December, 2016

• 20 December

  Facebook accused of misleading EU in WhatsApp takeover probe

    Bloomberg Facebook Inc. risks a multimillion-euro fine for allegedly misleading European Union merger watchdogs when it won approval to buy the WhatsApp messaging service in 2014. The EU’s antitrust authority said in a statement on Tuesday it suspects Facebook supplied “incorrect or misleading information” on linking data with WhatsApp when regulators cleared the tie-up two years ago. Officials said …

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• 20 December

  Egypt surges, Qatar buoyed by $44bn bank merger plan

  

    Reuters Egypt’s blue chip stock index surged to a record high on Tuesday while Qatar’s market was supported by a potential $44 billion bank merger but other major Gulf bourses were dampened by profit- taking. Cairo’s index jumped 3.4 percent to 12,148 points, exceeding its previous all-time high of 12,039 points reached in April 2008. The index is up …

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• 20 December

  World markets struggle after fatal attacks in Europe

  

    London / AFP Global markets struggled on Tuesday as traders mulled the impact of this week’s deadly attacks in Europe before the Christmas and New Year holiday. Frankfurt and London were flat around midday after Monday’s fatal attacks in Germany and Turkey, Paris eked out gains and most Asian indices faltered. At least 12 people were killed and dozens …

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• 20 December

  Qatari banks in talks for $44 billion merger

  

    Bloomberg Qatari banks Masraf Al Rayan QSC, Barwa Bank QSC and International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) QSC are in talks on a three-way merger as consolidation accelerates across the Middle East’s banking industry. The potential combination would create the largest sharia-compliant bank in Qatar and the third largest such lender in the Middle East, with assets worth more than 160 …

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• 20 December

  Bank of Japan lifts view of economy

  

    Tokyo / AFP The Bank of Japan on Tuesday lifted its view of the economy for the first time in over a year, as the sliding yen boosts exports, offering some hope for Tokyo’s stuttering growth programme. Policymakers held fire on further stimulus and said they would maintain a plan to keep the yield on government 10-year bonds around …

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• 20 December

  Lloyds bank buys MBNA for £1.9 billion

    London / AFP British bank Lloyds on Tuesday bought Bank of America’s UK credit card division MBNA for £1.9 billion in the first acquisition since its government bailout during the global financial crisis. The deal, worth $2.4 billion or 2.3 billion euros, will bolster the group’s position in Britain’s prime credit card market, Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) said in …

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• 20 December

  Intesa Sanpaulo fined $235mn for laundering violations

  

    New York / AFP New York’s state bank regulator fined Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo $235 million for “sweeping violations” anti-money laundering laws and deliberately concealing information from bank examiners. The big Italian bank failed to flag questionable transactions and deviated from policies designed to root out wrongdoing, which “seriously (compromised) the security of the international financial system,” said Maria …

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• 20 December

  Ringgit dips to weakest level since 1998

  

    Bloomberg Malaysia’s ringgit touched its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis in 1998, as investors continue to sell down emerging-market assets and after a crackdown on currency speculators last month exacerbated outflows. The ringgit declined as much as 0.1 percent to 4.4805 per dollar, a level unseen since January 1998, according to prices from local banks compiled by …

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• 20 December

  BP piles up oil assets with over $3 billion deals in three days

  

    Bloomberg BP Plc is piling up assets with more than $3 billion of deals in three days as Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley sees the company emerging from the doldrums after a two-year price slump. Since Saturday, BP has announced a $2.2 billion expansion of output in Abu Dhabi and a $916 million investment in fields in Mauritania and …

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• 20 December

  Tanker docked at Libya’s Es Sider port to load 1st crude cargo in 2 years

  BENGHAZI / Reuters An oil tanker docked at the east Libyan port of Es Sider to load the first cargo of crude since the terminal reopened following a two-year closure, port officials said. Es Sider, Libya’s biggest export terminal, had been shut due to a blockade by a military faction since 2014. It reopened in mid September, but repairs were …

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