Apple CEO Tim Cook (Image: CNET/CBS Interactive) Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he remains enthusiastic about business opportunity in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, despite the company’s Greater China sales falling 14 percent year-on-year to $10.7 billion in the quarter ended April 1, from $12.5 billion in the same period last year. This figure was also down 34 percent from revenue of $16.2 billion recorded […]
Long before TV presenter Naoufer Ramoul had an apartment to decorate, she had chosen an interior designer. Ramoul, who is the presenter of the weekly political debate show Qabil li Niqash, had come across Harf Noon Design Studio on Instagram, and immediately got in touch with the company’s founder, Nisrine El Lababidi. “Naoufer messaged me and said: ‘Nisrine, I don’t own a house at the moment, but […]
Tesla boss Elon Musk surpassed even his own lofty standards of both hubris and humility on Wednesday, as he looked ahead to a day when the electric carmaker will be worth more than Apple — but also admitted he had confused his customers with a bad product-naming decision. “I want to preface this by saying I could be delusional,” Mr Musk told Wall Street analysts on his […]
By Andrew Cawthorne and Alexandra Ulmer | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuelan security forces battled protesters who lit fires and hurled stones on Wednesday in rage at President Nicolas Maduro’s decree to create an alternative congress, with another fatality taking the death toll to 34 during a month of unrest. In a familiar pattern in protests against the socialist government, thousands of opposition supporters rallied peacefully at first before […]
By Yeganeh Torbati | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday outlined for his staff how an “America First” agenda translates into foreign policy, but did not address the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts, which worry many diplomats. It was the first time Tillerson had addressed all employees since his first day on the job on Feb. 2, when he spoke to hundreds of […]
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday for talks with top officials, state media said. Sisi’s visit comes 24 hours after the UAE brokered a meeting between Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord, and military strongman Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar who refuses to recognise the GNA. State-run news agency WAM said Sisi was accompanied by Egypt’s foreign […]
Sign up to receive FirstFT by email here The Federal Reserve said it believed the recent slowdown in US growth was likely to prove temporary as it stayed on course for a further increase in short-term interest rates as soon as June. The US central bank kept its target range for the federal funds rate at 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent following its latest two-day meeting. In […]
By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jason Lange | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth while emphasizing the strength of the labor market, in a sign it was still on track for two more rate rises this year. In a bullish statement following the end of a two-day policy meeting, the central bank also said consumer spending […]
Mr. Abbas, 82, who was among the negotiators on hand for the historic signing of the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn in 1993, indicated that he did feel optimistic that nearly a quarter-century later Mr. Trump might be the president who finally builds on that initial agreement to forge a final resolution to the conflict. Continue reading the main story Praising Mr. Trump’s “courageous leadership,” […]
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 […]
The more The New York Times gets trashed by President Trump, the more its subscriptions seem to surge. The New York Times on Wednesday reported the addition of 308,000 net digital subscribers in the first quarter of 2017, the most of any quarter in the newspaper’s history, pushing it past the 2 million subscriber mark. Subscriptions to the company’s news products fall just shy of 2 million, […]
By Nick Carey and Joseph White | DETROIT DETROIT Automotive supplier Delphi Automotive Plc (DLPH.N) on Wednesday said it plans to spin off operations tied to internal combustion engines and focus on technology for electrically powered and self-driving vehicles, boosting its share price and highlighting the challenges for legacy auto industry players. Vehicles driven by humans and powered with petroleum will dominate roads from Shanghai to San […]
In its bid to make the United Arab Emirates city the “safest electronic city in the world,” the Dubai Electronic Security Centre (DESC) is looking to expand its Emirati-only workforce by 50 percent this year. The centre, which has a budget of millions of dollars, monitors and researches potential electronic incidents that may affect governmental institutes. To do that, the relatively new center, established in 2014, is […]
ITFC and ITC sign partnership agreement on project implemenation in Djibouti and Algeria 03 May 2017 Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group and the International Trade Centre (ITC), will work together to implement joint projects and strengthen the competitives of SMEs in IsDB member countries. This was disclosed during an official visit by Arancha Gonzalez, Exective Director of ITC, to the President […]
Sprint on Wednesday delivered mixed fourth quarter financial results. The Overland Park, Kansas-based company reported a net loss of $283 million, or seven cents per share, compared to a loss of $554 million, or 14 cents per share, the year prior. The nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier posted net operating revenue of $8.54 billion, up five percent above the previous year. Wall Street was expecting a loss of […]
Hilton Hotels & Resorts has signed to open a $66 million hotel and residences in Bahrain, the US-listed hospitality firm said on Tuesday. The 210-room Hilton Bahrain Bay Hotel & Residences will be located at The Avenues in Manama – a new retail and leisure destination scheduled to open later this year. The company signed an agrement with landowner King Faisal Corniche Development (KFCD) and Mabanee to […]
Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by lower taxes, vigorous sales of Taco Bell’s Naked Chicken Chalupas and lower costs at KFC restaurants. Shares of the company were up 1.7 percent at $67.45 before the opening bell on Wednesday. Sales rose 8 percent at Taco Bell restaurants open for more than a year, topping the 3.7 percent growth expected by analysts polled by […]
DUBAI // As the world’s highest building, it is no surprise the Burj Khalifa tops a list of the most instagrammed buildings in Dubai – but the other nine making up the top 10 makes interesting reading. With more than 1.5 million posts on the social media app, the Burj Khalifa is 22 times more popular as a photo opportunity than the iconic Burj Al Arab (70,400) […]
By James Pearson and Alexei Chernyshev | SEOUL/VLADIVOSTOK, Russia SEOUL/VLADIVOSTOK, Russia When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent Lunar New Year greetings this year, the first card went to Russian President Vladimir Putin, ahead of leaders from China and other allies of the isolated country, according to its official news agency. Some academics who study North Korea argue Kim could be looking for Russia to ease […]
The walled garden of iOS is more difficult to compromise than the famously open source Android platform. Image: iStock While most people are aware of the malicious threats targeting their computers, many still don’t realise that their mobile devices are an increasingly lucrative a target for cybercriminals. The main way smartphones are attacked is though apps, often ones which pose as innocent and useful but actually aim […]
Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it will issue a quarterly budget progress report for the first time as part of efforts to boost transparency while diversifying its oil-dependent economy. The world’s biggest oil exporter is wooing investors as it tries to reduce budget deficits caused by a collapse in energy revenues. “We will for the first time in Saudi announce, possibly in a couple of weeks or […]
By Karolin Schaps | LONDON LONDON Oil prices rebounded from near 2017 lows on Wednesday after preliminary data showed a much higher-than-expected fall in U.S. crude stocks, reviving bullish sentiment about easing oversupply. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 37 cents at $50.83 a barrel at 0815 GMT. On Tuesday the futures had settled at their lowest since Nov. 30, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting […]
The Australian Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has revealed that consumer complaints about delays in being connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN) have dropped over the first two quarters of the 2016-17 financial year. Complaints about NBN connection delays dropped from 1,669 complaints in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 to 1,545 in the first quarter of FY17, and then further down to 1,539 in the second quarter […]
OPEC and allied oil producers should extend their collective production cuts into the second half of the year when an expected upturn in demand will help to re-balance the crude market, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said. All countries participating in the cuts must agree to any extension, he said Tuesday in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major […]
