Author: KMFSLLP

* Uniper AGM scheduled for June 6 (Adds comments from involved parties, context)

PM’s £400m pledge is latest government response to last year’s Grenfell fire

MUMBAI, May 16 (Reuters) - Indian federal police have filed charges against five further people including jeweller Mehul Choksi as part of a probe into an alleged $2 billion fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), two police sources said.

* May cut up to 50 management-level jobs (Recasts, adds details, background)

ZURICH, May 16 (Reuters) - Ex-Novartis Chief Executive Joe Jimenez regrets rushing into a $100,000-per-month consulting contract with U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer but said post-election uncertainty over the administration's healthcare ideas put pressure on the Swiss drugmaker to sign a deal quickly. "There should have been more due diligence,"...

* Combined firm to step up spending on new technologies (Adds details on valuation, financial advisers; clarifies ownership structure in paragraph 8; updates share prices)

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilding tumbled in April and permits fell, suggesting the housing market continued to tread water amid shortages of land and skilled labor.

COLOMBO, May 16 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee hit a record low for a third straight session on Wednesday after the central bank chief said on Friday that the currency would depreciate gradually as dollar outflows surpass inflows.

DUBAI, May 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Alawwal Bank soared on Wednesday after the announcement of its planned merger with Saudi British Bank, while most Gulf stock markets closed in negative territory on the back of rising geopolitical concerns.

UK is undertaking a pragmatic search for friends and partners in trade and security