Arab nations are already beginning to reap the benefits of ongoing economic reform packages, despite growing levels of frustration throughout the region, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday. Speaking at a two-day regional conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Director Jihad Azour told CNBC: “Governments are determined to continue […]

The U.S. Treasury Department’s list released Monday detailing 210 Russian oligarchs and close political affiliates of President Vladimir Putin bears a striking similarity to a list of Russia’s richest citizens published in Forbes Magazine in 2017. In fact, almost all 96 oligarchs listed in the unclassified annex of the report, who have a net worth […]

Dutch health technology company Philips on Tuesday said its fourth-quarter sales grew 5 percent to 5.3 billion euros ($6.55 billion), buoyed by a rise in orders for high-end hospital equipment. The company’s intake of orders rose 7 percent, and sales growth was in line with expectations of analysts polled for Reuters. “We finished 2017 on […]

SAP posted 2017 results on the lower side of market expectations after Chief Executive Bill McDermott had promised a “dynamite” final quarter in its cloud business, as Europe’s toptechnology company announced a $2.4 billion U.S. acquisition. Fourth-quarter non-IFRS operating profit rose by 6 percent in constant currency terms to 2.37 billion euros ($2.93 billion), compared […]

European stocks are set to open lower on Tuesday morning, as investors await the release of fresh economic data and monitor corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 is expected to start 55 points lower at 7,613; while the DAX is seen down 92 points at 13,227 and the CAC 40 is set to open 32 points […]

The growing hype around China’s massive global infrastructure push may be due to a fear of missing out, according to a research chief at real estate agency Knight Frank. That is, more countries are expressing interest in China’s so-called Belt and Road Initiative because of just how big it is growing, Nicholas Holt, the firm’s […]

March’s general election in Italy poses a threat to stability at a time when the economy is performing well, according to the country’s economic development minister. Carlo Calenda told CNBC on Monday that the prospect of a hung parliament following the March 4 election, when it is expected that no one party will gain an […]

Russian oligarchs are biting their nails in anticipation of a U.S. Treasury report outlining new sanctions to be enacted Monday on certain Russian business entities and friends of the Kremlin. However, the Trump administration, which has been characterized as dragging its feet on punitive measures against Russia, is unlikely to enact the most stringent measures […]

Deutsche Bank has defended its decision to raise its annual bonus payments. Germany’s biggest lender is to lift its 2017 pot of bonus cash to more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) despite registering a third consecutive year of losses. Earlier this month Deutsche warned that weak trading and a 1.5 billion euro hit resulting […]

General positivity about Europe’s financial sector is not expected to last long, according to two asset managers, who have warned that banks might not be the best investment option over a longer period. “I can put my equity money into better companies where I get a better return, so I am quite happy to leave […]