Bahrain’s fiscal deficit will fall only marginally to 12.3 percent of GDP this year from 13.6 percent in 2016 as oil prices settle well below the country’s breakeven figure, according to ratings agency Fitch. The agency said it expects Brent to average $45 per barrel in 2017, nearly $40 below the breakeven price for the Gulf kingdom. Fitch Ratings affirmed Bahrain’s long-term foreign and local currency issuer […]
WASHINGTON The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Friday it had made a final finding that the U.S. industry was being harmed by the dumping and subsidization of imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from China. The finding allows for the final imposition of duties by the U.S. Commerce Department. The investigation into the imports was prompted by a petition from Nucor Corp and U.S. […]
General Motor’s (GM’s) European car brand Opel will soon come under the PSA Group. The French automaker is quite close to completing a deal with Detroit-based car maker GM on Monday, March 6. GM it seems is finally dumping its European car business which was long standing and losing out money making its car business unprofitable. The acquisition was made in order to give a boost to GM’s […]
KARACHI: The Panama Papers — a huge leak of documents detailing the alleged secret offshore holdings of global elite — were released in April 2016. The leak made headlines all-over the world, but its impact was probably most keenly felt in Iceland. Just two days after the leak appeared, Iceland’s prime minister had to resign from his office over protests by the people. Thousands of people had […]
03 March 2017 Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hazana Maldives Limited (Hazana) today to provide technical assistance in the areas of credit risk and Islamic finance. Hazana, a Maldives government company specialising in Islamic investment and finance, manages the commercial assets of the government and holds its strategic investments. The MoU was signed by Mohd Razlan Mohamed, Chief Executive […]
The biggest issue facing the world of social media influencers is transparency. Should the person with 100,000 followers on Instagram (or 5.4 million followers as the keynote speaker, Joelle Mardinian, can boast) announce that she is being paid to promote a product? The inevitable tangents to the four hours of conversations tried to answer the question: what constitutes an influencer (or a content generator as one panellist […]
By Noel Randewich | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Technology companies have been a driving force behind the U.S. stock market’s recent record rally, and despite mounting evidence of stretched valuations the sector remains a top pick for investors expecting a wave of capital expenditures by U.S. corporations. Corporate tax cuts and reduced regulations planned by President Donald Trump will give companies reason to spend more on cloud […]
Deutsche Bank said on Friday night that it was laying the groundwork for a “potential capital raise of approximately €8bn” as well as considering several other strategic adjustments as it aims to revive its fortunes after a torrid 12 months. Alongside the capital increase, Germany’s biggest lender said it could garner further funds by selling a minority stake in its asset management arm. It is also considering […]
Speaking to American state governors this week in the state dining room of the White House, Donald Trump hit on a point that is of no surprise to investors: healthcare is “an unbelievably complex subject”. The Affordable Care Act, one of the two key pillars of the healthcare reform signed into law by former US President Barack Obama in 2010, is 906 pages long — the table […]
One of these sites is not like the other: ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com, SBNation.com. To the titans of sports coverage, networks with broadcast rights to major sporting events, SB Nation is a scrappy flotilla of sports blogs led by its eponymous flagship site. Because it can’t air games, SB Nation has carved out a niche for itself as a multifaceted clearinghouse for sports fans, with individual sites for […]
Ismail, a 20-year-old Emirati, has rarely ever stepped into a bank branch. “You won’t believe I haven’t visited my branch for over a year. All my transactions are done online,” he says, as he clicks an app on his phone to make a payment. “I just paid my bill and that’s how it works for me. All the services are at my fingertips and I save immense […]
03 March 2017 The Roads and Transport Authority – Nashwan Atta’ee: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has felicitated its best contractors and vendors in recognition of their contribution to supporting RTA’s achievements in public transport, infrastructure and other services in 2016. Attendees in the award ceremony, which had taken place in RTA Auditorium, included CEOs and Directors of RTA as well as representatives of RTA contractors […]
