Bloomberg Austria’s designated next central bank governor Robert Holzmann should argue for a tighter monetary policy in the European Central Bank’s policy-making body, according to the country’s new central bank vice president. Barbara Kolm, an economist appointed to the institution’s non-policy oversight body by the nationalist Freedom Party, told Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse in an interview that she’s “hoping ...

Bloomberg European banks are vying for dominance in one of the continent’s most dynamic corners. Governments in parts of eastern Europe, where growth is outpacing the euro area, are loosening their grip on state-held assets. Serbia and Slovenia are the latest to offer stakes in their banks, opening up a potential battlefield as OTP Bank Nyrt of Hungary, Vienna-based Raiffeisen ...

Bloomberg The initial Black Friday results have reinforced that this US holiday shopping season will be one of the best in recent memory. But even in good times, there are concerns for retailers. The takeaway from the past few days is that Americans are spending at unprecedented levels, and the overwhelming majority of that growth — if not all of ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is on a shopping spree in India. Helmed by the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos, Amazon has bought into one brick-and-mortar retailer, backed purchase of another and is reported to be in talks to acquire a stake in at least one more as the online retailing giant looks to get more boots on the ground in the ...

Bloomberg South African Airways’s suppliers are slashing payment periods to reduce the risk of losing out from a collapse of the troubled state carrier, which is struggling to pay lenders 5 billion rand ($361 million) due by the end of this month. Companies with contracts with SAA are cutting settlement terms to seven days from 21 days as the creditor ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE could opt to drop the role of commercial aviation chief when incumbent Guillaume Faury is promoted to lead the entire company next year, simplifying the group’s structure amid an ongoing fraud probe. The move would concentrate power in the hands of Faury as chief executive officer and reinforce the idea that the jetliners arm — where most ...

Bloomberg Thousands of Dolce & Gabbana goods have been pulled from China’s biggest shopping websites after the Italian fashion house’s marketing went off the rails in a country that’s driving the industry’s growth. Calls for a boycott against the label gained traction after a video campaign showed a Chinese model struggling to eat spaghetti with chopsticks — a depiction that ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Dr Hatem Ali, Representative of the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries, described the UAE as a leading international model of developing minds and youth empowerment. In an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), ...

Bloomberg Saudi Aramco aims to become a global refiner and chemical maker, seeking to profit from parts of the oil industry where demand is growing the fastest while also underpinning the kingdom’s economic diversification. The world’s biggest oil exporter is earmarking $500 billion to invest over the next 10 years, including $160 billion for natural gas developments and $100 billion ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Government and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have added Wintershall Holding GmbH to the Ghasha ultra-sour gas mega-project with a 10 percent stake. The Ghasha concession consists of the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma and other offshore sour gas fields, including Nasr, SARB and Mubarraz. Wintershall will contribute 10 percent of the project ...