The first wedding season of the new year is under way, running from now until March. The bridal gowns, floral decorations and catering for impending winter weddings will be influenced by the flora and fauna of the season. The same will be true of 2017’s second major wedding period, between July and the end of September. Last month in Dubai, concierge company Quintessentially launched a one-stop-shop wedding […]
MANAMA, BAHRAIN – 02 January 2017 Ithmaar Bank B.S.C., a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, announced today (ed note: 020117) that it has obtained final approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the Kingdom’s banking and financial services regulator on the completion of all requirements with respect to the reorganisation plan. This aims to further develop the growth achieved in Ithmaar Bank’s core retail banking business, the […]
Welcome to a new year and the pressing market issues facing investors as they look to put money to work and navigate 2017. Geopolitical surprises upended expectations last year and few predicted that 2016 would end with a global bull market in equities, while bond yields remain relatively low. Will strategists be any better at forecasting this time around? Here are the big questions that will preoccupy […]
The mega-extravaganza of the tech world in Las Vegas is showcasing an array of new devices that get smarts from computer chips, sensors and artificial intelligence, but go further by opening doors to augmented or virtual realities. The Consumer Electronics Show, which begins with a series of media events Tuesday will offer trade professionals a look at new robotics, connected cars and a dizzying assortment of gizmos […]
Chinese companies invested a record $45.6bn in the US in 2016 despite a US presidential campaign heavy on China bashing, but Donald Trump’s imminent arrival in Washington is among factors making the feat unlikely to be matched this year, according to a new report. The surge in Chinese foreign direct investment into the US documented by Rhodium Group, a research firm, led the annual flow of corporate […]
CES 2017 is the 50th anniversary of the annual consumer electronics trade show. There have actually been well over 70 CESes since there used to be a summer version in the 1980s and 90s; this will be my 60th. And while interest in the show waned a bit in the 90s due to competition from Comdex, it’s been full steam ahead since Comdex bit the […]
Submitted by Federico Pieraccini via Strategic-Culture.org, The two previous articles have focused on the various geopolitical theories, their translations into modern concepts, and practical actions that the United States has taken in recent decades to aspire to global dominance. This segment will describe how Iran, China and Russia have over the years adopted a variety of economic and military actions to repel the continual assault on their sovereignty by the […]
Chinese residents hoping to cash out of the renminbi will face a great wall of paperwork on Tuesday in a key test of confidence for the currency as the annual quota for individuals’ foreign exchange purchases resets. With individuals in China allowed to purchase up to $50,000 worth of foreign exchange each calendar year, observers will be watching closely for any signs of a rush to use […]
IHG receives Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) approval for IPO: Doha, January 1st, 2017 Investment Holding Group (IHG), one of the leading contracting and trading firms in the Qatari construction sector, today announced that it has received approval from the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) to list 60% of the Group’s paid-up share capital through an Initial Public Offering (IP0), making it the first Qatari family business […]
JERUSALEM Israel said on Sunday it will withhold the bodies of Palestinian militants killed in attacks against its citizens as it seeks to pressure the Islamist movement Hamas to return the remains of soldiers and hand back missing Israeli civilians. Hamas says it is holding two Israeli soldiers whom the army declared dead after they were lost in action in the 2014 Gaza war. The group also […]
By Hyunjoo Jin and Se Young Lee | SEOUL SEOUL Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and affiliate Kia Motors (000270.KS) said on Monday they aim to increase their combined sales to 8.25 million vehicles globally in 2017, despite rising competition. The 2017 target is slightly higher than their 2016 goal of 8.13 million vehicles. The South Korean automakers’ final sales figures for 2016 are due out later on […]
Telling voters what they wanted to hear worked out well for Donald Trump. As Mexico shifts into election gear in 2017, another populist, anti-establishment figure will be hoping to follow in the US president-elect’s footsteps. Like Mr Trump, Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a love-him or loathe-him figure with a message that resonates with the underprivileged and the angry. In the case of Amlo, as the maverick […]
