Fierce solar blasts that could have badly damaged electrical grids and disabled satellites in space narrowly missed Earth in 2012, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. The bursts would have wreaked havoc on the Earth’s magnetic field, matching the severity of the 1859 Carrington event, the largest solar magnetic storm ever reported on the planet. That blast knocked out the telegraph system across the United States, according to […]
After a year of waiting, the man running what could be the biggest-ever technology IPO finally lost patience with Hong Kong. Joe Tsai, the Alibaba Group Holding executive in charge of plans for the highly anticipated deal, only abandoned hope of a Hong Kong listing in the last few weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. The company’s shareholding structure, giving senior managers sway over board […]
Google Inc has settled a landmark copyright lawsuit in which Viacom Inc accused the Internet search company of posting its programs on the YouTube video service without permission. The settlement ends seven years of litigation that drew wide attention from Hollywood, the music industry and Internet companies, and which tested the reach of a federal law designed to thwart piracy while letting people find entertainment online. “This […]
Growing tension between the West and Russia ahead of Ukraine’s weekend referendum in Crimea pushed down stocks on major world markets on Friday and drove up buying of safe-haven gold and the yen. Financial markets watched nervously as the West increasingly talked about sanctions and Russia hit back with promises of retaliatory measures and displays of military prowess. The vote being held on Sunday by pro-Moscow authorities […]
|By Aki Ito| Who needs an army of lawyers when you have a computer? When Minneapolis attorney William Greene faced the task of combing through 1.3 million electronic documents in a recent case, he turned to a so-called smart computer program. Three associates selected relevant documents from a smaller sample, “teaching” their reasoning to the computer. The software’s algorithms then sorted the remaining material by importance. “We […]
The world’s most-profitable banks have never been so unloved by stock investors. China’s four-biggest lenders, which reported $126 billion of earnings in the 12 months through September, sank to the lowest valuations on record in Hong Kong trading yesterday. The MSCI China Financials Index dropped to an almost decade low versus the global industry benchmark while the market value of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., […]
|By TAP Staff| Being in Dubai helps businesses and investors to reap rich rewards, according to findings in a summary report compiled by Dubai FDI, the foreign investment agency in the Department of Economic Development (DED) of Dubai. And the ease and competitiveness of doing business in Dubai is attracting the attention of worldwide investors, it adds. The reports cover such key sectors as logistics, retail, information […]
Feedback Infra, a technical and professional services provider in the infrastructure sector, has acquired Dubai Consultants for an undisclosed amount. This gives Feedback Infra an opportunity to strengthen its footprint in the Gulf region. Established in 1975, Dubai Consultants is among architectural and structural engineering organisations engaged by the government of Dubai and the UAE to design and supervise their major housing and social infrastructure drives. Feedback […]
A diplomatic split between Qatar and its wealthy Gulf neighbors may disrupt billions of dollars of investment in the region and slow efforts to make economies more efficient through trade and transport reforms. Qatar’s vast natural gas wealth means the tiny country, with a population of about 2.1 million, could probably continue operating indefinitely despite the displeasure of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. But […]
The ranks of the world’s billionaires continue to scale new heights–and stretch to new corners of the world. Forbes’ global wealth team found 1,645 billionaires with an aggregate net worth of $6.4 trillion, up from $5.4 trillion a year ago. A record 268 new ten-figure fortunes, including 42 new women billionaires, were unearthed, another record. In total, there are 172 women on the list, more than ever […]
|By TAP Staff| The UAE Banks Federation proposes to soon issue a charter for customer rights, which will incorporate certain minimum standards in banking services and provide for remedial actions open for them in case of failures by the banks. The CEOs Advisory Committee of the Federation has examined the framework and content of the charter at its first meeting this year. The meeting reviewed the Federation’s […]
|By Ole Sloth Hansen |February was a strong month for commodities, with the broad-based DJ-UBS Commodity index returning more than 5 percent. This was more than the S&P 500 Index, which reached even a new record high thereby moving in the opposite direction of bond yields and the macro data. Some of the major themes and factors behind this performance were: • Adverse weather in Brazil and […]
