Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is considering plans to increase an Islamic tax paid by local banks to as much as 20 percent, or double the current rate, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the world’s biggest oil exporter seeks to bolster alternative sources of revenue. The tax authority is in talks with lenders about raising the religious levy, ...

Bloomberg Euro-area officials set out to defend their latest monetary-policy action, stressing their package of new long-term loans and revised guidance was an appropriate response to the region’s economic slowdown. “Hard data indicated that a reaction was needed,” Lithuanian Governing Council member Vitas Vasiliauskas told reporters in Vilnius. “It was a natural preemptive move.” Recent data have painted a gloomy ...

Bloomberg Absa Group Ltd. has overhauled the executive management of its corporate and investment banking unit as part of an ongoing group-wide revamp to draw more revenue from operations in Africa. The team of eight, which includes former joint-chief executive officers of the division, Mike Harvey and Temi Ofong, now have a mandate to drive business across the entire African ...

Bloomberg German commercial real estate lender Aareal Bank AG took the hardest hit to date in a far-reaching European Central Bank investigation of how banks gauge risk. Aareal’s key capital ratio dropped by at least 3.5 percentage points as a result of the review, the most among 18 publicly traded banks that have disclosed the impact in statements and conference ...

Bloomberg Just as a tide of cancelled orders has prompted Airbus SE to halt production of the A380 superjumbo, Japan’s biggest airline is betting it can succeed where others have failed — by filling the luxurious double-deckers with tourists flying to Hawaii. Starting May 24, ANA Holdings Inc. has scheduled three flights a week from Tokyo to Honolulu on the ...

Bloomberg Billionaire Mike Ashley’s push to oust the board of Debenhams Plc came after creditors of the troubled UK retailer repeatedly rebuffed his bid to take over immediately as chief executive officer, according to people familiar with the situation. Ashley, whose Sports Direct International Plc is the biggest investor in the department-store chain, has stepped up his campaign by appealing ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary waded into the row over the UK’s Brexit logjam, saying controversy over the so-called Irish backstop has been exaggerated. The backstop, which keeps the UK in a customs union with the European Union unless a future trade deal makes border checks unnecessary, won’t be a problem so long as Britain moves ...

Bloomberg Aviation regulators warned Southwest Airlines Co. and its mechanics’ union that their contentious contract talks and legal fight are putting the carrier’s safety at risk. The Federal Aviation Administration sent the letter to Southwest and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, urging the two parties to work cooperatively on safety issues. Southwest flies the most passengers on domestic flights of ...

DUBAI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday announced allocation of AED5.8 billion ($1.6bn) for water and electricity projects in northern emirates. His Highness also approved an AED2.4 billion project to build dams and a federal water network that connects the water resources ...

Bloomberg The global economy is suffering more than expected from trade tensions and political uncertainty which are clouding prospects particularly in Europe, according to a gloomy report from the OECD. As these are the organisation’s first forecasts in almost four months, it’s partly playing catch-up with developments since then. In that period, little has gone right for the world’s biggest ...