The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

Rio De Janeiro /Bloomberg A letter from the prosecutor-general’s office made public on Monday confirms that the federal task force in charge of Brazil’s sweeping corruption probe known as Carwash has been investigating former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva since late last year. The federal task force is probing Lula’s involvement during his time as president with construction companies ...

Buenos Aires / Bloomberg Argentina’s deal to put a bitter 15-year creditor saga behind it won’t come cheap. The country agreed to terms with bondholders led by hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer over unpaid debts from its record $95 billion default in 2001. The settlement, which will let Argentina regain access to overseas bond markets, is the biggest, and arguably ...

Bloomberg Mexico’s state-owned oil company is taking deepwater development off its plate for now. Driven to rip $5.5 billion out of its budget this year to cope with a lengthening market downturn, it makes sense that Petroleos Mexicanos would look first to its riskiest and most expensive operations. The company reported its 13th quarterly loss, bringing its total losses for ...

BLOOMBERG Brazil’s economic and political crises are proving to be a boon to one of the nation’s most embattled sectors: ethanol producers. Drivers, who used to switch between ethanol and gas depending on the price gap, are now just going for the cheaper, less-efficient ethanol as they try to cut short-term spending amid a battle with inflation as high as ...

Bloomberg With liquidity in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region falling and economic growth cooling, companies want to maximise the efficiency of their cashflow and working capital finance. They are starting to look for more complex instruments, driving change in the banking sector. Traditionally, firms sourcing supplies from abroad simply used letters of credit (LCs). The LC then allowed the ...

Frankfurt / AFP Deutsche Bank has announced further results of the bond buyback scheme aimed at boosting confidence in its financial solidity, insisting that the low take-up was proof of investors’ trust in Germany’s biggest lender. Earlier this month, Deutsche Bank had announced plans to repurchase up to $2.0 billion of dollar-denominated securities, as well as 3.0 billion euros of ...

London / Bloomberg British bank Barclays on Tuesday said net losses more than doubled last year and announced plans to gradually reduce its majority stake in the group’s African unit. Barclays also said it would split the company overall into two units, Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate and International, as it undergoes major restructuring under new chief chief executive Jes ...

Kuala Lumpur / Bloomberg Giles Ong, Malayan Banking Bhd.’s head of Asia investment banking, is leaving after building the advisory business beyond the lender’s home market during his four-year tenure. Ong, 46, tendered his resignation last week, according to an e-mail he sent to colleagues that was obtained by Bloomberg News. In a telephone interview Tuesday, he confirmed the contents ...

London / Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) defied European Union regulators by retaining a bonus-cap exemption for smaller UK financial firms, as the bloc’s policy makers reassess remuneration rules that have been repeatedly blasted by British regulators. The BOE and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that they will comply with all EU remuneration rules apart from applying the ...

BEIJING / Bloomberg China’s political leaders identified aerospace as one of 10 key industries in the country’s quest to become an advanced industrialised nation. Ahead of this weekend’s annual legislative session, Western planemakers — their future competitors — are helping them toward that goal. Airbus Group SE will break ground on Wednesday on a finishing center for its wide-body A330 ...