Profitshop

China’s two biggest trainmakers said they plan to combine through a share swap, a move intended to boost exports of the country’s high-speed rail technology. The merger between China CNR Corp. (6199) and CSR Corp. (1766) will be at a ratio of 1.1 CSR share for every CNR share, the companies said in a joint statement today. The conversion price for CNR is equal to 6.19 yuan per share or HK$8.05 for its Hong Kong-listed shares, they said in a filing to the Shanghai exchange. The proposal to combine the two trainmakers comes as competitors such as Germany’s Siemens AG and France’s Alstom SA (ALO) are facing constrained public spending in developed markets. China is competing aggressively for overseas rail projects, targeting emerging markets in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia while also pitching for high-profile projects in the developed world. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has touted the country’s rail engineering and construction companies on overseas trips, sig

It’s Christmas, and the tills at Dublin Airport are ringing merrily on high. About 770,000 passengers will travel through the airport over the holidays, rising 8 percent from last year, boosted in part by families flying off to winter sun and skiing vacations, according to the state-owned DAA, which runs the airport. Reinforcing the appeal of a rebound in Irish travel, British Airways (IAG) owner IAG SA made an offer for Aer Lingus Group Plc (AERL) this month, prompting a surge in its shares. The passenger numbers flowing through the airport may also present an opportunity for investors looking to play Ireland’s revival, according to Philip O’Sullivan, an analyst in Dublin at Investec Plc (INVP), which recommends buying DAA’s 2018 bond. “DAA is very much a leveraged play on the Irish economy,” saidO’Sullivan. “We have been fans of the bond for some months now, viewing it as a relatively cheap way to play the sovereign.” By Joe Brennan and Dara Doyle

The ruble rallied as companies sold dollars to pay local taxes, shoring up the currency for a second day after China signaled it’s prepared to offer Russia support to tackle the worsening economic slump. The ruble strengthened 5.5 percent to 55.4995 a dollar by 2:52 p.m. in Moscow, bringing its two-day appreciation to 11 percent. The yield on 10-year government bonds fell 44 basis points to 13.16 percent, while the dollar-denominated RTS Index of equities climbed for a fourth day. Corporate tax payments that Bank of America Corp. estimates will amount to 500 billion rubles ($8.8 billion) are bolstering the ruble as last week’s interest-rate increase to 17 percent squeezes money-market funding. Two Chinese ministers offered support for President Vladimir Putin as Russia’s highest borrowing costs in 11 years choke an economy already facing a deepening slowdown due to sanctions over Ukraine and low oil prices. “Our official forecast is still 48 rubles per dollar by the end of the year

It’s the fattiest -- and for some, the tastiest -- of Jewish holidays. For time immemorial, Jews around the world have celebrated Hanukkah by eating jelly doughnuts and pancakes fried in oil to commemorate a miracle: a small flask of oil lasted long enough to light Jerusalem’s holiest temple for eight days in an uprising against the Greek more than 2,000 years ago. Lately, some followers have started worrying about what the frying is doing to their arteries and waistlines. In Israel, where it’s not unusual to gobble down several daily doughnuts during the feast also known as the Festival of Lights, some bakeries are tweaking ancient traditions and selling Hanukkah treats that boast less fat, as well as some vegan and gluten-free alternatives. Bread Story, a bakery on Tel Aviv’s trendy Dizengoff Street, has ditched frying altogether. Instead, manager Nir Zur says strawberry, chocolate, caramel, and pistachio doughnuts are baked in the oven, allowing him to advertise one-third fewer c

Gold traded little changed as investors weighed oil prices and the strength of the dollar and as a gauge of the metal’s price swings was near the highest since January. Gold futures fell 2.2 percent last week for the first loss in three. Bullion’s 60-day historical volatility is near a level of 18.1 set Dec. 16, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1 percent today and Brent crude declined 0.4 percent. The metal, which reached a four-year low last month, is down 0.5 percent this year. Holdings in gold-backed funds are near the lowest since 2009, as the dollar trades near a five-year high on the outlook for higher U.S. interest rates, and after slumping oil prices reduced demand for an inflation hedge. By Nicholas Larkin and Jasmine Ng

Shares of oil companies are also dropping, with a 49 percent decline in the 76-member Bloomberg Intelligence North America E&P Valuation Peers index from this year’s peak in June. The drilling had been driven by high oil prices and low-cost financing. Companies spent $1.30 for every dollar earned selling oil and gas in the third quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on 56 of the U.S.-listed companies in the E&P index. Financing costs are now rising as prices sink. The average borrowing cost for energy companies in the U.S. high-yield debt market has almost doubled to 10.43 percent from an all-time low of 5.68 percent in June, Bank of America Merrill Lynch data show. Locking in a minimum price for crude reassures investors that companies will have the cash to keep expanding and lenders that debt can be repaid. While several companies such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), Bonanza Creek (BCEI) Energy Inc., Callon Petroleum Co., Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. and Parsley

Leaders of the world’s biggest banks touted the virtues of austerity at the World Economic Forum in Davos -- for themselves, not just for over-indebted governments. Many arrived in the Swiss Alps following a year marked by weak revenue, declining stock prices and cuts in jobs and compensation. The finance and banking industries remain the “least trusted” for the second consecutive year, according to a 20-country survey released earlier this week by public relations firm Edelman. “Last year every bank thought they could grow their way out of trouble,” Huw van Steenis, who oversees European bank research for Morgan Stanley (MS) in London, said between meetings with investors and policy makers in Davos. “Now they realize they have to shrink their way out of trouble.” Financial companies, mainly in Western Europe and the U.S., have announced more than 238,000 job cuts since last year’s meeting in Davos, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Deutsche Bank