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Air France KLM Narrows Losses, Warns of Turbulence as Pilots' Pay Cut

Air France-KLM said Wednesday it cut its losses in the first quarter of 2016 but passenger traffic to Paris was affected by terror attacks and the airline also warned of a difficult year ahead as it moved to cut wages of French pilots.

The Franco-Dutch group enjoyed lower fuel prices but said this was likely to be offset over the rest of the year by pressure on revenue and by the negative impact of currency swings.

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Riding on the Dubai Property Roller Coaster

For more than 10 years Dubai property prices have been on a roller coaster, creating and wiping out fortunes, but recently they appear to have run out of steam.

The Gulf emirate shot to prominence as an attractive real estate market after opening up special freehold zones for foreign buyers in 2002.

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Saudi Says to Ensure Binladin Group Resolves Wage Issue

The Saudi labor minister vowed Tuesday to ensure the Binladin Group keeps a promise to resolve wage issues, amid reports of thousands at the building firm facing unpaid salaries and layoffs.

Labor Minister Mufarrej al-Haqbani's comments followed a Saudi newspaper report on Monday that Binladin Group, one of the world's largest construction companies, was laying off 77,000 foreign workers.

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HSBC Profit Drops on Market Volatility

HSBC on Tuesday said its net profit fell almost a fifth in the first quarter, with Europe's biggest bank hit by "extreme levels" of markets volatility, while bad loans doubled.

Equity and currency markets from Asia to the Americas were sent into meltdown at the start of the year as a growth slowdown in China and plunging oil prices fanned concerns about the world economy.

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Iran and South Korea Set to Triple Trade to $18 bn

Iran and South Korea have decided to triple their annual trade volume to $18 billion, President Hassan Rouhani announced on Monday after meeting his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye.

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Westpac Bank Shares Savaged as Interim Profit Inches up

Australian banking heavyweight Westpac posted a three percent rise in interim net profit Monday as it battles regulatory changes and rising bad loans, disappointing investors who savaged the share price.

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Do Colombia's FARC Rebels Have a Hidden Fortune?

Do Colombia's FARC guerrillas have a multi-billion-dollar fortune from kidnapping and drug trafficking stashed in foreign bank accounts?

That question has triggered an explosive debate in Colombia just as it tries to turn the page on the half-century conflict between the government and the Marxist rebel group.

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Oil Prices Start Week on a Low after Recent Rally

Oil prices dipped Monday after enjoying another strong rally last week, with news of a jump in Iraqi exports bringing supply glut fears back to the fore.

The commodity has surged for four weeks thanks to a weaker dollar, small indications that the global economy -- particularly China -- is showing signs of a mild recovery and various disruptions to output including a strike in Kuwait.

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Recent Rise in Yen 'Extremely Worrying', Says Japan Finance Minister

Japan's finance minister said late Saturday the recent sharp rise in the yen is "extremely worrying", adding Tokyo will take action when necessary.

The remarks, which suggest Tokyo's possible market intervention, came after the Japanese unit surged to an 18-month high against the dollar in New York Friday.

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Senegal, Mauritania Bet on Oil and Gas in Perilous Climate

While petro-states reel from plunging oil prices and gas producers brace for American exports to hit the market, two west African nations are forging ahead with potentially massive extraction projects others might fear to touch.

Energy firms say Senegal and Mauritania's current oil and gas ventures will transform them into net exporters by 2020, betting on long-term demand and the eventual recovery of the slumped market, as well as their proximity to Europe.

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