BEIJING Chinese state media on Friday expressed alarm and warned of a “showdown with the U.S.” after President-elect Donald Trump named Peter Navarro, an economist who has urged a hard line against China, to head a new White House National Trade Council. Navarro is an academic and one-time investment adviser who has authored books such as “Death by China: How America Lost its Manufacturing Base”. The book […]
PANAMA CITY: From the Panama Papers to the impeachments of the presidents of Brazil and South Korea, 2016 was a year marked by corruption scandals, and by rising public outrage over graft. The question is, will that translate into a lasting demand for cleaner politics? “A new phenomenon” is being seen, said Jose Ugaz, a renowned Peruvian lawyer and the chairman of Transparency International, a Berlin-based anti-corruption […]
Hygge, the Danish art of cosiness that has become Europe’s latest lifestyle trend, is boosting demand for spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla. Growing popularity of the Nordic art of living, which encapsulates all things cosy from cashmere to candles, has coincided with soaring global demand for spices due to unusual weather conditions in the main growing regions. Alongside a growing appetite for spice-laden Scandinavian cakes […]
Sombero (center) with his lawyer and a paper bag full of money Alleged illegal gambling middleman Wenceslao Sombero Jr. has turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman his purported P2-million share of the P50 million supposedly extorted from gambling tycoon Jack Lam by two former immigration officials. Sombero surrendered the plastic-wrapped cash on Thursday afternoon as part of his evidence in the graft case he filed […]
Abu Dhabi, December 22, 2016 H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy (MOE), recently met with Suren Karayan, Minister of Economic Development and Investments of Armenia to discuss key ways to further expand economic and trade relations between the two countries–building investment partnerships in sectors that would bring mutual benefits to both countries based on their respective capabilities. The discussion took place during […]
As Uber Technologies Inc. battles to conquer India’s ride-sharing market, it is aiming to add a million new drivers to its platform, as detailed Thursday in a Wall Street Journal article. The ridesharing industry in the South Asian nation is already worth over a billion dollars a year between Uber and its main rival, Ola, and that figure could more than double in the next three years, according […]
Law Blog rounds up the morning’s legal news: Repeal rejected: A bipartisan agreement to repeal North Carolina’s transgender bathroom law fell apart Wednesday, after Republican legislative leaders required a late addendum of a six-month “cooling-off” period for local policies that Democrats said was a violation of a hard-fought deal. [WSJ, Charlotte Observer] Goldman and 1MDB: Investigators are trying to determine whether Goldman Sachs had reason to suspect […]
PANAMA CITY: From the Panama Papers to the impeachments of the presidents of Brazil and South Korea, 2016 was a year marked by corruption scandals and by rising public outrage over graft. The question is will that translate into a lasting demand for cleaner politics? “A new phenomenon” is being seen, said Jose Ugaz, a renowned Peruvian lawyer and the chairman of Transparency International, a Berlin-based anti-corruption […]
22 December 2016 Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Montenegro Airlines, the flag carrier of the Republic of Montenegro, have signed a codeshare agreement that provides travellers with enhanced connectivity when flying between Southeast Europe and the Middle East.* The agreement will see Etihad Airways placing its “EY” code on Montenegro Airlines’ flights between Belgrade and two destinations in Montenegro – […]
After five grinding years of losses, commodities are set to end higher in 2016 and investors are staking out increasingly bold calls for the coming year. This reflects signs that the prolonged decline in markets such as oil and metals is finally having an effect. Cuts in capital spending by producers have begun to choke off supplies as global demand creeps higher. It might not be a […]
Gulf stock markets barely moved in quiet, early trade on Thursday before the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s 2017 state budget, expected in the afternoon. The Saudi stock index edged up 0.1 percent in the first 40 minutes. Much activity focused on second-tier stocks such as Saudi Printing and Packaging, up 4.9 percent, although Saudi Electricity rose 0.9 percent. Saudi Electricity’s profits rose in the wake of the […]
The series of scattershot remarks has further unsettled a turbulent period in American foreign policy. It underscores Mr. Trump’s challenge in fashioning a coherent approach to the problems he will inherit in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, especially working with a team that consists of retired generals and an oil executive, few of whom have experience in the daily cascade of crises that confront every White […]
MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Thursday he would halt all online gambling in his country. Duterte made the comment while announcing a 2017 budget that focused heavily on populist measures. He gave no timeframe for such a ban or details on its scope. The firebrand former mayor has been a worry for the country’s booming online gambling industry and in August scrapped one firm’s 13-year […]
BEIJING China will ban imports of poultry and related products from countries where there are outbreaks of highly pathogenic bird flu, the agency that oversees safety of the country’s imports said on Wednesday. China has already banned poultry imports from more than 60 countries. The statement, sent by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine to Reuters, comes as South Korea battles its worst-ever outbreak […]
By Thanarith Satrusayang | BANGKOK BANGKOK Thailand and China are in talks about building military production facilities in Thailand, a Thai defense ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, the latest sign of warming relations between China and America’s oldest ally in Asia. Relations between Thailand and the United States cooled following a May 2014 military coup that the Thai military said was necessary to end months of unrest, […]
By Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL South Korea on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for a daughter of the woman at the centre of President Park Geun-hye’s corruption scandal and investigators raided the National Pension Service over possible links to the scandal. A special prosecutor’s investigation started on Wednesday into the influence-peddling scandal that threatens to make Park, 64, the first democratically-elected leader to leave office early […]
SYDNEY The U.S. dollar held near 14-year peaks on Wednesday as global yield spreads moved inexorably in its favor, while a falling yen lifted Japanese shares to a one-year top. The Nikkei .N225 added 0.3 percent in thin trade, while Australia’s main index climbed 0.6 percent to its highest in 17 months after Wall Street racked up more records. Japan’s government upgraded its overall assessment of the […]
Wednesday 02:10 GMT Overview Stocks across Asia were on the rise, with sentiment buoyed by continued gains for Wall Street as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes in on 20,000 points for the first time. Hot topic The Dow Jones rose 0.5 per cent overnight in New York to close a mere 25.4 points shy of the 20,000-point milestone, while the S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent […]
A Middle Eastern investment banking fee bonanza should extend into 2017, spurred by a combination of bond and share sales and mergers and acquisitions as the region adjusts to lower oil prices, bankers say. Deals such as Saudi Arabia’s $17.5 billion debut international sovereign issue and the sale of a majority stake in retailer Kuwait Food Co (Americana) to Gulf-based Adeptio have helped banks’ earnings, off-setting falls […]
A merger of German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd and United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) is likely to take months to complete, partly due to financing issues blamed on a deep industry downturn, sources familiar with the deal say. Hapag-Lloyd signed a binding agreement with UASC in July to form the world’s fifth-largest line, valued at about 7 to 8 billion euros ($7.2-$8.3 billion), by the end of […]
20 December 2016 Al Habtoor Motors, the official dealer of FUSO in the UAE, has been rewarded yet again for its commitment to provide customers excellent service. It was awarded the ‘Best Customer Service’ Award at the recently held Daimler Trucks Asia Distributors Award 2016 ceremony held in Chennai, India. The event was attended by 217 delegates from 101 countries. Karl Hamer, Managing Director of Al Habtoor […]
Tuesday 19:45 GMT Overview A robust session for US equities saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average climb to within a whisker of the 20,000 milestone as participants shrugged off geopolitical concerns and focused on the prospect of stronger growth under the presidency of Donald Trump. The “risk-on” mood in the markets left US Treasury prices and gold lower while the yen — viewed by many as a […]
Turkey’s lira, the second-worst performing currency of 2016, reverted to type with a bout of volatile trading after the country’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged. After strengthening by nearly 1 per cent ahead of the meeting, the lira came back under pressure and was trading at around TL3.54 to the dollar, although another bout of volatility subsequently pushed it higher in late London trading. Concerned about […]
Submitted by Jayant Bhandari via Acting-Man.com, India’s Currency Ban – Part VI India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced on 8th November 2016 that Rs 500 (~$7.50) and Rs 1,000 (~$15) banknotes would no longer be legal tender. Linked are Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, and Part-V, which provide updates on the demonetization saga and how Modi is acting as a catalyst to hasten the rapid degradation of […]
