There is an important, but quiet debate in the economics profession about what leads to big recessions: wealth or debt. Almost everyone agrees, at this point, that the Great Recession of 2007-09 was caused by the financial system. But that leaves the question of what, exactly, happens in a financial system that leads an economy to crash. Formal economic ...

  Bloomberg Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the Middle Eastern country, agreed to buy BlackRock Inc.’s Asia Square Tower 1 for S$3.4 billion ($2.5 billion) in the biggest office transaction in Singapore. Qatar will purchase the office tower in the central business district in the largest single-tower sale in the region, according to a joint statement from ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Real Estate Co has agreed with U.S. firm Starwood Hotels and Resorts to build two hotels next to a district of Riyadh which the government plans to develop into an international business zone. Starwood will manage a five-star hotel under its Westin brand and a four-star hotel under its Element brand, Saudi Real Estate, which ...

  REUTERS Commercial real estate manager NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc , REIT NorthStar Realty Finance Corp and private equity firm Colony Capital Inc have agreed to an all-stock merger that would create a company with $58 billion of assets under management, they said onMonday. NorthStar Realty Finance shares fell 5.8 percent to $12.70, while NorthStar Asset Management dropped 6.5 ...

  Bloomberg On his way to work, Lisbon Mayor Fernando Medina likes to count the dwindling number of empty buildings. Thanks to a tourism and real estate boom, many are being converted into trendy apartments that cater to the growing number of visitors to the city. As some European cities impose restrictions on short-term rentals via websites such as Airbnb ...

  Switzerland / Bloomberg Nestle SA is banking on e-commerce sales to revive its struggling Chinese business, as the Swiss food company grapples with slowing growth and new shopping trends in the world’s largest consumer market. The maker of KitKat chocolates and Yinlu peanut milk began selling on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Tmall.com portal 67 brands it has never offered ...

  Pretoria / Bloomberg Telkom SA SOC Ltd. said full-year earnings gained 16 percent as South Africa’s biggest landline provider cut almost 4,000 jobs, raised the dividend and embarked on the last financial year of its turnaround plan. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was 11 billion rand ($729 million) in the year through March, compared with 9.4 billion ...

  Doha / Bloomberg Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker branded Delta Air Lines Inc. “wicked” over what he said was the US carrier’s part in ruining the Middle Eastern company’s first flight from Doha to Atlanta. Qatar’s Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet wasn’t allocated a gate when it arrived at the world’s busiest airport this week, forcing passengers ...

  Shanghai / bloomberg Billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Wanda Cinema Line Co., whose shares have been halted since late February, surged by the 10 percent daily limit after it resumed trading on Monday as the Chinese tycoon seeks to inject Legendary Entertainment and other film-related businesses into the company. The stock climbed to 88.33 yuan in Shenzhen, compared with its previous ...

  Tribune News Service Airlines could help reduce lengthy security lines by suspending checked baggage fees this summer or diverting fee revenues to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), some aviation experts and congressional members contend. Long security lines at major airports have led to thousands of missed flights in recent weeks, and some say TSA’s screening problems stem, in part, ...