Manus Cranny

Nissan Motor Co. pursuing a deal with Honda Motor Co. indicates the former is in “panic mode,” according to Carlos Ghosn, the ex-chairman of the struggling Japanese automaker.

The US must not “shy away” from exercising its influence over Israel and pushing for a cease-fire in conflicts that threaten to expand across the wider Middle East, according to a senior United Arab Emirates’ official.

Norway’s $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund fell short of its benchmark in the first quarter, extending an underperformance seen in the final months of last year.

The overall equity market isn’t yet ready to support initial public offerings after they begin trading, according to Eric Liu, EQT AB’s head of North American private equity.

France’s Champagne producers shipped fewer bottles of bubbly last year, another sign of softness in the luxury market.

Iran’s foreign minister warned that new fronts would open against the US if it keeps up unequivocal support for Israel, escalating a rhetorical back-and-forth that has stoked fears the Israeli conflict with Hamas will spread into a wider regional war.

A former Israeli central bank governor said her successor should stay in the job when his five-year term comes to an end in December, with the institution now at the forefront of efforts to stabilize markets following the attack by Hamas.

Joining the BRICS bloc of emerging economies by the United Arab Emirates won’t come to the detriment of its ties with western nations, a top UAE official said, amid concern that China and Russia are expanding the group to counterbalance US and European influence.

Adding countries to the BRICS bloc will matter economically if Saudi Arabia is one of them but otherwise it’s hard to see the point, said Jim O’Neill, a prominent economist and veteran of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The United Arab Emirates is looking to accelerate economic growth as it seeks to double its gross domestic product to over $800 billion by the end of the decade.