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Bloomberg UK mortgage approvals fell to a seven-month low in a sign the housing market is slowing, though Britons are continuing to take advantage of low interest rates to take on unsecured debt. Lenders approved 64,645 home loans in April, the fewest since September and below the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Mortgage lending grew 2.7 billion pounds, the ...

Dubai / Emirates Business FinTech Hive at DIFC, the region’s first FinTech accelerator launched by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) earlier this year, received over 100 applications from more than 32 countries for its inaugural programme. The majority of applications have come from the UAE, the UK, the US, India, Nigeria and Singapore, and cover a range of concepts including ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM In its latest Global Investment Outlook presentation, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), suggested that investors should consider taking an “overweight” position on GCC and European equities as well as the Japanese yen. “Reaching out to our customers and offering them our unique insights into the global investment landscape is central to our mission as trusted financial ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Etihad Airways on Tuesday announced plans to boost its European Dreamliner network with the deployment of Boeing 787-9 aircraft to Amsterdam and Madrid. The 299-seat Dreamliners will be introduced on year-round scheduled services to Amsterdam from September 1, and to Madrid from October 1, joining Dusseldorf and Zurich as the airline’s other European Dreamliner services. The ...

Bloomberg Noble Group Ltd. is seeking a strategic investor to drag the beleaguered commodities trader out of what it calls an “incredibly difficult environment.” The company’s market value has shriveled by more than $1 billion this year as the Hong Kong-based firm reported a first quarter loss, S&P Global Ratings flagged a risk of default and Fitch Ratings Ltd. cut ...

Bloomberg Japan’s jobless rate remained at the lowest in more than two decades last month, and retail sales rose from March, climbing for a fourth month. Highlights of Data Retail sales rose 1.4 percent from March, and were up 3.2 percent compared to April last year. The unemployment rate for April was 2.8 percent, the same as the forecast. Household ...

Bloomberg The southwest monsoon that waters about half of India’s farmland arrived in the country slightly ahead of its normal schedule, giving a boost to farmers planting rice to soybeans crops in coming weeks. Monsoon rain has reached the southern state of Kerala, K. J. Ramesh, chief of India Meteorological Department, said by phone. The June-September rainy period typically starts ...

Bloomberg Four months into Donald Trump’s presidency, the sky has not fallen in on the system of global governance the US did so much to construct since World War II. It is, however, in deep trouble. Trump has not followed through on pre-election threats to declare the North Atlantic Treaty Organization obsolete, abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement, accept ...

Bloomberg Akzo Nobel NV’s court victory against activist shareholder Elliott Management Corp. has strengthened the Dutch paintmaker’s hand in resisting a takeover approach from suitor PPG Industries Inc. and put pressure on the US rival to take its offer directly to investors. The Commercial Court of the Netherlands ruled late on Monday that Akzo Nobel is under no obligation to ...

Bloomberg Denmark’s center-right government raised its forecast for economic growth this year and predicted it will borrow less via bond markets as the public deficit shrinks. The minority coalition of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen expects gross domestic product to expand 1.7 percent this year, faster than the 1.5 percent it forecast just last month, according to Economy Ministry documents ...