The value of the GCC’s healthcare market has grown steadily in recent years and there is little sign that any slowdown is on the horizon. The industry is forecast to be worth $71.3bn by 2020, according to Alpen Capital. The investment bank expects the GCC healthcare sector to record 12.1 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2015 and 2020, after 10.3 percent CAGR between 2008 and […]
BEIJING Residents of China’s capital awoke on Saturday to dense, choking smog after many set off a barrage of fireworks overnight to ring in the Lunar New Year, despite limits and public admonitions against such displays in the congested city. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said harmful particulate matter in the air had hit the second-highest level in five years by Saturday morning, the state-owned China […]
Investors sought US technology shares this week, underlining the degree to which money managers are broadening their search for sectors that should benefit from a pick-up in spending by corporate America. There were inflows of almost $900m in the week to January 25 into funds invested in technology stocks, according to flows tracked by EPFR. “We think that there is going to be a more meaningful capital […]
JEDDAH: Houthi militias in Yemen are exploiting businesses, levying inflated fees, and using bank profits to finance war expenses, the war-torn country’s prime minister has said. Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr said Houthi militias and rebels regrettably still control YER300 billion generated from areas including customs, trade, telecoms, cigarette sales and cement factories.In a statement to the official Yemeni Press Agency, the country’s prime minister accused the Houthis […]
Mexico has been in the crosshairs this week as US president Donald Trump held true to his campaign rhetoric and ordered the construction of a wall along the Mexican border, with White House press secretary suggesting a 20 per cent tax on imports could pay for it. With relations between the two countries on course for crisis, has Mr Trump done enough to scare investors away from […]
The weak economic environment will continue to weigh on the financial profiles of banks in GCC countries in 2017 and 2018, according to S&P Global Ratings. In a new report, the ratings agency said it believes the three key risks are a difficult operating environment, a higher cost of risk, and lower liquidity. However, it added that most GCC banks have built sufficient capital buffers to remain […]
Mi dispiace, ho sbagliato numero* Well, what did BT’s chief executive, smouldering Gavin Patterson, expect? Italy is ranked 60th out of 176 countries in Transparency International’s corruption index, worse than Romania or Hungary. The “improper” management behaviour there had been going on for years, and would probably be going on still but for the call from a whistleblower. The BT board must now decide how far up […]
The cast of Top Gear are in Dubai this weekend and you can have a front-row seat to watch the action. Posters have been placed in buildings in Dubai Marina inviting residents to watch the cast and crew, featuring presenter and former Friends star, Matt LeBlanc, shoot scenes in the picturesque district. “Your waterfront community will be featured on an international show for the world to see. […]
By Vikram Subhedar | LONDON LONDON The dollar extended its recovery against a basket of other currencies on Friday, while banks dragged European shares slightly lower following underwhelming results from Swiss major UBS. The two-day recovery comes after the dollar suffered a 4 percent drop in the three weeks from Jan. 3 reflecting doubts about how U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies will play out for the currency, […]
UBS finished a tough 2016 on an upbeat note, with an unexpectedly strong increase in fourth-quarter profits, and has predicted improved US investor confidence would this year boost its wealth management businesses. However, Sergio Ermotti, chief executive, warned the more positive US trends were not mirrored globally, and UBS’s shares fell 1.2 per cent in early trading as analysts raised concerns about unexpected fourth-quarter outflows of clients’ […]
By Crispian Balmer | ROME ROME Virginia Raggi was heralded last year as a poster child for Italy’s 5-Star Movement, her election as mayor of the capital holding out the prospect of future triumph for the group at a national level. But her first seven months in charge of Rome have been plagued by scandals, and Raggi now faces possible trial for abuse of office and false […]
Sitting in his spacious office in Doha’s West Bay, free from the entourage of assistants usually attached to CEOs of large, government-backed organisations, Rashid Bin Ali Al Mansoori appears relaxed and unhurried. He even responds, “How much time would you like?” when asked to confirm the length of our meeting. Al Mansoori, who has served as CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) since 2012, is frank about […]
