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  Any conversation with a European bank executive these days quickly turns to talk of how their US rivals are in better shape. American banks were much quicker in bolstering their capital bases after the financial crisis; they also have more regulatory certainty (in part because they didn’t challenge every proposed rule change). And in at least one corner of ...

  San Francisco / AFP Volkswagen has reached a $1 billion agreement with US authorities on a compensation deal for the last 80,000 vehicles affected by its emissions-cheating scandal in the United States, officials said. However, a Justice Department official said a criminal investigation is ongoing, and charges may still be filed against the company — which could bring new ...

  Bloomberg Nike Inc. posted second-quarter results that surpassed analysts’ estimates, soothing concerns that the world’s largest sports brand is losing ground to competitors such as Adidas AG and Under Armour Inc. Profit was 50 cents a share in the period, which ended Nov. 30, Nike said in a statement. That compared with the 43-cent average of analysts’ projections. Sales ...

  Bloomberg UK house-price inflation will slow in 2017 as affordability stretches potential buyers, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Values will rise just 3 percent and the number of transactions will see a moderate decline, RICS said in a statement on Wednesday. That compares with a year-on-year price increase of 6.9 percent in October, according to the ...

  Bloomberg BlackBerry Ltd. boosted its fiscal 2017 earnings outlook and posted a profit in the third quarter, showing the company’s bet on moving more into software and completely away from handsets is paying off. Fiscal third-quarter earnings per share, excluding some items, were 2 cents, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a loss of 1 cent. BlackBerry said it ...

  Bloomberg Actelion Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Clozel is known for his faith in the Swiss drugmaker’s experimental medicines, an optimism that may have helped scuttle a deal with Johnson & Johnson. New suitor Sanofi has the perfect negotiating tool. The French company’s takeover offer may include a contingent value right, or CVR, worth about $20 of the $275 ...

  London / AFP Europe’s main stock markets dropped on Wednesday, with focus once more on Italian bank Monte dei Paschi, whose shares tumbled on fading hopes that it will avoid a state bailout. Around 1115 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 0.2 percent compared with the close on Tuesday. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 slipped 0.1 ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s stock market rose on Wednesday on the eve of the government’s release of its 2017 budget, and Egypt’s extended a bull run fuelled by for- eign money and last month’s float of the Egyptian pound. The Saudi stock index climbed 0.4 percent, though trading volume shrank to its lowest level in two months as ...

    Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s long-awaited drive to free up more oil revenue by shifting to solar power generation is expected to pick up speed next quarter, according to local developers eyeing contracts. “I’m fully expecting within the first quarter 500 megawatts to come out in tenders and then it’ll ramp up,” said Paddy Padmanathan, the chief executive officer of ...

  Riyadh / AFP Crowds are jamming the aisles of a Riyadh coffee and chocolate exhibition this week, as Saudis indulge the country’s sweet tooth and craze for caffeine. The International Coffee and Chocolate Exhibition, which opened on Tuesday and will run to Friday, is billed as the largest of its kind in the Middle East. In its third year, ...