DUBAI / Reuters National Commercial Bank (NCB) missed analysts’ forecasts on Sunday by reporting a 1.6 percent fall in third-quarter net profit, as Saudi Arabia’s largest listed lender provided more evidence that a weaker economy is hurting the banking sector. Banks in the kingdom are feeling the pinch as depressed oil prices slow economic growth to its lowest level ...

  Reuters JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, reported a 7.6 percent drop in quarterly profit after recording a tax expense, compared with a rare tax benefit a year earlier. The bank’s net income fell to $6.29 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from $6.80 billion in the same quarter of 2015. Earnings per ...

  Frankfurt / AFP European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi will be under pressure this week to clarify the bank’s stimulus plans after investors were spooked by talk of an end to its massive bond-buying programme. The ECB governing council is not expected to make any changes to its ultra-loose monetary policy at its regular meeting on Thursday, keeping interest ...

  Bloomberg The world’s largest emerging markets must double trade between their countries in the next four years and unite to fight terrorist threats that hurt economic prosperity, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. Noting intra-BRICS trade was $250 billion, Modi said: “We should set ourselves a target to double this number to $500 billion by 2020”. The eighth annual ...

  AP Japan has withheld its annual UNESCO dues, saying it wants to make sure the UN body properly functions to foster trust among member nations. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, asked by a reporter, confirmed that Japan withheld dues of nearly 4 billion yen ($40 million) for this year. He refused to say if that was to protest UNESCO’s listing ...

  Bloomberg North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Saturday that immediately exploded after launch. The missile was thought to be a mid-range weapon capable of hitting U.S. military bases in Japan or Guam in a move that comes as the international community considers further sanctions on the isolated nation. The projectile, believed to be a Musudan missile, was fired ...

  Bloomberg China is preparing to launch a manned spacecraft on Monday, marking a crucial step toward the country’s ambition to build and operate its first space station by 2020. The spacecraft is scheduled to blast off on a Long March-2F carrier rocket at 7.30 a.m. Beijing time from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in western Gansu province, Wu Ping, deputy ...

  NEW DELHI / AP AJB Bumiputera 1912, the century-old Indonesian life insurer, is exploring a sale of its business to an overseas investor as it seeks to meet obligations of its more than 5 million policyholders, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Jakarta-based firm is working with a financial adviser to identify potential buyers, including international insurers, ...

  Bloomberg A split between the world’s two largest gold producers over the value of their jointly owned Australian mine is more about future economic expectations than what’s in the ground. That’s the view of Newmont Mining Corp.’s Gary Goldberg, who has been saying for over a year he’d be interested in buying Barrick Gold Corp.’s half of the Kalgoorlie ...

  Bloomberg The US budget deficit as a share of the economy widened for the first time in seven years, marking a turning point in the nation’s fiscal outlook as an aging population boosts government spending and debt. Spending exceeded revenue by $587.4 billion in the 12 months to Sept. 30, compared with a $439.1 billion deficit in fiscal 2015, ...