Boral sells U.S. products business after rejecting Seven bid

Australia’s Boral Ltd (BLD.AX) said it would sell its North American building products business to a unit of NYSE-listed Westlake Chemical Corp (WLK.N) for $2.15 billion, throwing a spanner in the works of a takeover bid by Seven Group (SVW.AX).

EU measures to ‘tighten thumbscrews’ on Belarus

The European Union will impose travel bans and asset freezes on 86 Belarusian individuals and companies on Monday and is preparing economic sanctions that Austria said would “tighten the thumbscrews” on President Alexander Lukashenko.

Oil prices firm on summer demand as Iran talks drag

Oil prices edged higher on Monday, underpinned by strong demand during the northern hemisphere summer driving season and a pause in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal that could lead to a resumption of crude supplies from the OPEC producer.