The path toward U.S. energy independence, made possible by a boom in shale oil, will be much harder than it seems. Just a few of the roadblocks: Independent producers will spend $1.50 drilling this year for every dollar they get back. Shale output drops faster than production from conventional methods. It will take 2,500 new wells a year just to sustain output of 1 million barrels a […]
|AP | WASHINGTON| Our galaxy is looking far more crowded and hospitable. NASA on Wednesday confirmed a bonanza of 715 newly discovered planets outside our solar system. Scientists using the planet-hunting Kepler telescope pushed the number of planets discovered in the galaxy to about 1,700. Twenty years ago, astronomers had not found any planets circling stars other than the ones revolving around our sun. “We almost doubled just […]
Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) is set to welcome 11 international congresses in 2014, spanning a variety of industry sectors. When combined, these congresses will contribute an estimated US$32millon (AED117 million) to the city’s economy. The congresses will attract more than 12,000 international delegates, including global thought leaders in their respective fields, which include healthcare, transportation, legal and technology sectors. “Dubai’s position as a premier international business […]
In an age of aerial drones and driver-less cars, Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc is designing unmanned cargo ships. Rolls-Royce’s Blue Ocean development team has set up a virtual-reality prototype at its office in Alesund, Norway, that simulates 360-degree views from a vessel’s bridge. Eventually, the London-based manufacturer of engines and turbines says, captains on dry land will use similar control centers to command hundreds of crewless ships. Drone […]
BuzzFeed has come a long way from cat lists. This month one of its journalists was on the ground in Kiev reporting on the crisis in Ukraine, and last December it published an in-depth article on a Chinese dissident living in Harlem, New York. The kittens haven’t disappeared, but these days there is serious journalism as well. When Facebook Inc tweaked its News Feed filters in December […]
|By Ole Hansen| Commodities showing strong gains for a third week with positive performances seen across all sectors, not least agriculture where coffee and sugar were strong performers followed by precious metals. Growth-dependent commodities such as energy and industrial metals also showed a positive return but were held back by another decline to a seven-month low in Chinese manufacturing confidence. Adverse weather across the Americas continues to […]
India’s Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) is planning to sell its stakes in the Dubai Gold and Commodity Exchange (DGCX) to raise resources, the Economic Times reported. MCX currently holds 3.4% in DGCX, currently valued at $1. The Indian exchange had held 10 per cent stake in DGCX when it began operations in 2005, but it was later reduced to 5 per cent. In October last year, this […]
Technology will cause disruption and create opportunity at an accelerating pace, placing unprecedented pressure on ‘society’, China will move towards a half-way house of democracy, USA will become the Disunited States of America while India will be burdened with 150 billion people below the poverty line by 2050, according to the conclusions of a think-tank. The report is produced by Tangent Link, investment analysts and fund managers with a focus […]
High energy price volatility has for the first time replaced global climate framework as the top critical uncertainty driving the world energy agenda, according to the 2014 World Energy Issues Monitor, released by the World Energy Council (WEC). Global climate framework uncertainty, while still a key issue, is now perceived by energy leaders to have less impact than in the previous three years of the study. Meanwhile, […]
A widening probe of the foreign-exchange market is roiling an industry already under pressure to reduce costs as computer platforms displace human traders. Electronic dealing, which accounted for 66 percent of all currency transactions in 2013 and 20 percent in 2001, will increase to 76 percent within five years, according to Aite Group LLC, a Boston-based consulting firm that reviewed Bank for International Settlements data. About 81 […]
An asteroid estimated to be the size of three football fields whizzed close to Earth on Monday, roughly a year after one exploded over Russia and injured 1,200 people. Slooh Space Camera tracked the approach of the asteroid as it raced past the planet at about 27,000 mph (43,000 kmph), starting at 9 p.m. EST (2 a.m. GMT, Feb. 18), the robotic telescope service said in a […]
Risk appetite is in full flow, led by Turkey’s remarkable return to the international bond markets on Wednesday, just weeks after a currency crisis had thrown the country, and through it the emerging markets asset class, into a tailspin. Not only did the sovereign raise US$1.5bn, it did so through a 31-year bond as investors cast aside doubts about Turkey’s vulnerable political and financial situation – on […]
