Business Blog

* Markets rocked as Switzerland abandons three-year-old franc cap* Franc soars 30 percent, European shares yo-yo, yields tumble* Wall Street futures turn positive, dollar make ground after data* Copper reclaims some ground, oil bounces back after slide againBy Marc JonesLONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Global markets were thrown into turmoil on Thursday as a shock move by Switzerland to abandon its more

* Swiss stocks slump after SNB scraps euro cap on franc * Biggest one-day fall for Swiss index since 1989 * Market cap destruction estimated at $100 bln * Huge swings in major stocks Swatch, Richemont (Adds details and quotes, updates prices) By Atul...

Gulf issuers of overseas bonds may revive their issue plans after Dubai Islamic Bank completed a USD1 billion sukuk issue.

By Philip Pullella ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, speaking of last week's deadly attacks by Islamist militants in Paris, has defended freedom of expression, but said it was wrong to provoke others by insulting their...

* Swiss stocks slump after SNB scraps euro cap on franc * Biggest one-day fall since 1989 * Market cap destruction estimated at $100 bln * Pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index down 1.4 pct * Huge swings in major stocks Swatch, Richemont By Atul Prakash...

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Reuters) - SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd SKPE.KL , a Malaysian oil and gas services firm, said on Thursday it has signed a $2.3 billion Islamic loan with 11 lenders.The transaction, which will convert part of the company&aposs conventional borrowing into a syariah-based facility, is Malaysia&aposs largest ever."With the completion of this transaction, SapuraKencana is now on tr