Category: Economy

Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics have agreed to attend a mediation session to be held on or before February 19, as they prepare to clash in court in March over smartphone patents.Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon will attend the session with in-house lawyers only, according to a Wednesday court filing. Their legal teams had met on January 6 to "discuss settlement opportunities," the filing read.Neither company immediately return messages seeking comment.Apple and Samsung are embroiled in

Contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc has appointed former Motorola Mobility chief Sanjay Jha as CEO, as it prepares to invest $9 billion to $10 billion over the next two years on next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.Jha, an industry veteran who presided over Motorola's sale to Google Inc, replaces Ajit Manocha, who was appointed CEO in mid-2011 but now reverts to serving as an adviser to Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Investment Company, GlobalFoundries' owner.Some in the industry had speculated that Jha would be tapped

Indian budget airline SpiceJet has agreed to buy about 40 Boeing 737 jets worth over $4 billion at list prices, industry sources said, a move that could help the loss-making carrier as it seeks new investors.The deal includes a firm order for as many as 42 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that offer fuel savings compared to SpiceJet's existing fleet of current-generation Boeing 737s, the sources said.Such an order would be worth $4.4 billion at list prices without adjusting for either

Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), a federal government company specialised in providing UAE-based credit reports and other financial information, has announced that it will be operational within the next three months.AECB, which is supported by the UAE federal government, has approached all UAE-based banks to sign agreements and provide credit information via a process which will be completed by the end of January 2014. Additionally, AECB is currently finalising the installation of an electronic link with banks and financial institutions

Dubai's Emaar Properties will redeem the outstanding amount of its $500 million convertible bond issue on February 6, the developer said in a bourse filing on Monday.Paper worth $237.5 million was still outstanding following an earlier conversion of the bonds into stock late last year. Board members of Emaar had approved conversion of the instrument in December.The conversion price for the bond would be 4.38 dirhams per share, significantly below its closing share price of 7.98 dirhams on January 5,

Nakheel PJSC’s plan to pay more than $1 billion of bank debt early may herald further gains for the Dubai real-estate developer’s Islamic bonds.Mashreq Capital DIFC Ltd. and Quantum Investment Bank Ltd. said Nakheel’s payments might help extend a rally that cut its sukuk yield by 215 basis points in the past 12 months to a record 6.58 percent Jan. 3, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with an average 10 basis-point increase to 4.92 percent for Middle

The UAE stock market regulator has introduced new margin lending rules and vowed to crack down on unlicensed lending, it said in a statement on its website.Margin lending - borrowing with cash or share holdings as security, has been in high demand as investors sought to maximise gains from a UAE market surge, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi's bourses jumping 108 percent and 63.1 percent respectively last year.Limits on such lending were introduced in 2008, but many brokers ignored these

By Andy MukherjeeThe sudden rise of India’s self-professed “anti-establishment” party is making seasoned politicians nervous. Investors, meanwhile, view the dramatic ascent of the Aam Aadmi – Common Man Party – with a mixture of awe and suspicion.The one-year old upstart staged a recent electoral upset in the state of Delhi, home to the nation’s capital, by forming a government with support from Sonia Gandhi’s Congress Party. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition, got left out in the cold

Dubai developer Nakheel plans to repay up to 4 billion dirhams ($1.1 billion) of bank debt due in 2015 this year, with around 2.35 billion dirhams earmarked for payment in the first quarter of this year, its chairman said on Saturday.Nakheel was taken over by the government as part of a $16 billion rescue plan completed in 2011, following the bursting of a real estate bubble in the emirate in 2009.However, the property market rebounded in 2013, with prices up

Dubai Group LLC, the investment company that has been seeking payment relief on loans for the past three years, repaid a $300 million syndicated facility led by Citigroup Inc., two people with knowledge of the matter said.Some of the lenders will exit talks on Dubai Group’s $6 billion debt pile, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The Islamic loan was secured by a 30.47 percent stake in Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, which

Dubai investments expects to make a profit of around 800 million dirhams ($217.8 million) in 2013, a company statement said on Thursday, confirming local media reports.Khalid bin Kalban, the company's chief executive, had told Al Khaleej newspaper that the net profit would be over 800 million dirhams at the end of 2013, a 149.5 percent increase over the 320.6 million dirhams of profit posted in 2012.The state-owned conglomerate, in which sovereign fund Investment Corporation of Dubai own a 11.5 percent

