JERUSALEM / AP The Jerusalem municipality said on Sunday it is pushing forward with 566 new housing units for Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem, swiftly moving into action as the seemingly favourable President Donald Trump takes office. The building plans were put on hold in the final months of President Barack Obama’s administration and were announced shortly following Trump’s inauguration. ...

  LONDON / AP British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she plans to discuss free trade and the importance of the NATO military alliance when she becomes the first foreign leader to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington. The White House’s invitation for May to meet with Trump on Friday was seen in Britain as affirmation that ...

  ALEPPO / AP The street looks as if it was hit by an earthquake and the bombed-out building in a former rebel-held northeastern neighborhood of Aleppo is deserted — except for the second-floor apartment where Abdul-Hamid Khatib and his family are staying. There is no electricity or running water. The apartment windows are covered with nylon sheets and a hole ...

  BANJUL / AP Gambia’s capital on Sunday was awaiting the arrival of the country’s new leader and an era of democracy, hours after the authoritarian ruler of 22 years flew into exile with an extraordinary set of assurances from the international community. Even as new President Adama Barrow remained in neighboring Senegal awaiting a triumphant return after a whirlwind political ...

  Bloomberg While Scandinavia waits for its regulators to finalize rules on bonds that are supposed to absorb losses if issuing banks get into trouble, Societe Generale SA decided to lead the way and sell its first senior bail-in-able notes in a Nordic currency. France’s second-largest bank by market value is issuing senior non-preferred notes in Swedish kronor after already ...

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia central bank Governor Ahmed Alkholifey said a cash crunch that squeezed commercial lenders last year is over and that he’s open to more foreign financial institutions operating in the biggest Arab economy. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority sees no need for further steps to boost banking liquidity, Alkholifey said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in ...

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG sought an unusual provision in its $7.2 billion mortgage-bond settlement with the US government, and seems to have won it: the bank can pay down part of its penalty by lending money to fund managers. As part of the agreement, Germany’s largest bank has to provide $4.1 billion of relief for mortgage borrowers. Other lenders ...

  Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Antonio Horta-Osorio has reshuffled senior jobs at the bank to create a new role to advise on cost control ahead of a strategic update this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Jennifer Tippin, the London-based bank’s former customer services director, will lead group organizational design and cost management ...

  Bloomberg It would seem that Mervyn King isn’t a fan of what central bankers have been doing since he departed their ranks. In a discussion of the economics profession and central banking, the former Bank of England governor expressed concerns ranging from the ‘narrow’ focus of macroeconomics, a lack of humility among forecasters and the risks of straying into ...

  Emirates Business Al Hilal Bank was recently awarded the prestigious Service Olympian Award for Most Improved Branches category during an event held by Ethos Integrated Solutions at the Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai. Mohammed Al Dosari, Head of Distribution in Retail Banking Group at Al Hilal Bank, received the award which marks another milestone in the Bank’s journey of success.