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 ...

  PARAMARIBO / AP Suriname has landed a $478 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost an economic reform programme amid a drop in commodity prices, becoming the second South American country to seek such a bailout in nearly a decade. The IMF said it will immediately disburse $81 million as part of a two-year deal announced ...

  NEW YORK / AP Splitting the bill for those pizzas you shared with your buddies or that utility bill that is suddenly due is going to get easier and faster even if you don’t all use the same bank. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and other big banks are upgrading their online payment services to let customers make instant transfers ...