Kathmandu / AFP Nepal’s government unveiled the first budget drawn up since the country introduced a new constitution last September, with a focus on funding reconstruction and reviving the battered economy. Millions continue to live in temporary shelters after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Himalayan nation in April 2015, killing nearly 9,000 people. Finance minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel outlined ...

  Bloomberg Bayer AG is close to choosing banks to arrange funds for its proposed acquisition of Monsanto Co., according to people familiar with the matter, after the U.S. company rejected the initial $62 billion bid as too low and sought reassurances on the potential financing. Bayer will probably raise more than $40 billion in short-term bridge financing and most ...

  Frankfurt / AFP Bayer’s chief executive said in an interview published on Sunday he is ready to meet environmental groups to address concerns about his group’s plans to take over US agrochemicals giant Monsanto. In an interview with the Sunday newspaper Frankfurter AllgemeineSonntagszeitung, Werner Baumann also hinted that the Monsanto brand could disappear once the business is integrated into ...

  Frankfurt / AFP The ECB, expected to hold fire on monetary policy at its meeting Thursday, will likely focus instead on welcoming Greece back into the fold of fully-fledged eurozone borrowers after a bailout deal, analysts said. European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi may well also use the lull in the bank’s unprecedented stimulus drive to remind governments that ...

  Bloomberg The risk of a British exit from the European Union has the government in Denmark, an EU member that hasn’t adopted the euro, preparing for the worst. While most polls suggest U.K. voters probably won’t back a so-called Brexit, the June 23 referendum on whether to stay or go still threatens to cause disruption on a scale that ...

  Geneva / AFP When Swiss engineer Carl Eduard Gruner came up with the idea to build the world’s longest rail tunnel under the Alps in 1947, he predicted the visionary project could be finished by the start of the 21st century. He would turn out to be off by 16 years. Gruner’s sketch and technical paper called “Journey through ...

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s planned privatisations, including a share sale in the world’s biggest oil company, represent the biggest investment banking opportunity in the emerging markets, according to the Citigroup Inc. Implementation of the Kingdom’s plans to restructure the economy — known as Vision 2030 — “could translate into a fantastic wallet for the investment banks,” Omar Iqtidar, Citigroup’s head ...

  RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabia would not benefit from altering its exchange rate policy and does not intend to do so, its new central bank governor told the state-linked Al Arabiya channel. Ahmed al-Kholifey said the riyal currency has been suffering due to market speculation that the policy might change. “The agency does not intend to change the exchange ...

  Reuters Qatar National Bank (QNB) has closed the syndication of a 2.25 billion euro ($2.50 billion), three-year loan, it said on Sunday. The loan facility, in which 14 banks participated, was increased from 1.5 billion euros due to “strong market over-subscription”, QNB said in a bourse statement. The loan’s annual interest rate is EURIBOR plus 1.05 percent. The money ...

  BLOOMBERG China should quietly allow wider moves in the yuan, a strategy that will reduce the cost of limiting declines, although US pressure against a big devaluation will be a deterrent, according to a former People’s Bank of China adviser. “The currency basket should be allowed to fluctuate within a big band, at least 20 percent,” Yu Yongding said ...