Category: Economy

Air carriers flying to Winter Olympics host Russia were warned today to watch for toothpaste tubes containing materials that could be turned into a bomb, a U.S. law enforcement official said.The official declined to elaborate on the intelligence that sparked the warning, which was sent to U.S. and foreign airlines, just two days before the start of the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia.Security at Sochi is tight in response to threats of terror strikes by Islamic militants. The Black Sea

Gold held steady on Thursday as global equities remained volatile amid lower risk appetite and concerns over economic growth, and as investors waited for cues from U.S. jobs data.A mixed bag of U.S. data added to pressure from the emerging markets turmoil on equity markets, underpinning safe-haven assets such as gold and the yen."Even when stocks have rallied over the past few trading sessions, we have noticed that gold has not really dropped that much, telling us that investors in

Investment bankers in Europe are off to the leanest start to a year in a decade as dwindling income from deal-making and trading presses firms to reduce costs.Revenue from arranging mergers, loans and stock and bond offerings for clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell 22 percent to $1.58 billion last month from the year-earlier period, according to data compiled by New York-based research firm Freeman & Co. That was the worst January since 2004, the data show.

Asian shares skidded on Tuesday while the dollar struggled to keep its footing, after disappointing data cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economy and gave investors little reason to hope for stability in emerging markets after their recent rout.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 1.4 percent, touching its lowest level since early September at one point.The gloom was likely to continue into the European session, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100 to open

For global automakers, the dusty backroads of rural India could be the new El Dorado.As economic torpor suffocates demand for new cars in India's megacities, incomes are growing faster in small towns and country areas. That's pushing the likes of General Motors and Honda Motor Co to fan out in search of buyers in places where fewer than 20 people in every thousand own a car - for now.Standing firmly in the way are strong home-grown brands. With local services

Bahrain-based investment management firm Arcapita announced the signing of an agreement to sell Varel International Energy Services, Inc. (Varel), a leading manufacturer of drill bits for the oil and gas, and mining and industrial industries, to Sweden-based Sandvik AB for a total transaction value of approximately $740 million. The closing of the transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals and certain environmental due diligence. It is likely that the sale will be finalized within in the first six months of

The U.K. has chosen HSBC Holdings  to arrange and advise on its debut Islamic bond planned for as early as this year in an effort to become the first non-Muslim nation to sell the debt, a Treasury official said.Other banks will be mandated closer to the time of the sale, the official said yesterday, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public. Linklaters LLP will provide legal support for the Islamic bond, or sukuk, including its tax and

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) , the emirate's main stock exchange, has issued rules allowing the lending and borrowing of securities, part of efforts to make the market more flexible ahead of an influx of foreign funds.Lending and borrowing of securities is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year, if investors are ready, DFM said in a statement seen on Friday.Securities lending and borrowing will help the development of other products on DFM such as exchange-traded funds, said

When planners designed the Business Bay district in Dubai at the height of the last real-estate boom, they boasted it would become the largest business and office district in the Middle East.Yet a visit to the site today suggests there is a lot more living than working taking place, with nannies pushing carriages and children romping around a playground.Throughout Dubai, developers are restarting projects that were stalled by the emirate's property crash in 2008. But as the development engine revs

India pledged on Thursday to take all necessary steps to ensure stability in financial markets as it tried to calm jitters over the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to scale down its economic stimulus.The U.S. central bank said on Wednesday it would buy $65 billion in bonds per month starting in February, down from $75 billion now. It shaved its purchases of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage bonds equally.The Federal Reserve's mammoth purchases of long-term assets have flooded emerging markets like India

A unit of Dubai Holding, owned by the emirate's ruler, has sold a piece of land to fast-growing shopping mall developer Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the latest in a series of plot sales initiated by state-linked firms in the emirate to raise funds.The unit, TECOM Investments, sold 1 million square feet of land at its International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), a development that spreads across 43 million square feet."Majid Al Futtaim intends to use the land to develop a community

The executive suite is not the only place that is greying in India's 40-year-old information technology sector.As the $108 billion industry enters middle age and its growth slows, the three-million-strong workforce is also getting older, making it harder to extract some of the cost advantages of the young, cheap labour for which it is known.Firms have had to change in order to attract and support employees with a more mature set of priorities, as the bright youngsters they recruited years

