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  Stagnant wage growth for the global middle class has been cited for everything from the rise of Donald Trump, the UK vote to leave the European Union and the referendum that prompted the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. I’d like to add a business victim to the list: Switzerland’s luxury watch industry. The most basic Rolex Oyster ...

  The outcome of the Italian referendum last week added to the political, economic and financial uncertainty facing Europe, the world’s largest economic region. Nonetheless, global equity markets shrugged off the turbulence even more quickly than they overcame the shock of the Brexit vote in June. As a result, US indexes have surged to new highs, adding to an impressive ...

  Bloomberg Qatar Airways said it’s seeking to renegotiate a $7.8 billion order for Airbus Group SE narrow-body jets and could switch to bigger planes powered by alternative engines as part of a revised agreement. The Gulf carrier wants to keep the deal for 80 A320neos after refusing to take the first four aircraft because of glitches with their Pratt ...

  Mexico City / AFP US retail giant Walmart said it plans a fresh $1.3 billion investment in Mexico, where it was hailed amid US President-elect Donald Trump’s tough line on foreign trade and keeping jobs in America. The American company plans to build new distribution centers and expand existing ones “which will create more than 10,000 new jobs,” said ...

  Washington / AFP Aviation giant Boeing said it was cutting production of its 777 aircraft to five a month from seven due to slackening demand, in a move that will impact jobs. The announcement followed the manufacturer’s clinching of a $17 billion dollar deal on Sunday to sell 80 jetliners, including the 777, to Iran, the first such agreement ...

  Bloomberg ANA Holdings Inc. has invested in a new airline venture in Myanmar that aims to start international flights in 2018 as the Japanese carrier seeks to capture demand in Asia’s fastest-growing economy. ANA has a 49 percent stake and a local company holds the remainder, Shinya Katanozaka, chief executive officer of Japan’s largest airline, said in an interview ...

  Milan / AFP Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit, announced plans on Tuesday to slash 14,000 jobs and raise billions of euros in fresh capital as the country gets to grips with political instability and a banking crisis. The bank, one of the worst performers in European bank stress tests, confirmed it would need to seek 13 billion euros ($13.8 bn) ...

  Frankfurt am Main / AFP The ECB said it would open an inquiry after its refusal to extend a deadline for Italy’s troubled Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank (BMPS) was leaked to the media before the lender was formally notified of the decision. “An internal inquiry will be launched,” a spokesman for the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank said, ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has received a licence to open a branch in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Japanese bank to establish a presence in the kingdom. The bank, part of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has played a central role in the Saudi government’s recent financing activity, in April helping to arrange a $10 billion loan, ...

  Bloomberg Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce stands by its cash-and-stock bid to buy U.S. lender PrivateBancorp Inc. and is willing to wait out a market rally to complete the deal, Chief Executive Officer Victor Dodig said. “We worked long and hard at getting the right consideration in place in terms of cash and stock,” Dodig said in a Bloomberg ...