and global mine supply increases, while planned steel capacity cuts in the world’s biggest consumer this winter could further cut demand. Ore with 62 percent content in Qingdao fell 2.5 percent to $72.13 a dry metric ton, the lowest …

Reuters Egypt will issue a $1.8 billion bond by the end of November and plans to launch a new $10 billion Eurobond programme next year, the Boursa newspaper reported on Sunday. Finance Minister Amr El Garhy told the newspaper that Cairo planned to sell Eurobonds worth $3 billion to $4 billion in the first quarter of 2018. Earlier this year, …