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Bloomberg Mario Draghi said that the European Central Bank still can’t claim success in its struggle to restore inflation, and defended its policies from complaints that they widen inequalities. “While our confidence that inflation will converge towards our aim of below, but close to, 2 percent has strengthened, we cannot yet declare victory on this front,” the ECB president said ...

DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom’s largest lender, reported an 11.8 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, helped by a drop in expenses and lower impairment charges. The bank made a net profit of 2.56 billion riyals ($683 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from 2.29 billion riyals in the same period ...

Bloomberg The abrupt selloff on global markets is happening as investors pull out of emerging markets at the fastest pace since the 2016 US presidential election. The withdrawal, largest in Asian countries, is a reminder that even as the region fuels the world economy’s best performance in years, it remains vulnerable to the whims of market sentiment. It could also ...

Bloomberg The biggest market sell-off in more than six years isn’t denting BNP Paribas SA’s confidence, with the French bank saying that it may exceed its 2020 profitability target as Europe’s economic expansion takes hold. An improving interest-rate environment is likely to support growth, France’s largest lender said as it reported fourth-quarter profit and trading results mostly in line with ...

Bloomberg There is a “strong case” for authorities to rein in digital currencies because of their links to the established financial system, Bank for International Settlements General Manager Agustin Carstens said. In his first major public speech as head of the Basel, Switzerland-based institution, Carstens argued that central banks — along with finance ministries, tax offices and financial market regulators ...

Bloomberg Vistara, the Indian affiliate of Singapore Airlines Ltd., is in talks with Airbus SE and Boeing Co. to buy jets worth as much as $8.5 billion as the carrier seeks to tap India’s growing middle class, according to people familiar with the plans. Vistara, a joint venture with majority owner Tata Group, is seeking to buy about 50 narrowbody ...

Bloomberg The state-owned Chinese company producing the nation’s first homebuilt single-aisle commercial aircraft expects to start mass production of the plane after 2021 as it seeks to chase markets in Asia and Africa. The C919 jet, built by Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., will take about three to four years to get certification for airworthiness from the Civil Aviation ...

Bloomberg The airline industry’s most prominent trade body said it objects to any attempts by Singapore to charge travellers to help fund the construction of its new Terminal 5 in Changi Airport. The International Air Transport Association is “strongly against any pre-financing of any infrastructure,” IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac told a media roundtable as part of the Singapore Airshow. ...

Bloomberg And just like that, another Internet giant is stepping into health care. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said it’s teaming up with AstraZeneca Plc in an effort to improve health services in China, the UK-based drugmaker’s second-largest market. Coming just days after a pledge by Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to collaborate on new approaches ...

Bloomberg Unilever is rolling out new products such as Dove shower foam to boost sales as it struggles to raise prices on longtime mainstays like Hellmann’s mayonnaise. The Anglo-Dutch consumer-product giant introduced five new brands in its personal-care division in 2017, including Hijab Fresh, a hand and body lotion aimed at Muslim consumers, and soaps formulated for babies. That helped ...