By Tom Hals and Diane Bartz | WILMINGTON, Del./WASHINGTON WILMINGTON, Del./WASHINGTON Health insurer Anthem Inc (ANTM.N) asked a Delaware judge on Monday to give it more time to try to win approval for a merger with rival Cigna Corp (CI.N), which is seeking to end the deal and collect a $1.85 billion break-up fee. Anthem asked Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of Delaware’s Court of Chancery to grant […]
The Middle East & Africa region is a strategically important growth market for Sony Mobile Xperia XZ Premium, winner of several top industry awards including ‘Best Smartphone at MWC 2017’, leads innovation push Dubai, 08 May 2017 Sony Mobile Communications has shown strong global financial performance by reporting a profit of 10.2 Billion Yen (US$ 91 Million) this year, as per financial results from the company. […]
ABU DHABI // A new pier, arena and waterfront promenade with residential complexes and restaurants are part of a Dh12 billion development plan for Yas Island. Announced on Monday, the plan for the 14 million square foot area on the southern part of the island, near Yas Plaza and Yas Beach, includes the new home for twofour54, the media industry’s free zone that is currently located near […]
Zaha Hadid’s first project in Dubai is a work of art to rival any of the renowned Iraqi-born architect’s award-winning structures, and will add something very different to the city’s burgeoning collection of prestige buildings. In many ways, a visit to Dubai’s Business Bay feels like a trip back to the future – to a city that feels eerily familiar to anyone who can remember the giddy […]
The biannual OpenStack Summit opened with Jonathan Bryce, executive director of the OpenStack Foundation, saying “We’re a inflection point … We are moving into the second generation of the cloud.” And OpenStack is leading the way. What are these generations? The first generation was built on immature technologies that required expert architects, engineers, and developers. Only large technology companies, such as eBay and Yahoo, could implement them. […]
France international Lassana Diarra, who quit Marseille in February, has signed for Al Jazira in the UAE. “I’m joining Al Jazira, champions of the UAE,” the 32-year-old told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper. “I’ll prepare in the United States before doing a pre-season with the squad from June.” Diarra, capped 34 times by France, has also played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Real Madrid, as well as […]
U.S. broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc (SBGI.O) said on Monday it would buy Tribune Media Co (TRCO.N), one of the largest U.S. television station operators, for about $3.9 billion cash and stock, and assume about $2.7 billion in debt. The $43.50 per share offer represents a nearly 8 percent premium to Tribune’s Friday close. Shares of Tribune, which operates 42 television stations in 33 markets, rose 5.2 […]
Nvidia is rolling out a new platform that aims to provide deep learning analytics to video streams produced from smart city applications. Dubbed Metropolis, the platform takes data captured by cameras deployed in government properties, public transit systems, commercial buildings and roadways, and then runs it through AI to help cities monitor video instantaneously. The idea is that cities are inundated with video data and need a […]
CVs with the word “sales” in them are the most likely to be picked up by Middle East recruiters, new research suggests. Recruitment website Bayt.com has revealed the top five keywords employers in the Middle East using to find candidates using its online CV search. The five top words were “sales” – which was searched for more than 170,000 times in 2016 alone – “Manager”, “Engineer”, “Accountant” […]
Dubai: 09th May 2017 Gulf Islamic Investments LLC (GII) successfully completed a Sharia compliant growth capital financing round for Bion Group and further expands its investment portfolio with a foray into the lucrative transportation and logistics industry. Bion Group is ranked #1 heavy haul transportation company by customer base and ranked #4 heavy haul transportation company by trucks fleet size in the UAE and is a well-renowned […]
Cofco, China’s powerful state-controlled grains company, is set to appoint the former chief executive and deputy chair of agricultural trader Louis Dreyfus Company as a non-executive director for its international agricultural trading arm. Serge Schoen, who resigned from the LDC board last year, is poised to become one of Cofco International’s four non-executive directors on the company’s 10-person board. His appointment comes as questions have been raised […]
The oldest and largest pet hotel in Bahrain is now the first kennel to allow points to be collected with its pet loyalty programme. Sear Kennels has created a way to attract a more elite clientele to its doors. It has developed the first and only Pet Loyalty Program of its kind in the GCC. The first batch of customers at the Sear Kennels Pet Hotel and […]
