May 6, 2017 by: Jeevan Vasagar in Singapore and Michael Peel in Bangkok Puma Energy, the fuel storage and petrol station business backed by Swiss commodities trading house Trafigura, wants to expand in Myanmar across a range of fuel and petroleum products after opening a $100m storage facility at the southern port of Thilawa. The new terminal, with a capacity of 91m cubic metres, opens the prospect […]
Business conditions in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector continued to improve at the start of the second quarter, with rates of expansion in new work and business activity gathering pace, according to a new survey. Data from the Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed that firms were encouraged to engage in purchasing activity, which in turn led to the strongest accumulation in stocks of […]
A cyclone more than 9,000 miles away from Omaha, Nebraska, where more than 30,000 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are gathered for an annual meeting they call the Woodstock of Capitalism, has put a slight damper on the festivities. Profits at Warren Buffett’s company fell 27 per cent in the first quarter to $4.06bn, or $2,469 per share, as the company’s insurance business paid out millions for claims related […]
Barclays was under pressure on Friday after Goldman Sachs said the bank needed to prioritise rebuilding capital over shareholder returns. Regulatory hurdles have moved against cross-border banks such as Barclays, which will be hit disproportionately by regional ringfencing laws, said Goldman. Capital ringfences add to uncertainty around Barclays’ litigation costs, its pension deficit and the likely proceeds from the sale of its African bank, said the broker. […]
“Something is off,” warns RBC’s head of cross-asset strategy Charlie McElligott in the introduction to his latest market noting that the swing in US fiscal policy optimism is coming at a critical time as the China’s liquidity tightening is spooking the reflation story. SUMMARY: Movement on US fiscal policy is currently driving US rates and equities higher, counteracting the tremendous negative implications of this ‘Chinese tightening / […]
DP World and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to back future infrastructure projects DP World and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to back future infrastructure projects New Delhi, India, 4 May, 2017 Global trade enabler DP World and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop the logistics sector in India. The agreement comes as a result […]
Authored by 720Global’s Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, “History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums” – Alan Greenspan The ability to see beyond the observable and the probable is the most important and under-appreciated characteristic of successful investors. For example, visualize a single domino standing upright. With this limited perspective, one can establish what the domino is doing in the […]
FAI is a leading provider of mission-critical aviation services, based in Germany With 23 aircraft, FAI serves corporations, government agencies and NGOs including the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, 4th May 2017 Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced today its investment in a significant minority stake in Axtmann Aviation Holding […]
By Richard Cowan and Yasmeen Abutaleb | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives was set on Thursday for a cliffhanger vote to repeal Obamacare, as Republican leaders worked to deliver President Donald Trump a win for one of his top legislative priorities. House Republican leaders have expressed confidence the bill would pass and several party moderates who previously objected to it got behind it on Wednesday, […]
The accrediting body for journalism schools on Wednesday essentially accused Northwestern University of fudging the facts in exiting the nonprofit overseer’s once-every-six-years accreditation process. The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications responded to the surprise move by The Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications with a diplomatic but firm rebuke of the school’s rationale and honesty. “Each school makes its own […]
Freight volumes of Middle East carriers increased by more than 16 percent in March on a year-on-year basis, according to new figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA said that while capacity increased 2.7 percent, international freight volumes increased 16.4 percent year-on-year in March – the fastest pace since June 2015. Seasonally-adjusted freight volumes maintained their upward trend as the year-on-year growth rate recovered […]
Digitization identified as key for region to retain leadership in global logistics landscape Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 4 2017 Supply chain optimization took center stage at the ninth GPCA Supply Chain Conference, which took place between 2-4 May 2017 at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi. During the event, speakers highlighted logistical efficiency as a top industry priority in the GCC as traditional supply chains across […]
