It is fitting that just a few hours until the Fed’s second rate hike in two quarters, and one day after Goldman downgraded global stocks to Neutral for the next 3 months, not to mention with the results of the anticipated Dutch election due shortly, that global stocks as well as S&P futures are higher, while crude oil has finally managed to stage a rebound as the […]
Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) has received enquiries from companies from the Gulf Cooperation Council considering listing on its new parallel market, Nomu, a senior executive said on Tuesday. The companies were in the process of appointing advisers to support their potential listings, said Yarub Awadh Albadi, head of CMA’s initial public offering unit. The Nomu market, which launched on Feb. 26, is designed for small […]
China plans to introduce a bond trading link between Hong Kong and the mainland by year-end, according to premier Li Keqiang. Dubbed “Bond Connect”, the programme would operate alongside the existing Stock Connect system that allows international and mainland investors their only direct access to each others’ markets. On Wednesday, the Chinese premier said: “We are preparing to implement for the first time this year a bond […]
Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group may merge with Dubai-based Shuaa Capital, GFH said on Tuesday, confirming market speculation that sent both companies’ share prices surging this week. “GFH has been in discussion with several financial institutions, including Shuaa Capital, for potential majority shares acquisitions of those financial institutions and/or mergers,” GFH said in a statement to the Bahrain bourse, without disclosing further details. A spokesman for Shuaa declined […]
TOKYO Shares in Toshiba Corp tumbled on Wednesday after it said it would consider a sale of Westinghouse but did not offer any clarity on whether it would proceed with a Chapter 11 filing for the U.S. nuclear unit – a move that could stem losses. Toshiba’s failure to submit audited third-quarter earnings on Tuesday and its announcement of an expanded probe into Westinghouse also contributed to […]
As the UAE continues to evolve, Standard Chartered is at the forefront of innovative financial services. By investing heavily in the digital space, not only does Standard Chartered future-proof investments, but continue to explore new and exciting opportunities, as Julian Wynter, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered UAE, explains. What macro-economic fundamentals make the UAE such a good market for Standard Chartered? For us, the UAE continues […]
Donald Trump paid an effective tax rate of 25 per cent in 2005 on income of $150m, according to a leaked tax return that sheds a glint of light on the tax affairs the president has kept shrouded in secrecy. MSNBC reported that two pages of Mr Trump’s return — which revealed nothing about his income sources — showed the president paying $38m in tax and reporting […]
ABU DHABI // People are smuggling gas from Abu Dhabi to Dubai after illegally stocking up on cheap LPG cylinders by using the e-gas cards of the capital’s residents. An investigation by The National found that residents let friends and relatives use their pre-paid Rahal e-gas cards to exchange empty LPG cylinders for full ones, which they transport in their cars to Dubai. Rahal cards were introduced […]
Authored by Charles Hugh-Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, Those urban regions that pursue decentralized, networked, localized solutions will likely prosper as the adaptive advantages of these principles pay self-reinforcing dividends. In yesterday’s entry, I suggested that rather than bemoan the inevitable failure of centralized “fixes,” let’s turn our efforts to the real solutions: decentralized, networked, localized. To commentators such as Richard Florida, decentralized, networked, localized describes cities. He […]
Microsoft has added LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to its board of directors. As of Hoffman’s appointment, announced March 14, Microsoft’s board is back up to 12 members.Hoffman is a partner with Greylock Partners. He cofounded LinkedIn in 2002 and before that, was an executive vice president at PayPal. Microsoft purchased LinkedIn last year for $26.2 billion. Earlier this year, Microsoft made Kevin Scott, LinkedIn’s head of engineering, […]
Photo A damaged classroom after shelling in the rebel-held town of Hass in Idlib Province. Credit Ammar Abdullah/Reuters GENEVA — Syrian military airstrikes on rebels were responsible for severing water supplies to 5.5 million people in the Damascus region for weeks starting last December, the United Nations said on Tuesday, rebutting government claims that insurgents were to blame. In a bombing campaign to drive rebel forces from […]
LONDON/PARIS An activist hedge fund has said it objects to plans by Walt Disney (DIS.N) to take full control of debt-laden Paris theme park operator Euro Disney (EDLP.PA), according to a letter seen by Reuters. Paris-based CIAM, which owns 1.4 percent of Euro Disney shares, has written to the board of the French company to object to what it believes are plans by Walt Disney to force […]
