Washington / AFP President Barack Obama vetoed a bill allowing 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia, risking a fierce public backlash and rare congressional rebuke. While expressing “deep sympathy” for the families of the victims, Obama said the law would be “detrimental to US national interests.” The White House tried and failed to have the legislation — which was unanimously …

  Vienna / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel, stung by several setbacks at the ballot box over her refugees policy, was due in Vienna on Saturday for potentially tense talks with the leaders of countries along the Balkan migrant route. They include Prime Minister Victor Orban of Hungary who has been sharply critical of Merkel’s “open-door” policy, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras …

  Bloomberg At least 60 nations have agreed to join the voluntary phase of a United Nations programme that would require international airlines to buy credits offsetting their pollution, including new commitments from major emitters like Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The White House believes the new commitments provide critical momentum for the proposed deal heading into …

  Bloomberg Alaska Air Group Inc. and Virgin America Inc. have agreed to give US antitrust officials more time to review their $2.6 billion deal after the government raised concerns that the combination may undermine competition in some markets. Alaska didn’t specify how much more time it’s given to the Justice Department to complete the review. The airlines had originally …

  Bloomberg Aritzia Inc., a Canadian women’s fashion retailer, may raise as much as C$400 million ($304 million) in its initial public offering after boosting the amount of shares being offered by 25 percent. Aritzia owners lifted the number of subordinated shares being sold to 25 million from 20mn, according to sale documents. The shares are being marketed for C$14 …

  Bloomberg Colombia’s Avianca Holdings SA and Avianca Brasil, the two airlines controlled by the Efromovich brothers, are seeking separate international partners while maintaining a long-term goal of merging, Jose Efromovich said. “We are under confidentiality agreements’’ and many companies have shown interest, Efromovich, the chairman of Avianca Brasil, said in an interview in Sao Paulo. “We are looking for …

  Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to cut about a quarter of its investment-banking jobs in Asia, excluding Japan, because of a slump in deal-making in the region, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The New York-based bank plans to make the cutback of about 75 jobs in the region later this year, the person said, …

  Bloomberg European lenders took up almost twice the amount of cheap loans that analysts had predicted in a second round of European Central Bank refinancing, according to data. In a move suggesting banks may be increasingly willing to lend to households and businesses, the ECB announced that it had agreed to lend 45.3 billion euros ($51 billion) to 249 …

  Bloomberg Commerzbank AG is preparing to eliminate thousands of jobs as Chief Executive Officer Martin Zielke seeks to boost profitability at the German lender, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Commerzbank may reveal the changes next week when Zielke presents his plan to the supervisory board, said two people, asking not to be identified because the …

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. managers were accused of fueling the creation of bogus accounts in what may be the first lawsuit by fired or demoted employees since the bank was called out by regulators. The lawsuit offers details of how low-level bankers were allegedly pushed to create at least 10 new accounts a day in a sales initiative …