Etihad Airways said on Tuesday it was disappointed that despite its significant investments in Alitalia, the Italian airline had entered extraordinary administration. Shareholders in Alitalia voted unanimously to place the company into “extraordinary administration” as efforts continue to find a buyer and stave off liquidation for the troubled airline. The move follows last week’s rejection by staff of a restructuring and refinancing plan based on hefty job […]
Uber had announced in January that it was bringing its food delivery service to India, its fastest-growing market in the world. And finally, it’s here. UberEATS has rolled out in Mumbai and will soon be taken to five other Indian cities. India becomes UberEATS’ fourth Asian market, after it launched in Singapore last May, followed by Tokyo (Japan) and Bangkok (Thailand). Interestingly, Uber’s local rival Ola had […]
Oman Air plans to move ahead with a multi-billion dollar order for wide-body jets early next year even though it won’t now break even in 2017 as the low oil price curbs growth in the Gulf. The carrier is now aiming to end losses by the end of next year, contingent on demand not deteriorating further, Chief Executive Officer Paul Gregorowitsch said in an interview on Tuesday. […]
By Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Donald Trump’s national security adviser described his boss’s foreign policy approach as “disruptive” on the eve of the U.S. president’s first White House meeting with the Palestinian leader, saying his unconventional ways could create an opportunity to ultimately help stabilize the Middle East. Trump faces deep skepticism at home and abroad over his chances for a breakthrough with Palestinian President Mahmoud […]
By Brenda Goh and Andrew R.C. Marshall | KHON PI LONG, Thailand KHON PI LONG, Thailand China’s plan to blast open more of the Mekong River for bigger cargo ships could founder on a remote outcrop of half-submerged rocks that Thai protesters have vowed to protect against Beijing’s economic expansion in Southeast Asia. Dynamiting the Pi Long rapids and other sections of the Mekong between Thailand and […]
Shares in Advanced Micro Devices logged their biggest one-day drop in more than 10 years on Tuesday after the chipmaker posted downbeat first-quarter sales and received an analyst downgrade. AMD was the biggest decliner on the S&P 500, falling 24.4 per cent to $10.30 after the company said net revenues rose 18 per cent from a year ago to $984m but was shy of analysts’ estimates of […]
Esure hit a record high on Tuesday amid hopes that surging car insurance premiums will translate to fatter dividends. Canaccord Genuity added Esure to its “buy” list as part of a sector review. It forecast motor insurance pricing to keep rising at the current pace until the end of 2017, having jumped 16 per cent year on year in the first quarter, and expected the larger insurers […]
Louvre Hotels has announced plans to open 10 new hotels in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by the end of 2017, adding 1,600 keys to its current room inventory. The new properties will take its total regional keys to more than 11,000 and follows a productive 2016 when Louvre launched 12 properties in key markets including the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon. […]
Since the emergence of the single market in Asean, many companies are expanding their markets outside of their home country whereas others are still struggling. Some firms have already entered neighbouring markets while others are looking even farther beyond the Asean Economic Community. Research shows that firms in different industries look at the AEC from different perspectives. For example, firms in the financial industry seem to support […]
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) published its first quarter financial results on Monday, meeting market expectations. However, AMD shares fell in after-hours trading. As Wall Street anticipated, the company posted a non-GAAP net loss of $38 million, or 4 cents per share, on revenue of $984 million. Revenue was up 18 percent year-over-year, largely driven by demand for Ryzen CPUs, CEO Lisa Su noted. “We are positioned for […]
Besides the upcoming FOMC meeting on May 2-3, and French & Italian politics – the decisive runoff round of the French election takes place this Sunday – this week’s releases are dominated by US payrolls expected to come around 170k. The busy release calendar continues with Norges bank and RBA meetings as well as global manufacturing PMIs. The market’s focus during the week of 5/1 will begin […]
Apple has extended the warranty on first-generation Apple Watches that suffer from swollen battery problems to three years. Must read: iPhone 8: Here’s what we think we know about Apple’s 10th-anniversary iPhone Word of the change comes via a note sent from Apple to authorized repair centers that was subsequently forwarded to 9to5mac. There have been sporadic reports of issues where ballooning batteries can cause either the […]