Asian markets rallied on Wednesday after Turkey stunned investors with a huge hike in interest rates, stirring hopes drastic action would short-circuit a vicious cycle of selling in emerging markets and revive risk appetite.European shares were expected to ride the wave of optimism, with financial spreadbetters predicting Britain's FTSE 100 to open 43-48 points higher, or up by as much as 0.7 percent; Germany's DAX was seen opening 86-96 points higher, or up by around 1 percent; and France's CAC

GEMS Education celebrated the listing of a $200 million (AED 735 million) Sukuk on NASDAQ Dubai on Tuesday, with founder and Chairman Sunny Varkey ringing the market opening bell at Dubai Financial Market (DFM).The nominal value of Sukuk currently listed in Dubai has now reached $13.28 billion (AED 48.8 billion). More than 50% of that sum, amounting to $6.85 billion (AED 25.2 billion), has come from listings that have taken place since the beginning of 2013, making Dubai the third

Gold’s biggest slump in three decades has been a boon for MKS (Switzerland) SA’s PAMP refinery near the Italian border in Castel San Pietro, whose bullion sales to China surged to a record as demand rose for coins, bars and jewelry.As prices plunged 28 percent in 2013, investors dumped a record 869.1 metric tons from gold-backed funds traded mostly in the U.S. and Europe. Much of that metal is ending up in Asia, where companies such as The Brink’s (BCO)

Lower-than-expected holiday iPhone sales and a weak revenue forecast by Apple Inc renewed fears about Chinese demand and a tepid global market, wiping 8 percent off company stock.This year was to have been Apple Inc's watershed moment in China, when a long-awaited deal with the nation's largest carrier was to have propelled it back toward the top ranks of its most crucial market, clawing back ground from rival Samsung Electronics.Instead, the forecast for the March quarter - when Apple is

Gold rallied for a third session on Monday to its highest in two months as equities fell on worries that capital outflows from emerging economies would continue, boosting bullion's safe-haven appeal.Asian shares took a beating and the yen raced to a seven-week high against the dollar, with the U.S. Federal Reserve poised to continue tapering its stimulus and tighter credit conditions in China raising fears of a slowdown.Spot gold had risen 0.3 percent to $1,272.99 an ounce by 0341 GMT,

The head of Dubai’s Chamber of Commerce strongly disagrees with the estimate of how many jobs the city’s 2020 Expo win will bring to the emirate – he thinks it will be way more.Analysts have calculated that Dubai’s world fair triumph will create 277,000 jobs, about 14 per cent of the current population of Dubai.But not only does Hamad Buamim reckon the figure is feasible, he believes Dubai is in for a far bigger jobs boost.“If I look at the

The rupee hits 62.90 in early trade, its lowest level since November 22, as Asian stocks trading with heavy losses. The pair last trading at 62.77/78 vs Friday's close of 62.66/67.Dealers will closely watch for RBI intervention at current levels after the RBI was suspected to have sold dollars in late session on Friday.The RBI to decide on rates on Tuesday. While the consensus still is towards no hike in policy rates, RBI chief Raghuram Rajan's comments will be closely

Crossing the red light on the tramway intersection will invite a fine of Dh2,000 to Dh5,000 and revocation of the offender’s license for period of 30 days to 3 months, according to safety regulations issued by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.If the accident leads to fatality, a minimum fine of Dh10,000 (Dh30,000 maximum) will be levied. The driving license of the motorist who caused the accident will be

Barrick Gold Corp's warning this week that its in-the-ground gold reserves will shrink is widely expected to be echoed in the coming weeks by miners around the globe, spelling more asset writedowns for an already beat-up sector.For the first time in years, miners from Canada to Australia will tell their shareholders that reserves - the future source of production, cash flow and growth - have significantly diminished, hit by bullion's 28 percent price slide in 2013.However painful, the reserve cuts

A leading rights watchdog said a Dubai news conference Thursday on human rights issues in the United Arab Emirates was abruptly cancelled, a move it alleges underscores threats to freedom of expression in the Gulf nation, AP reported. Human Rights Watch said it was told Wednesday by the Novotel hotel, where the event was due to take place, that the conference was being called off because a government permit was needed. The event was supposed to highlight the New York-based group’s latest

DAVOS:  Dubai retailer Majid Al Futtaim, which holds the Carrefour franchise in the Middle East, plans to invest about $2.3 billion in Egypt in the next few years, its chief executive said on Wednesday, a sign of Gulf investors' growing interest in the Egyptian economy."Total investments on the plan, including Carrefour, should be around 16 billion Egyptian pounds over the next four to five years," Iyad Malas told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.The investment

