The Venetian Republic and the British Empire built their economies on ocean trade. Dwindling naval power heralded their decline and fall. It’s a thought that should provoke a shiver of recognition in Hong Kong and Singapore, given the way their airborne fleets are falling victim to a new Great Power struggle. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. will cut jobs and …

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG and the Justice Department completed a $5.3 billion agreement to settle a US investigation into the bank’s sales of toxic mortgage debt before the financial crisis. Credit Suisse will pay a $2.5 billion civil penalty and $2.8 billion in consumer relief, to be paid over five years after the settlement, the Justice Department said …

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. reported fourth-quarter profit that surpassed analysts’ estimates as trading revenue jumped 31 percent, more than the bank had forecast last month. Net income rose 7.1 percent to $3.57 billion, or $1.14 a share, from $3.34 billion, or $1.02, a year earlier, the New York-based company said Wednesday in a statement. The average estimate of 25 analysts …

  Bloomberg Analysts scratching their heads over the impact on India’s banks of the country’s move to ban high-value notes have every right to be puzzled, as estimates offered by the chairman of State Bank of India indicate. The bank could retain anything from 15 percent to 40 percent of the deposit boost it received after the government withdrew about …

  DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) reported a 7.5 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit as the kingdom’s largest lender was boosted by higher income from commission and investments. The results are the strongest in four quarters for the bank, which like other lenders in the kingdom has seen its performance clipped by weaker activity as …

  Bloomberg Rana Kapoor, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Yes Bank Ltd, has become a billionaire as shares in the lender jumped 16.4% this month, making it the best-performing stock among India’s banks. The Mumbai-based lender is benefiting from its low bad-loan ratio and robust return on equity, according to Alpesh Mehta, Mumbai-based analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities …

  DUBAI / Reuters Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the Gulf state’s largest sharia-compliant lender by assets, met analysts’ average forecast as it reported a 2 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, according to reports. It made a net profit of 555 million riyals ($152 million) during the three months to Dec. 31, compared with 544 million riyals in the same …

  Bloomberg The young entrepreneur credited as the brains behind Facebook Inc.’s virtual reality headset was accused in court of betraying a company that had worked with him to display the technology at a trade show. Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, whose startup was bought by the social media giant for about $2 billion in 2014 when he was 21, …

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The year 2016 was another eventful year for the consumer electronics industry with a number of exciting and sophisticated technologies advancing to fulfill their potential on the world stage. The year 2017 appears to see the continuation of these trends, as the products, which shape the world around us are improved to better suit evolving …

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Cyber security professionals have become more aware of the value of analytics and have moved beyond using analytics for detection and response to using analytics to measure and improve their overall risk posture, according to the results of SANS’ 2016 Survey on Security Analytics. “Traditionally, cyber security has been focused around protection and prevention. But …