By Joseph Campbell | BEIJING BEIJING Tougher law enforcement has reduced the number of environmental offenders in Beijing in recent years, but more companies need to adapt to the emissions standards in China’s capital, its environmental inspection squad says. Graphic on air pollution in Beijing tmsnrt.rs/2hVMPCb Beijing has been on the frontlines of a “war against pollution” declared by Premier Li Keqiang in 2014, as part of […]
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar | MOGADISHU MOGADISHU The Islamist group al Shabaab said on Friday its fighters killed dozens of Kenyan troops when they attacked a remote military base in Somalia the previous day, a claim the Kenyan army denied. A spokesman for al Shabaab, which often launches attacks on troops of the African Union’s AMISOM force, said its fighters killed at least 57 Kenyans […]
The directive to identify new ways to hasten the demise of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, has been widely anticipated by military commanders, who have begun drafting classified options to increase the pressure on the militant group, especially in Raqqa and Mosul, the stronghold in Iraq. Continue reading the main story Work on the directive was described by several current and former officials […]
Consolidated Activity Highlights as at end-December 2016: USD 20.8 billion in Assets USD 17.1 billion in Deposits USD 5.2 billion in Loans Advertisement USD 2.1 billion in Total Equity USD 165 million in Net Profit Byblos Bank Headquarters, 26 January 2017 Byblos Bank overall results for 2016 were satisfactory given the difficult economic and financial conditions in Lebanon and the region. Lower oil prices and revenues in several countries […]
|By Matein Khalid| The election of a Manhattan property developer and (failed) casino owner as President of the United State has not been positive for most American real estate investment trusts (REIT’s). The sharp rise in US interest rates since the election and the Federal Reserve’s vigilance against inflation risk hits this classic “bond proxy” sector, with its reliance on leverage to boost investor returns. In addition, […]
For Wideman, who spent much of his working life in places like Wyoming and Western Massachusetts and rural Maine, this solitude has been further compounded by cold mathematics. Not only is mainstream publishing overwhelmingly white, it is also nearly bereft of black writers like him: American men of letters descended from Southern slaves, who position themselves as part of a grand and omnivorous intellectual and artistic tradition. […]
Dozens of US exporters including GE and Boeing are squaring off against Walmart and other retailers as a radical Republican plan to tax imports divides the giants of corporate America. The rift in the business community threatens President Donald Trump’s pledge to overhaul the tax code for the first time in 30 years by undermining a blueprint that House Republicans are drafting for the White House. The […]
By Tulay Karadeniz | ANKARA ANKARA Turkey is waiting to see the outcome of U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to order safe zones in Syria, and has long advocated such a plan, Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said on Thursday. Trump said on Wednesday he “will absolutely do safe zones in Syria” for refugees fleeing violence. According to a document seen by Reuters, he is expected […]
By John Miller and John Revill | ZURICH ZURICH U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) will acquire Swiss biotech company Actelion (ATLN.S) in a $30 billion all-cash deal that includes spinning off Actelion’s research and development pipeline, the companies said on Thursday. The acquisition gives J&J access to the Swiss group’s line-up of high-price, high-margin medicines for rare diseases, helping it diversify its drug portfolio as […]
NEW DELHI // Thousands braved inclement weather while warmly greeting the chief guest, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, at the Republic Day parade in the Indian capital on Thursday. Despite wet and cold conditions, the 68th edition of the celebrations took place as scheduled in front of Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Indian president, Pranab Mukherjee, Indian prime […]
NEW DELHI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on Wednesday held official talks with Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India. The leaders discussed boosting ties between the two countries as well as several regional and international issues, including terrorism and violence. Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme commander of the Armed Forces, met Mr Modi at Hyderabad House in the capital. Mr Modi […]
The true subject of science fiction is always the present. Its imagined futures are mirrors to today’s hopes and fears. George Orwell’s 1984 simply shifted the numbers of the year in which he wrote the book – 1948 – and made a metaphor of that time’s dark politics. Likewise 2084, the latest from Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, is addressed to, and in some way is part of, […]