Automation, AI, and robotics are the real forces behind the disruption to the global job market, and they will accelerate in 2017. Image: iStockphoto/Matriyoshka As we do each week, the editors of ZDNet will continue to put our heads together in 2017 and give you our weekly Monday Morning Opener–an editorial that zooms in on the most important topic in tech for the week. Now that we’re […]
After December’s No vote in the Italian referendum, the rise of Donald Trump and the British vote to leave the EU, it appears that the political landscape of the developed world is being redesigned by the victims of globalisation and technological change. Anger towards political elites is pervasive. Yet a few rage-free zones remain, of which Japan is the most conspicuous. How come this country, whose economy […]
29 December 2016 Jeddah – The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, has convened a US$ 45 million Murabaha financing agreement with the Islamic Republic of Mauritania represented by the Ministry of Economic and Finance and the Mauritanian Electricity Company (SOMELEC), as an executing agency. The purpose of the agreement comes within the Financing Plan of Mauritania’s electricity needs […]
Authored by Eric Zuesse via Strategic-Culture.org, I’m a former lifelong Democrat, stating here a clear and incontestable fact: Barack Obama is a failed President. It’s true not just because of the sad realities such as that «Top Ex-White House Economist Admits 94 % Of All New Jobs Under Obama Were Part-Time» — or, as the economists Alan Krueger and Lawrence Katz wrote in the original of that study: «94 percent of the […]
U.S. fishing and hunting equipment retailer Cabela’s Inc (CAB.N), which is being bought by privately held rival Bass Pro Shops, said the Federal Trade Commission had sought more information from the companies about the deal. Cabela’s shares were down 7.6 percent at $56.98 in premarket trading on Friday. Cabela’s did not provide details about the FTC’s request. As part of the proposed $5.5 billion deal, announced in […]
The women cowered behind a flimsy bedroom door. One of them dialed 911. Another clutched a stubby kitchen knife. Continue reading the main story Since leaving the corps in 2012, Siatta had been unable to switch off the habits of war. He was hypervigilant and struggled to relax. He watched people, sizing them up and scanning for threats. In the varying situations of everyday life, he constantly […]
Under the five-year contract, Bee’ah will provide integrated waste management services to Dubai Refreshments – the bottling company of Pepsi in Dubai Sharjah, UAE, 29 December 2016 Bee’ah, the leading integrated environment and waste management company in the UAE, has been awarded a five-year contract by Dubai Refreshments (DRC) – the publicly traded distributor of Pepsi in Dubai. As Bee’ah’s first Food & Beverages (F&B) commercial contract, […]
The Central Bank of Oman will be forced to follow the US Fed’s tightening cycle over the coming months, despite low inflation and rising liquidity pressures at home, according to BMI Research. It said in a research noted that combined with low commodity prices, the strength of the US dollar, and weaker economic activity, Oman will adopt a more hawkish monetary policy to lead to average consumer […]
A new year is upon us and with it, a new season of art events and exhibitions is about to start. This month marks the opening of a host of exhibitions at Alserkal Avenue and across Dubai. Highlights include Asad Faulwell at Lawrie Shabibi from January 9, who continues his series on Algerian women who fought during the war for independence from French occupation, and their largely […]
By Lewis Krauskopf and Chuck Mikolajczak | NEW YORK NEW YORK After a late-year rally fueled by the U.S. election pushed stocks to surprising new peaks, investors are wary that the market could be primed for a spill to start 2017. The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX is set to post a roughly 10 percent price gain for 2016 and around 12 percent on a total return basis, […]
Globalization, the path that the world economy has largely followed for decades, took some hefty blows in 2016. The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president and Britain’s decision to leave the European Union have raised questions over the future of tariff-free trade and companies’ freedom to move production to lower-cost countries. Borders are back in vogue. Economic nationalism is paying political dividends. “We […]
TOKYO Japan has approached China and South Korea about holding a trilateral summit in Tokyo in February aimed at deepening cooperation on such issues as a free trade deal, the environment and counter-terrorism, Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday. Disagreements over North Korea and historical issues have long dogged relations between the three Asian powers, though they have held several such trilateral meetings since 2008, most recently […]
