Venezuela has issued $5bn in new bonds to state-run Banco de Venezuela in a private placement, as it seeks cash for imports of food and medicine as the country struggles with critical shortages of basic goods. France-based Global Emerging Markets Group said it advised on structuring and executing the deal. The operation was underwritten by China’s Haitong Securities, according to two bond traders who had seen preliminary […]
LONDON Euro zone stocks opened 2017 by climbing to their highest in more than a year on Monday after data showed manufacturers in the currency bloc ramped up activity at the fastest pace in more than five years. With all of Asia’s major markets closed for the New Year holiday – along with Britain and Switzerland in Europe – trade was thin, which could cause some volatility. […]
Nintendo‘s current flagship handheld, the 3DS, is nearly seven years old, spawning different iteration of the console within that time period, first with the bulkier original 3DS XL, followed by the non-3D 2DS, and finally, the New 3DS and New 3DS XL, packing beefier internals under the hood. Seven years old is basically a death knell for a system, but if there’s a company who knows how […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for January 2, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Abu Dhabi Bride show Book tickets to attend Bride Show Abu Dhabi 2017. A one-stop-shop destination for brides-to-be, the event offers a variety of jewellery, hair, beauty, wellness, home and bridal fashion options under one […]
Airbusand Boeingare bracing themselves for a challenging 2017 after struggling to reach sales targets in the past year. Later this month the two companies will reveal the final tally for last year’s orders and deliveries, but both look set to fall short of their goal of achieving a book to bill of about one — essentially replacing almost every aircraft delivery with a new order. This would […]
Some analysts believe the rise in Bitcoin is due to some investors treating it as a safe-haven, like gold, at a time of global uncertainty The value of Bitcoin surged above $1,000 on Monday as the digital unit continues a dizzying rise that made it the best-performing currency of 2016. Its value has more than doubled in the last year and it was trading at around $1,024 […]
Stock photo New York City could operate with no more than a few thousand taxis or rides if we took carpooling more seriously, researchers have suggested. When commuters share their rides through carpooling, the cost of individual transport lowers and there are potentially fewer cars on the road which can cause increased congestion and pollution. Modern ride-hailing services including Uber and Lyft, in which passengers can hail […]
By Philip Pullella | VATICAN CITY VATICAN CITY Pope Francis has told bishops around the world they must adhere to a policy of zero tolerance for clergy who sexually abuse children and begged forgiveness for “a sin that shames us”. In a letter sent on Dec. 28 but released by the Vatican only on Monday, Francis said: “I would like us to renew our complete commitment to […]
SEOUL South Korea has banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan, BMW and Porsche vehicles after the carmakers were found to have fabricated certification documents, in the latest fallout from the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The government announced in August that it would ban all 10 models after conducting an investigation into whether foreign carmakers besides Volkswagen AG falsified documents on emissions and noise-level tests. Nine of […]
By Luke Baker | JERUSALEM JERUSALEM Police investigators began questioning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem on Monday on suspicion of receiving gifts from businessmen in breach of his role as a public servant, Israeli media said. The move was authorised by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who decided after a preliminary inquiry that there was enough evidence to open a criminal investigation, Haaretz […]
DUBAI // Fog has been the cause of flight delays, diversions and cancellations in recent days, which prompts the question, why? Most people would assume that fog would not pose much of a hindrance to technologically advanced aircraft, but that has been disproved. At Abu Dhabi International Airport on New Year’s Day, three flights were diverted – two were because the pilots were not certified to land […]
Photo Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem in December. “This will all come to nothing, because there is nothing,” he has said repeatedly of recent accusations of impropriety against him. Credit Pool photo by Amir Cohen JERUSALEM — Police investigators arrived at the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening to question him, indicating that Israel’s attorney general […]
Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, grew by just 0.9 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2016. This compared to the 1.4 percent growth seen in the second quarter, according to data from the Central Department of Statistics showed. The Q3 growth was the slowest recorded since 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2013. The slowdown comes as Saudi […]
WASHINGTON At least 188 civilians have been killed in U.S.-led strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since the operation began in 2014, the U.S. military said in a statement on Monday. The Combined Joint Task Force, in its monthly assessment of civilian casualties from the U.S. coalition’s operations against the militant group, said it was still assessing five reports of unintentional deaths from four […]
Having drawn the ire of the mainstream press for his extensive use of Twitter in announcing major developments and policy shifts, President-elect Donald Trump will not end the “onslaught” of posts on Twitter that fed his unconventional campaign, even after taking on the formalized duties of the Oval Office later this month, as Bloomberg notes following an announcement by incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer who […]
LONDON Digital currency bitcoin kicked off the new year by jumping above $1,000 for the first time in three years late on Sunday, having outperformed all central-bank-issued currencies with a 125 percent climb in 2016. Bitcoin – a web-based “cryptocurrency” that has no central authority, relying instead on thousands of computers across the world that validate transactions and add new bitcoins to the system – jumped 2.5 […]
Shaan Taseer, the son of a prominent Pakistani politician assassinated over blasphemy allegations, is himself now the target of a police case and a fatwa calling for his killing after he recorded a Christmas message criticizing the country’s blasphemy law. Mr. Taseer, a human-rights activist, was condemned in the religious edict by an Islamic group from the country’s mainstream religious tradition, after he recorded the message for […]
The UAE has moved up a global list of the best destinations for expats to enjoy a successful career while Bahrain is also in the world’s top 10 places to move to. The UAE now ranks as the fourth best destination after moving up two places on 2015 in the new data released by HSBC. Bahrain, ranked 10th, fell three places compared to last year’s list, while […]
Welcome to a new year and the pressing market issues facing investors as they look to put money to work and navigate 2017. Geopolitical surprises upended expectations last year and few predicted that 2016 would end with a global bull market in equities, while bond yields remain relatively low. Will strategists be any better at forecasting this time around? Here are the big questions that will preoccupy […]
By Elizabeth Pineau | BAGHDAD BAGHDAD France will fight any French jihadists it finds on the battlefields of Iraq, arrest them if they return home and work to de-radicalise their children, President Francois Hollande said on a visit to Baghdad on Monday. There are about 60 French citizens fighting alongside Islamic State militants in the northern city of Mosul alone and hundreds more in the rest of […]
Make this the year your phone saves you time. Instead of wasting it with social media and silly games, The National staff has put together its list of the most helpful apps. Have anything to add? Send us an email at [email protected] newslide Dubai Now Dubai Now is invaluable for anyone who lives in Dubai. Every city in the world should have an app like this. It […]
Chinese companies invested a record $45.6bn in the US in 2016 despite a US presidential campaign heavy on China bashing, but Donald Trump’s imminent arrival in Washington is among factors making the feat unlikely to be matched this year, according to a new report. The surge in Chinese foreign direct investment into the US documented by Rhodium Group, a research firm, led the annual flow of corporate […]
CES 2017 is the 50th anniversary of the annual consumer electronics trade show. There have actually been well over 70 CESes since there used to be a summer version in the 1980s and 90s; this will be my 60th. And while interest in the show waned a bit in the 90s due to competition from Comdex, it’s been full steam ahead since Comdex bit the […]
BAGHDAD At least 10 people were killed and 35 wounded by a car bomb in a busy square in Baghdad’s sprawling Sadr City district on Monday, police and medical sources said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Islamic State regularly targets civilian areas in the heavily fortified capital, even after losing most of the northern and western territory it seized in 2014. […]