Warren Buffett said on Monday United Airlines made a “terrible mistake” in handling the fallout of a recent incident when a man was forcibly dragged off a United flight, which drew widespread outrage and sparked Congressional hearings. But the billionaire, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) is the largest investor in the carrier’s parent United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N), acknowledged on CNBC television that flying has become less […]
Sinclair Broadcast Group, the biggest US local television station owner, has struck an agreement to buy Tribune Media for $43.50 a share, valuing Tribune at about $3.9bn. The transaction is the first big move of an expected consolidation wave in media unleashed by the Federal Communications Commission’s recent decision to effectively loosen a cap on local television station ownership. The rule change has US media companies jostling […]
The most expensive Hermes Birkin bag made, which costs AED500,000 ($136,135), is now on sale in Dubai. Online boutique for pre-owned luxury designer goods TheLuxuryCloset.com is carrying the Hermes Red Porosus Crocodile, which is designed with 18K white gold and diamonds. The Birkin 35 bag, part of the most exclusive and expensive bag collections in the world, was custom made. Birkin handbags are usually sold to top […]
By Nigel Stephenson | LONDON LONDON European stocks and the euro pulled back on Monday from highs touched after Emmanuel Macron’s emphatic but well-flagged victory in France’s presidential election as investors’ focus shifted from politics to monetary policy. With the political risks that have dominated European markets in a year packed with elections seen receding, the European Central Bank is expected to have more room to tighten […]
Emmanuel Macron has swept to emphatic victory in France’s presidential election, clinching 66 per cent of the vote to beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. The National Front candidate’s 34 per cent share fell well short of the most optimistic projections for Ms Le Pen, which had suggested she could win as much as 45 per cent of the vote in the second round. Mr Macron’s victory […]
Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has sold 80 exclusive car number plates for $7.56 million (AED27.75m), it said on Sunday. Four license plates acquired the lion’s share of revenues at the auction, which saw a bidding war, according to WAM. Ahmed Bahrozyan, chief executive officer, RTA Licensing Agency revealed that license number “R-13” fetched the highest price, selling for $795,640, while the balance was raised by […]
Globally, billions of dollars are lost to fraud every year, and with the growth of ecommerce business models over the past five years, payments startup Stripe is putting its transaction-based insights to good use in an effort to block fraudulent activity from its platform. Speaking with ZDNet, Stripe’s head of machine learning Michael Manapat said that internet businesses are in a uniquely liable situation of having to […]
By Lizbeth Diaz and Michael O’Boyle | COYUCA DE CATALAN, Mexico COYUCA DE CATALAN, Mexico The Mexican army says its fight against surging opium production that feeds U.S demand is increasingly complicated by the rise of smaller gangs disputing wild, ungoverned lands planted with ever-stronger poppy strains. The gangs have engulfed the state of Guerrero in a war to control poppy fields, turning inaccessible mountain valleys of […]
AMSTERDAM Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel (AKZO.AS) on Monday rejected a third takeover proposal from larger U.S. rival PPG valued at 26.9 billion euros ($29.51 billion)saying it undervalues the company, faces antitrust risks, and does not address other stakeholder concerns such as “cultural differences.” A group of the company’s shareholders who support a merger of the two companies have been pushing for talks, but Akzo said in […]
The Tan Tan Cultural Season opened the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Camel Racetrack, under the patronage of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. Hosted by Tan Tan Province, this is the first camel racetrack in Africa. The ceremony was attended by the UAE delegation, including […]
By Muyu Xu and Ryan Woo | BEIJING BEIJING The Chinese capital is sanitizing its ancient hutong alleyways, home to millions of migrants workers and thousands of small businesses, bulldozing illegal constructions and forcing shops, bars and tiny courtyard restaurants to relocate or go under. As part of guidelines unveiled in April, authorities have started to brick in doors of properties along the narrow passageways, many of […]
Shipment volumes and market shares for the Chinese market. (Image: IDC) Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has overtaken Oppo as the number one smartphone seller in China for Q1 2017, research firm IDC has revealed. Of the total 103.1 million smartphones shipped to China during the first quarter, Huawei’s shipment volume reached 20.8 million units, a year-over-year increase of 25.5 percent, according to IDC’s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. […]