The secretive U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Friday renewed the authority of U.S. intelligence agencies to collect data on millions of Americans' telephone calls in a program that has set off a legal battle over privacy rights.The court allowed the intelligence community to collect metadata from phone companies, the Office of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in a news release.The release offered almost no details about the ruling, but a U.S. official said the authority was renewed

Italian carmaker Fiat SpA struck a $4.35 billion deal to gain full control of Chrysler Group LLC, ending more than a year of tense talks that have obstructed Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne's efforts to combine the two automakers' resources.The agreement, announced on Wednesday, cements Marchionne's reputation as the industry's consummate dealmaker about a decade after he took the helm of Fiat as a car business newcomer, analysts and bankers said.But it remains to be seen whether a merger will be

The Bombay Bullion Association, a traders’ group, plans to buy a stake in the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. after the regulator declared its founder unfit to run the nation’s biggest commodity bourse.The association plans to buy 5 percent of MCX via a consortium led by the Universal Commodity Exchange Ltd., another Mumbai-based bourse, from Financial Technologies (India) Ltd., Mohit Kamboj, president of the group that represents about 1,000 jewelers and traders, said yesterday. The 5 percent MCX stake

Hedge funds got less bullish on gold for the seventh time in eight weeks as signs of accelerating U.S. economic and tame inflation growth drive prices to the worst annual drop in more than three decades.The net-long position in gold fell 12 percent to 28,702 futures and options in the week ended Dec. 24, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Short holdings gained 1.1 percent to 76,052, a three-week high. Net-bullish holdings across 18 U.S.-traded commodities climbed 4.5 percent

Dubai Refreshments (DRC) said on Monday it would open talks with unlisted Abu Dhabi Refreshments Company about a possible merger.Both firms are franchisee holders for the distribution of Pepsi Co products.A working group would be set up to study a proposed tie-up between the two companies, which will report to the respective board of directors "in a few months", a statement to the Dubai bourse from DRC said.No values were given in the statement. Dubai Refreshments has a market capitalisation

Passenger traffic through Dubai International Airport rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier in November to 5.3 million people, airport authorities said on Monday.Western Europe recorded the largest increase in total passenger numbers in November, followed by the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Australasia and Africa, Dubai Airports said in a statement.Year-to-date passengers totalled 60.4 million people, an increase of 15.3 percent.Cargo volumes rose 11.6 percent from a year earlier to 223,195 tonnes in November, and by 6.7 percent to

The decision by India’s top investigating agency to probe a third billionaire-led mining deal in six months puts at risk government efforts to revive $160 billion of stalled projects.The Central Bureau of Investigation said on Dec. 23 it started probing Anil Agarwal, who runs the country’s biggest aluminum and copper producer. It alleged irregularities in his 2002 purchase of the state’s 26 percent stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd., a producer of zinc used in making metals and chemicals.The investigations will

As the city gets ready to welcome 2014 by setting new world records, hotel room rates in Dubai seem to be soaring at levels not seen in recent past.Booking websites reveal that room rates in the city seem to have doubled for spending the New Year ’s Eve in Dubai.Room rates at all Dubai hotels - luxury, mid-scale or budget - have been going up since mid-December, and prices on the last year of 2013 surge by up to 300

2013 has no doubt been a big year for the UAE property market. Dubai was recently named the world’s strongest housing market in 2013 given the city’s status as a safe haven with improved consumer and investor confidence. Home prices have been recorded at the highest levels since the downturn and the market has also gained a more favorable reputation for tighter regulation, given the spate of laws we’ve seen come into effect this year.So much so that even as

India's planned mobile phone spectrum auction will start on February 3, the government said on Saturday, delaying the bidding by 10 days from the original schedule.The telecommunications ministry will auction airwaves in the 900 and 1800 megahertz frequency bands in the auction, which is crucial for leading carriers Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc's local unit to renew their permits in some key cities.The government did not give a reason for the delay in a revised auction schedule posted

The Reserve Bank of India said on Friday the restrictions on purchasing shares of Axis Bank under the foreign direct investment policy has been withdrawn with immediate effect, following the government's approval to increase foreign investment limit in the bank to 62 percent from 49 percent.The higher foreign investment limit in Axis Bank  will bring in 72.5 billion rupees, the government said on Thursday.-Reuters. 

