US boost as new orders for durable goods rise

VIENNA: Raiffeisen Bank International chief executive Herbert Stepic resigned yesterday in what he called an effort to spare the bank he built into an eastern European powerhouse from damaging publicity over his personal property deals.

LONDON: HSBC called on regulators to speed up industry reform as its shareholders urged Europe's biggest bank to take a lead in cutting pay and criticised it for compliance failings and aiding tax avoidance.

COLOMBO: Loss-making national carrier SriLankan Airlines has signed a provisional deal with Airbus worth $1.3 billion to buy six A330-300 and four A350-900 aircraft between 2014 and 2023 to replace ageing aircraft, the state-run firm's top official said.

CAIRO: Egypt's Orascom Telecom (OTH) is closer to being delisted, sources said yesterday, after holders of around 10 per cent of its stock agreed to be bought out.

PARIS: Air China said yesterday it had ordered 100 Airbus A320 series medium-range single-aisle passenger jets, which carry a catalogue price of $8.8 billion.

LONDON: Gulf telecom operator Etisalat has offered a higher price for Vivendi's Maroc Telecom stake than rival Qatari bidder Ooredoo, according to two people familiar with the matter.

MANAMA: Bahrain-based Bespoke Interiors Middle East (BIME) has been awarded a contract for supplying high-end wood flooring for King Saud University and the National Diabetes Centre in Riyadh.

BERLIN: German business morale improved far more than expected in May, rebounding after two months of falls and suggesting Europe's largest economy is slowly picking up speed after a sluggish first quarter.

NEW DELHI: India's Jet Airways and its smaller rival SpiceJet reported quarterly losses yesterday as fare increases were not sufficient to cover high costs of operations.

LONDON: The Co-operative Bank has stopped offering loans to new business customers, part of measures designed to quell growing concerns over its capital position.

LJUBLJANA: Slovenia's parliament voted yesterday to change the constitution to ensure governments run balanced budgets from 2015, part of economic reform efforts to ensure the euro zone state will not need a bailout.