WASHINGTON U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Friday said there was “no comparison whatsoever” between his use of a private email account for state business while he was governor of Indiana and the email woes of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time in government became a major point of criticism against her as the Democratic nominee during […]
Johnson & Johnson said on Friday that a state court jury in Missouri had returned a verdict in its favor in the latest trial to arise out of thousands of lawsuits alleging the company’s talc-based products can increase the risk of ovarian cancer. The jury sided with Johnson & Johnson and talc supplier Imerys Talc in a lawsuit by Tennessee resident Nora Daniels, who alleged that she […]
Three GCC-based retailers have been named in a new list of the world’s top 250, with the UAE’s Emke Group ranked the Middle East’s biggest. Emke, which runs the Lulu chain on hypermarkets and earlier this month announces major expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, posted sales revenue of $6.2 billion. Dubai mall operator Majid Al Futtaim saw revenue of $6 billion while Saudi-based food firm Savola posted […]
Evan Spiegel gazed out over the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where onlookers were recording him with his company’s retro-cool, video-enabled sunglasses, then rang the opening bell on Snap’s first day as a public company. Breaking the tech titan’s dress code in his suit and tie, he grinned and, unlike his biggest rival, made no grand proclamations about his company’s world-changing potential. Nearly five years […]
France, which gave the world one of the most enduring symbols of World Expos, the Eiffel Tower, has become the latest country to confirm its participation in Expo 2020 Dubai. The European country officially confirmed its commitment in a letter from Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The letter was […]
Juan Thompson, who was fired from The Intercept last year for fabricating quotes, has been arrested on suspicion of making bomb threats against Jewish community centers. Thompson, who joined The Intercept at the end of 2014, stands accused of one count of cyberstalking in addition to making eight threats against Jewish community centers, according to NBC News. An anonymous threat emailed to a JCC in Manhattan earlier […]
Dubai, UAE, 3 March 2017 As part of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) efforts to provide customers with services that exceed their expectations, DEWA launched the fifth phase of its ‘Beyond Customers Expectations programme’, which provides staff with a comprehensive framework focused on the highest quality standards in service provision and customer happiness. 61 employees from DEWA’s Customer Care Centre, 63 employees from DEWA’s Customer Happiness […]
By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Howard Schneider | CHICAGO CHICAGO The Federal Reserve is set to raise its benchmark interest rate later this month as long as economic data on jobs and inflation holds up, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday, in comments that likely cement a rate hike at its next meeting. Several of Yellen’s U.S. central bank colleagues in recent days had also put a […]
NBCUniversal has ramped up its partnership with Snap, investing $500m in the owner of disappearing messaging app Snapchat’s initial public offering. The Comcast-owned television group bought shares at $17 apiece this week. With shares jumping 44 per cent in their first day of trading on Thursday, and rising a further 14 per cent on Friday, NBCU’s stake is now worth more than $820m. The stake is the […]
A tell-tale sign of a booming equity market is a hot technology listing and the blockbuster debut by Snap, duly summoned memories of the dotcom era. Shares in the parent of the popular messaging app surged more than 40 per cent in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday where the fresh-faced co-founders rang the opening bell to cheers from the trading floor. On Friday, they […]
A Dubai shopping mall was evacuated on Friday after a fire broke out. Shoppers were ordered out of Lamcy Plaza in Karama after a blaze broke out on the roof of the shopping centre. According to a series of tweets by Dubai Media Office, no injuries have been reported. Dubai Civil Defence said the fire was fully contained by 4pm local time after successful operations to put […]
Google is collaborating with the online education company Coursera to train more workers for the growing cloud computing industry. The companies on Friday announced the launch of a series of on-demand Google Cloud Platform training courses, developed and taught by “Google experts,” according to Louise Byrne, head of Cloud Training Delivery for Google Cloud. The courses, available for a range of skill levels from beginner to advanced, […]