GENEVA, Switzerland: The Assad regime came under fire from two UN bodies on Tuesday, one of which accused Syria’s air force of deliberately bombing water sources in December and another saying Syria has become a “torture chamber.”In a report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said that the deliberate act of bombing water sources, which cut off water for 5.5 million people in and […]
DUBAI A Bahraini court on Tuesday delayed a ruling in the trial of the spiritual leader of the country’s Shi’ite Muslim majority on charges of collecting funds illegally and money laundering, local media reported. Ayatollah Isa Qassim, who is in his mid-70s, faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted in the trial that has ratcheted up tensions in the Western-allied Gulf Arab state where the […]
SEOUL A South Korean animal rights group has filed a complaint with police against former president Park Geun-hye for abandoning nine pet dogs in the presidential Blue House after being dismissed from office. The dogs are Jindos, a Korean breed of hunting dog known for their loyalty. Park left the Blue House presidential complex on Sunday, two days after the Constitutional Court dismissed her from office over […]
MOGADISHU // Pirates have hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Somalia, officials and a piracy expert said on Tuesday. It is the first hijacking of a large commercial vessel there since 2012. The Aris 13 on Monday reported being approached by two skiffs, said John Steed from the organisation Oceans Beyond Piracy. Mr Steed said eight crew members were aboard the ship, which had been […]
ADDIS ABABA Bereaved families tussled with rescue workers on Tuesday at the site of an Ethiopian rubbish dump where a landslide killed 65 people this weekend. Relatives pushed and shoved the handful of emergency workers, angrily accusing them of delays and saying dozens of people were still missing after Saturday’s disaster at the Reppi dump in the capital of Addis Ababa. Hundreds of people live on the […]
The Gulf’s healthcare industry is expected to receive the highest volume of investments in 2017 among non-oil sectors as GCC countries seek to further diversify their economies, according to a new survey. CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, said its annual Middle East Societies Market Sentiment survey also forecse an increase in hospitality and tourism investment. It said in a statement that in Saudi Arabia, […]
When Intel’s chief executive addressed shareholders at last month’s investor day, he insisted that the “traditional market view” of the company as a Silicon Valley stalwart making chips for PCs and servers was wrong. “The way we look at the world is a bit different,” Brian Krzanich said. “We are a data company.” Investors would soon discover just how differently Mr Krzanich was looking at Intel’s world. […]
YANGON Dozens of Myanmar soldiers have been killed in several clashes between ethnic rebels and the army along the border with China, state media reported on Tuesday, threatening leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s chief goal of ending decades of ethnic strife. More than 20,000 people from Myanmar have crossed China’s border in recent weeks to escape the bitter fighting in the north, prompting Beijing to call for […]
QFC to create 10,000 jobs in the private sector QFC to license 1,000 firms by 2022 QFC appoints leading industry heads to Advisory Board QFC to launch New Law QFC launch biggest TV campaign to date Advertisement 14 March 2017, Doha – Qatar Qatar Financial Centre is on track to license 1,000 new firms and create 10,000 jobs by 2022, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority CEO Yousuf […]
Kuwait’s dual-tranche international debut bond has attracted order books in excess of $15 billion, a document issued by one of the lead banks showed. The debt sale, expected to price on Monday, is split into five-year and 10-year tranches. Initial price guidance was earlier released in the 100 basis points over US Treasuries area for the five-year tranche and the 120 bps over Treasuries area for the […]
Okta, the identity and device management firm based in San Francisco, has filed to go public. According to its S-1 form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Okta plans to raise up to $100 million of Class A common stock through an initial public offering and trade on the NASDAQ market under the symbol OKTA. Goldman, Sachs, JP Morgan Securities and Allen & Company are lead […]
If Gavin James needs a reminder that his life has changed radically in recent years, then the setting for this year’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations should do it. The popular singer co-headlines a big Irish bash at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on Friday, a destination that would have sounded very distant when he started out, as a teenager in Dublin, performing traditional songs for tourists. Now, with […]
