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Reuters Bank of America reported a 34 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Monday, topping Wall Street estimates, as the lender benefited from higher interest rates and growth in loans and deposits. Revenue rose at three of BofA’s four major businesses. In consumer banking, its biggest business, revenue increased 9 percent as higher interest rates helped BofA charge more for …

ATHENS / Reuters Greek banks will pass the European Central Bank’s (ECB) stress test of their financial health, the chief executive of the country’s second-biggest lender, National Bank (NBG), said on Monday. The ECB will publish the results of a stress test of Greece’s four largest lenders — Piraeus, NBG, Eurobank and Alpha — in May to allow time for …

Reuters A Swiss investor adviser group said Credit Suisse Group AG share-holders should vote against the bank’s 2017 compensation plan, splitting with overseas advisers that backed changes made following uproar last year. Ethos, which advises Swiss pension funds, also said investors shouldn’t support the re-election of Chairman Urs Rohner because renumeration changes were driven by management rather than the board, …

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG has been asked by the European Central Bank to simulate an orderly wind-down of its trading book, Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke told Bloomberg on Monday. “There’s no novelty about the exercise per se; the novelty is that we’re doing this with the ECB,” von Moltke said. The exercise will take several months, being “broader …

ABU DHABI / WAM UAE stocks locked in a strong uptrend in the maiden session of the week supported by most of the listed sectors, primarily the realty and banking companies, with the DFM General Index rising to 3151 points, an increase of 1.83 percent over the last session, and ADX General Index following suit by 1 percent over Thursday’s …

BAHRAIN / WAM Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, on Sunday announced its recent acquisition of KSI Trading Corp. (KSI), a supplier of aftermarket auto body parts in the US. Founded in 1984, KSI is an industry-leading distributor of quality replacement auto body parts servicing over 10,000 collision repair shop customers across 25 locations in 14 …

LONDON / Reuters Gold and oil will extend their gains on Monday, albeit modestly, when the markets open for the first time since Western powers launched a missile attack on Syria but equities and bonds are unlikely to suffer big losses unless the West strikes again or Russia retaliates. “The newsflow is actually better than what it looked like at …

MEXICO CITY / Reuters Norway’s Statoil will evaluate new offshore projects in Mexico, including potential tie-ups with state oil company Pemex, the firm’s top executive said, adding that a first deepwater well in an existing Gulf project will likely be drilled next year. Statoil is focussed mostly on future deepwater opportunities in Mexico but does not rule out others, CEO …

LONDON / Reuters Global energy trader Mercuria Group has agreed to take an interest in the oil refining system of China’s ChemChina, sources familiar with the matter said. As part of the deal, state-run ChemChina would increase its stake in Mercuria, one of the world’s largest oil trading firms. ChemChina already holds a 12 percent stake in the Swiss-based company …

Reuters Most Gulf stock markets rose on Sunday due to firm oil prices and relief that the weekend’s military attack on Syria was relatively limited in scope and there was no immediate retaliation. The United States, France and Britain launched 105 missiles after a suspected poison gas attack in Syria a week earlier. The strikes were limited to three alleged …