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Bloomberg The hedge funds that now own the Toys ‘R’ Us brand plan to relaunch the toy retailer as a standalone operation next year, according to people familiar with the matter. Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo Gordon will look to raise capital to help revive the chain, which closed its last stores at the end of June, and are …

Bloomberg Kraft Heinz Co. shares sank in late trading on Thursday after the packaged-food company posted quarterly profit that missed estimates, dragged down by sluggish sales growth and higher costs. Earnings per share were 78 cents in the quarter, excluding some items, trailing the average analysts’ estimate of 81 cents. Adjusted EBITDA in the key US region was down 16 …

ABU DHABI / WAM Non-resident deposits acr-oss UAE’s banking system reported solid growth during first nine months of ye-ar, with their growth outst- ripping retail loans provided to non-residents by AED63 billion by end of Q3. The expansion in banks’ holdings of deposits corroborates investor confidence in the UAE banking sector, reckoned the first in the region in terms of …

Emirates Business Emirates NBD Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy — released its October data. Non-oil private sector companies in the UAE reported another sharp increase in new business during October. Anecdotal evidence suggested that promotional activity was partly linked to the improvement. …

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc stepped up its share buyback program as cash flow surged on higher crude prices, even as profit fell slightly short of expectations. Cash flow from operations including working capital movements was $12.09 billion in the third quarter, the highest since 2014. The company said it will repurchase $2.5 billion of shares up to January 28, …

Bloomberg Encana Corp. agreed to buy US shale producer Newfield Exploration Co. in its largest-ever acquisition, inflaming investors’ ire by reversing course on a strategy of slimming down its oil and gas portfolio. The $5.5 billion purchase will give Encana positions in the Stack and Scoop shale fields in Oklahoma, the Bakken region of North Dakota and the Uinta play …

Bloomberg Russian oil production moved closer to an all-time high before the nation meets with OPEC partners to discuss future supply. The country’s crude and condensate output averaged 11.412 million barrels a day last month, according to data from the Energy Ministry’s CDU-TEK unit released. Th-at’s about 160,000 barrels a day more than two years ago, before Russia agreed to …

Bloomberg The world’s major economies that entered 2018 accelerating in sync risk entering 2019 decelerating in sync. The shift is being led by China, where the economy’s weakest performance since 2009 is set to worsen unless a peace can be struck in the trade war with the US. Factory readings from Asia already show a fallout, with Taiwan, Thailand and …

Bloomberg From the lowest in a decade to the biggest two-day gain — in the same timespan. It’s been a wild ride this week for China’s yuan, whipsawed as concern about a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy gave way to optimism that trade tension with the US may ease. The onshore currency closed last week at 6.8870 per dollar, …

Bloomberg British and European officials are playing down reports that a Brexit deal has been reached for banks that would provide access to the single market after the UK leaves the bloc. The pound pared gains. The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said in a tweet that the bloc was “ready” to have “close regulatory dialogue” with the …