Janet Yellen, fresh from taking the helm of the Federal Reserve, made it clear on Tuesday she would not make any abrupt changes to U.S. monetary policy, saying the central bank was on track to keep reducing its stimulus even though the labor market recovery was far from complete. In her first public comments since becoming Fed chief earlier this month, Yellen said the central bank must […]
|By K Raveendran| Indians across the world celebrated the elevation of Satya Nadella as the new CEO of Microsoft. Dubai, with its compulsive spirit of celebration, was no exception. The talking point at the week-end parties in Emirates Hills and Arabian Ranches was none other than the Hyderabad techie, who, by virtue of his new role at the most admired company in the world, becomes the latest […]
Gold rallied to the highest level since November as investors assessed further cuts to U.S. stimulus and Chinese buyers increased purchases to extend last year’s record consumption. Silver, platinum and palladium rose. Bullion for immediate delivery gained as much as 1 percent to $1,287.81 an ounce, the highest price since Nov. 18, and was at $1,283.85 by 3:01 p.m. in Singapore. A fifth day of advance would […]
The health of the U.S. economy and the extraordinary and controversial measures the Federal Reserve has taken to support it will top the agenda on Tuesday when Janet Yellen testifies to lawmakers for the first time as head of the Federal Reserve. Yellen, in just her second week on the job since succeeding Ben Bernanke earlier this month, will want to reinforce the central bank’s determination to […]
Gold rose to a two-week high, set for the longest rally since October, as U.S. jobs data missed estimates and Chinese buyers returned after the Lunar New Year break. Silver headed for the longest winning run since August. Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.7 percent to $1,276.03 an ounce, the highest level since Jan. 27 and surpassing its 100-day moving average of $1,267.43, before […]
Emerging Asia will become the world’s primary weak spot in 2014, but we have reached the beginning of the end of this crisis, according to Saxo Bank’s investment outlook for the first quarter of 2014 Global overview Having maintained world growth at acceptable levels throughout the current crisis, emerging Asia will become the world’s primary weak spot in 2014. Investment in that region has reached a staggering […]
Meryl Davis and Charlie White did not lose sleep over what U.S. Figure Skating called “laughable” allegations suggesting the United States and Russia had brokered a deal to help each other win gold medals at the Sochi Olympics. “There was an anonymous report citing an unnamed source that there was some kind of collusion between America and Russia regarding the ice dancing competition,” U.S. Figure Skating spokesperson […]
The U.N. nuclear agency said on Sunday that Iran had agreed to start addressing suspicions that it may have worked on designing an atomic weapon, a potential breakthrough in a long-stalled investigation into Tehran’s atomic activities. The development – although limited for now – marked a step forward in an international push to settle a decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran says this is peaceful, while […]
Most Asian markets made guarded gains on Monday, encouraged that Wall Street was able to weather a seemingly disappointing U.S. jobs report, though there was more than enough event risk ahead to keep investors cautious. Crucially, the new head of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, delivers her first testimony to the House on Tuesday and the Senate on Thursday, and markets will be hoping for reassurance that […]
The regulator of Dubai’s tax-free financial centre said on Sunday that Deutsche Bank had been found to be in “material non-compliance” with orders to provide information as part of an investigation into alleged rule breaches. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) had in November last year sued the lender, after almost one year of investigations into the bank’s wealth management division. An out-of-court agreement between the bank […]
Final approval for .abudhabi and .dubai web addresses may be only months away, with experts predicting widespread uptake. The global authority that controls the launch of new domain names, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), is in the final stages of approval for the two. It is hoped that by linking the web addresses to the geographical location of a website, it will boost […]
European stocks rose for a second day as investors awaited the European Central Bank’s rate decision and weighed company earnings. Asian shares and U.S. stock-index futures also advanced. Daimler AG gained 3.4 percent after posting a 45 percent surge in quarterly profit. Volvo (VOLVB)AB climbed 4.8 percent after reporting operating profit that beat projections and saying it will cut 4,400 jobs. Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) fell 1.1 percent after posting […]
Oman, which faces Iran across the Strait of Hormuz, said it’s poised to start raising cash for a $3 billion rail line offering an alternative route for oil and freight shipments that funnel through the 21 mile-wide channel. The nation of 3.3 million people, located on the southern side of the strait, is considering issuing bonds by the end of 2014 to kick-start funding for the track […]
Abu Dhabi and Dubai completed due diligence on a potential merger of the two bourses in the United Arab Emirates, bringing the combination a step closer, according to two people familiar with the matter. Valuation and structuring work was completed in December, with the deal now requiring approval from the governments of the two emirates before proceeding further, the people said, asking not to be identified as […]
Asian shares skidded on Tuesday while the dollar struggled to keep its footing, after disappointing data cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economy and gave investors little reason to hope for stability in emerging markets after their recent rout. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 1.4 percent, touching its lowest level since early September at one point. The gloom was likely […]
Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Google on Monday began publishing details about the number of secret government requests for data they receive, hoping to show limited involvement in controversial surveillance efforts. The tech industry has pushed for greater transparency on government data requests, seeking to shake off concerns about their involvement in vast, surreptitious surveillance programs revealed last summer by former spy contractor Edward Snowden. The government said […]
For global automakers, the dusty backroads of rural India could be the new El Dorado. As economic torpor suffocates demand for new cars in India’s megacities, incomes are growing faster in small towns and country areas. That’s pushing the likes of General Motors and Honda Motor Co to fan out in search of buyers in places where fewer than 20 people in every thousand own a car […]
Commodities moved lower during the course of the week as the diverging outlook between emerging and developed economies continued to raise uncertainty about the demand outlook for commodities. The weakness was primarily driven by losses in both metal sectors with industrial metals being hurt by weak China manufacturing data together with a slowdown in activity ahead of the Lunar New Year shutdown in several Asian markets. Precious […]
Bahrain-based investment management firm Arcapita announced the signing of an agreement to sell Varel International Energy Services, Inc. (Varel), a leading manufacturer of drill bits for the oil and gas, and mining and industrial industries, to Sweden-based Sandvik AB for a total transaction value of approximately $740 million. The closing of the transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals and certain environmental due diligence. It is likely […]
U.S. stocks fell for a third week, the longest slump since 2012 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index , after the Federal Reserve cut stimulus even as a rout in emerging markets spurred concern about the global economy. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4 percent to 1,782.59 in the week and reached the lowest level since November on Jan. 29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 180.26 […]
The U.K. has chosen HSBC Holdings to arrange and advise on its debut Islamic bond planned for as early as this year in an effort to become the first non-Muslim nation to sell the debt, a Treasury official said. Other banks will be mandated closer to the time of the sale, the official said yesterday, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public. Linklaters LLP […]
Dubai Financial Market (DFM) , the emirate’s main stock exchange, has issued rules allowing the lending and borrowing of securities, part of efforts to make the market more flexible ahead of an influx of foreign funds. Lending and borrowing of securities is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year, if investors are ready, DFM said in a statement seen on Friday. Securities lending and […]
The Federal Reserve’s decision to keep trimming its economic stimulus drew fire on Friday as India’s central bank chief said Americans should be more attuned to the global impact of their policies, and the IMF called for vigilance given strains in financial markets. The push-back came on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s last day on the job and two days after the U.S. central bank reduced the pace […]
Passenger flows through Dubai’s main airport, the world’s second busiest for international traffic, jumped 15.2 percent in 2013 thanks to expansion of its route network and the use of wide-body planes, airport authorities said on Wednesday. Passenger traffic last year totalled a record 66.4 million people. In December, more than 6 million passengers passed though the airport for the first time, an increase of 13.6 percent from […]