Dubai has initiated a series of bold new measures and incentives including fee waivers and reduced approval timeline for three and four star hotel projects to further stimulate the growth of its vibrant hospitality sector.His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, on Monday pronounced a string of directives to this effect to offer exciting new opportunities for hotel investors.A prime focus of the move

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will court global business in Davos next week after winning an easing of some economic sanctions, but any trade bonanza depends on the long-term success of nuclear diplomacy.A U.S. stranglehold on Iran's access to the international financial system, the uncertain future of talks on its nuclear program beyond a six-month initial deal, and vested interests in the Islamic Republic suspicious of Western investment all stand in Rouhani's way."I would be surprised if you saw Iran shooting

|By Asa Fitch|Iranian traders in Dubai are guardedly hopeful that business will rebound as sanctions relief begins to go into effect next week.The European Union and U.S. are set to give Iran access to some of its oil revenues abroad and allow for freer trade in energy products providing the Islamic Republic meets the terms of a six-month agreement stipulating monitoring of nuclear facilities and limiting uranium enrichment. Dubai is home to a huge community of Iranians and Iranian companies,

India's leading mobile phone operators as well as aspiring new entrant Reliance Industries  have applied to bid in what will be the government's third attempt at auctioning off some radio frequencies in the hope of raising billions of dollars in much-needed revenue for state coffers.Revenues from the new licensing are crucial as the government seeks to rein in its budget deficit but two previous attempts to sell the same spectrum were boycotted by major mobile phone operators who complained the

Saudi Arabia helped lift the market to a new five-year high on Wednesday, while other regional shares also gained.Saudi Arabia's Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) rose 2.9 percent to 88.5 riyals and trading volumes jumped to their highest in three years after the firm beat analysts' forecasts with an 8.6 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit.The stock jumped to a seven-year intraday high of 90 riyals but failed to break resistance from 88.50 and 89 riyals - the peaks of November and

Bahrain-based investment firm Gulf Finance House (GFH) has agreed a partial sale of its stake in English soccer club Leeds United, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday.GFH said the sale was agreed with British investors, whose details the firm did not specify in a bourse statement. The investment firm did not provide details on the stake value or the size of the stake sold.GFH bought Leeds United in December 2012 through its Dubai-based subsidiary, GFH Capital, but its

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, told BBC that the government has taken the necessary legal measures and procedures to prevent excessive rise in rents.His Highness also asserted that he is aware of the fact that there are some who might exploit the hosting of the World Expo 2020 in the UAE as an excuse to raise prices and rents and the measures adopted will prevent that.His Highness Sheikh Mohammed

India will seek the cabinet's approval by next month to scrap a rule that requires local carriers to be in operation for at least five years and have 20 aircraft to be eligible to fly international routes, the aviation minister said.The ministry is also looking into a proposal to allow Airbus's A380 planes to land in local airports, Ajit Singh said on Tuesday.

Target Corp and Neiman Marcus are not the only U.S. retailers whose networks were breached over the holiday shopping season last year, according to sources familiar with attacks on other merchants that have yet to be publicly disclosed.Smaller breaches on at least three other well-known U.S. retailers took place and were conducted using similar techniques as the one on Target, according to the people familiar with the attacks. Those breaches have yet to come to light. Also, similar breaches may

The arrest this week of Ralph Lauren’s niece Jennifer for pushing a Delta Air Lines Inc.  crew member is the latest example of spiraling inflight misbehavior that industry body IATA says poses a growing threat to safety.The 41-year-old was convicted Jan. 8 of drunkenness and threatening, abusive or insulting behavior aboard an aircraft that had forced her Delta flight bound for New York from Barcelona to divert to Shannon in Ireland, Dublin police said.The number of incidents involving unruly passengers

Volkswagen AG  outsold General Motors Co. in China for the first time in nine years to recapture the lead among foreign automakers in the world’s largest car market.VW’s 2013 deliveries in the country climbed to at least 3.27 million vehicles, according to figures released this week by the German automaker’s VW, Porsche, Audi and Skoda brands. Detroit-based GM also said this week that the U.S. automaker sold 3.16 million cars in the country.Unlike GM, VW counts Hong Kong in its