Bloomberg The biggest banks and insurers in Africa, including Old Mutual Plc and Standard Bank Group Ltd, are temporarily closing operations and evacuating staff after violence between rival political factions in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, left at least 272 people dead. The fighting disrupted operations of Standard’s CfC Stanbic Bank in Juba and action had to be taken to …

  Cape Town / Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc led a rally in Japanese bank shares after the Sankei newspaper reported that policy makers are considering allowing the central bank to directly finance government stimulus spending. MUFG, Japan’s largest bank, closed 5.3 percent higher in Tokyo trading on Wednesday and was the best performer on the Topix Banks Index, …

  Bloomberg Just as Israel is close to legislating major reforms to the banking industry, critical voices are starting to mount. A cabinet member echoed concerns of a credit crisis raised by the International Monetary Fund, days after the organisation said certain points of the government’s proposal contradict the lessons of the last financial crisis. “I would not ignore the …

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s new central bank governor Muhammad Ibrahim unexpectedly cut interest rates for the first time in seven years, joining Asian counterparts from Indonesia to Taiwan in easing policy as global risks mount. In his second rate-setting meeting since taking office two months ago, Muhammad lowered the overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 3 percent, a decision …

  BLOOMBERG Google’s ambitious plan to build a new Silicon Valley headquarters, with soaring glass canopies, crane-like robots and movable walls, was given new life after a big land swap with neighbouring technology giant LinkedIn Corp. However, Google’s designs may not survive in their original form because the local government has new goals for the area that include more residential …

  BATH / AP A historic general store and tourist attraction in New Hampshire that closed earlier this year is up for auction. The Brick Store in Bath was built in the late 1700s or early 1800s. It closed after several years of financial hardship, and is up for auction on Wednesday. The store is believed to be one of …

  VIENNA / AP Austria’s Interior Ministry says the government has drawn up a draft law that would dispossess the owner of the house where Adolf Hitler was born. This move follows steadfast refusal by house owner Gerlinde Pommer to sell the empty building in the town of Braunau am Inn on the German border. The government has sought ownership …

  Bloomberg That China Vanke, along with some undisclosed parties, is considering buying a mystery commercial-property asset from Blackstone may seem cause for concern. Here is a real estate company attempting to fend off a hostile takeover with the help of a state-owned subway operator. Free market proponents may argue that shows just how backward, or opaque, the country’s corporate …

Bloomberg Two New York City Council committees approved a zoning change that would clear the way for what developers say will be the first primarily office project to be built in Brooklyn in more than a generation. Toby Moskovits’s 25 Kent Ave. won approval from the New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises as well as the Committee …

  Bloomberg Jorge Perez, the billionaire who helped turn South Florida’s skyline into a beacon for Latin America’s wealthiest, is preparing to hand over his empire. The 66-year-old developer, known as Miami’s “Condo King,” said he hopes his sons Jon Paul and Nicholas will take the reins of the Related Group soon so he can focus more on travel, philanthropy …