A teenager who did not carry her emergency stash of medicines died of allergic reaction while out with family, Emirates 24/7 reported.The girl suffered from peanut allergy. 14-year-old Emma Sloan from Dublin, Ireland, died after a chemist refused to give her mother an emergency anti-allergy drug that could have saved her from an allergic reaction to peanuts.The family was enjoying their lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and the girl had ordered a curry. However, one of the curry's ingredients

Dana Gas, the energy producer that restructured debt last year due to delayed payments, rose the most in eight years after it received $53 million from Egypt, stoking bets of better cashflow.The stock surged almost 15 percent, the most since December 2005, to 86 fils at the close in Abu Dhabi. More than 311 million shares were traded, almost nine times the three-month average daily volume. Egypt has paid Dana $130 million this year of $330 million owed to the

A high volume of holiday packages overwhelmed shipping and logistics company UPS, the company said on Wednesday, delaying the arrival of Christmas presents around the globe and sending angry consumers to social media to vent.Amazon.com responded with an email to affected customers offering shipping refunds and $20 gift cards to compensate.A convergence of factors, including higher volume than expected and recent patches of bad weather, caused the delays, UPS spokeswoman Natalie Black said.The company projected 132 million deliveries last week

The Index tower on Dubai’s answer to Wall Street has 23 floors of empty offices out of the 25 it opened in 2011. A few hundred feet away, buildings controlled by the Dubai International Financial Centre are almost full.The difference is ownership. The office space in the Index on Sheikh Zayed Road was sold in pieces to nine different investors under a system known as strata title, according to developer Union Properties PJSC (UPP), meaning potential tenants face the prospect

After suffering steep declines in trade starting in 2012, seaborne transfer of goods between Iran and Dubai is picking up again, highlighting the U.A.E.’s delicate balancing act in maintaining important commercial ties and satisfying its Western allies.A combination of economic factors in Iran — attributed to tough international sanctions over its contested nuclear activities — resulted in a decrease in trade with the U.A.E. from $24 billion in 2011 to $15 billion last year, threatening the livelihood of thousands of Iranian

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could soon unveil a major change in monetary policy to explicitly make managing consumer inflation, rather than wholesale prices, its main objective.The shift would be a significant one in a country that's long struggled to contain retail prices. It is expected as part of a deep review of monetary policy that RBI Raghuram Rajan ordered, after his September appointment, to sharpen the central bank's focus and increase its accountability.The report, due by the end

Non-resident Indians are bringing gold into the country by taking advantage of rules that allow each individual to carry 1 kg of the metal, helping traders cope with restrictions on imports during the peak wedding season.India, vying with China to be the top buyer of gold, has choked imports to narrow its trade gap and curb the outflow of dollars. The measures included raising the import duty to a record 10 percent and making it mandatory to export as jewellery

A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance program that collects millions of Americans' telephone records may be unconstitutional.U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled in a lawsuit brought by conservative activist Larry Klayman that the legal challenge to the massive surveillance program — disclosed in full earlier this year by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden — would likely succeed.Leon, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, issued a preliminary injunction against the program

Dubai's Arabtec Holding denied on Tuesday what it called "recent market and media speculation" that it was looking to buy local contractor Drake & Scull."Arabtec Holding confirms that there have been no discussions between the management of both companies about a potential deal, and there are no current plans to acquire Drake & Scull either in full or in part," it said in a bourse filing.Shares in Drake & Scull, which are up 93 percent year-to-date, have been buoyed by

Surging vegetable prices led wholesale price inflation to a 14-month high in November, reinforcing expectations Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will have to raise interest rates again this week at a time the country's economy is flagging.Policymakers have been grappling with high prices for food staples such as onions and potatoes even after the RBI raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point in each of its previous two reviews.The struggle to beat inflation, despite good monsoon rains this year,

Tourism Development & Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi-owned developer of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums, raised a $500 million loan to pay existing debt, according to three bankers with knowledge of the deal.The five-year facility was obtained from a group of seven banks and pays 1.5 percentage points including fees more than the London Interbank Offered Rate, said the bankers, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The money will help pay a three-year $600 million loan

India's exports of gold jewellery fell by almost a third year-on-year in November as restrictions continued to hit shipments, and industry officials said recovery was unlikely any time soon.India's government has slapped a record 10 percent import duty on gold, its second-biggest import after oil, as it seeks to curb a swollen current account, and has said 20 percent of all imports must be turned around and exported as jewellery.Exports of gold jewellery fell to $476.1 million in November from