Anyone willing to pay for it can get access to fast internet, right? Not exactly. Low income neighborhoods — those with median household incomes below $34,800 — are five times more likely not to have access to broadband internet than neighborhoods with a median income above $80,700. In an increasingly connected economy, internet inequality is more than an inconvenience. For many households in the U.S. tools like […]
By Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL A South Korean ruling party faction announced on Tuesday it would form a new party, and a prominent member of the defectors said they wanted outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the front-runner in some presidential polls, to join them. The 29 lawmakers from President Park Geun-hye’s conservative Saenuri Party were among those who supported a parliamentary motion to impeach Park over […]
Iran’s rial hit a record low against the U.S. dollar on Monday in a sign of concern about the country’s ability to attract foreign money after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump takes office. The rial was quoted in the free market at 41,500 to the dollar, weakening from around 41,250 on Sunday and 35,570 in mid-September. Before this month, the record low was about 40,000, hit in late […]
Cyanogen started with a grand dream: Create a commercially-supported, vendor-neutral Android-fork that anyone could use to keep their smartphones and tablets up to date. The vision went from grand to grandiose. In 2015, then Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster said, “We’re putting a bullet through Google’s head.” Not two years later, Cyanogen shut down its Android fork, CyanogenMod and its services. Android vendor Cyanogen is abandoning its operating […]
By Osamu Tsukimori | TOKYO TOKYO Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday in light pre-New Year holiday trading with markets adopting a wait-and-see stance less than a week before the first output cut deal agreed between OPEC and non-OPEC members in 15 years is scheduled to kick in. London Brent crude for February delivery LCOc1 was down 1 cents at $55.15 a barrel by 0335 GMT […]
BANGKOK Devotees of a Buddhist abbot suspected of money laundering barricaded entrances to their temple on Tuesday as more than 700 police assembled outside, preparing to raid the sprawling complex north of Bangkok. The Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple commands a huge following and is supported by influential Thai politicians and business folk, but critics say it exploits people and religion for money. Thailand’s attorney general said in […]
Chinese retail investors may be able to dream of Picasso while hanging share certificates on their walls. A Singapore-based Chinese billionaire investor, who this year acquired stakes in peer-to-peer group Lending Club, Legg Mason, the fund manager and Sotheby’s, has proposed “securitising” the artist’s work to create fractional ownership and tap a wider market in Asia. Chen Tianqiao and his wife Chrissy Luo, co-founders of investment group […]
Russia expanded its search on Monday for the remains of a military plane that crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 92 on board, and said pilot error or a technical fault – but not terrorism – were likely to have caused the tragedy. The plane, a Russian Defence Ministry TU-154, was carrying dozens of Red Army Choir singers and dancers to Syria to entertain Russian troops […]
The adoption of cloud technology, for an organisation like Jurlique, can have enormous business benefits, extending well beyond the bottom line. It can also extends into the workplace culture and brand perceptions. (via PCMag)
By Makiko Yamazaki | TOKYO TOKYO Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Tuesday it was considering booking a goodwill impairment loss of several hundreds of billion yen on a U.S. nuclear power acquisition made by its Westinghouse division, sending its stock plunging 10 percent. The loss would deal a yet another heavy blow to a sprawling conglomerate hoping to recover from a $1.3 billion accounting scandal last year. […]
ACE Hardware, the world’s largest hardware retail cooperative, is to open at First Avenue in Dubai’s Motor City, becoming its main anchor retail tenant. The retailer said in a statement that it will operate on the ground floor across an area of almost 6,500 sq ft. ACE stores sell a wide variety of hardware products to maintain and fix homes and businesses. “The pace of demographic growth […]
2016 was another fantastic year in mobile technology where we find people using their smartphones as their primary source of information and social interaction. I’ve been blessed to now write here on ZDNet for more than a decade and look forward to an exciting 2017. This year-end post includes my ten most viewed posts from 2016, some “best of” titles for this year, answers to last year’s […]
Dubai, 26 December, 2016, UAE Ajman Free Zone (AFZ) signed an investor partnership agreement with Dubai Quality Group (DQG) to activate fruitful cooperation between both parties to foster quality, business excellence, and innovation in the workplace. The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from both the organizations. The delegation from DQG was headed by Eng. Ahmed Al Mulla, Vice Chairman of DQG, who presented the Certificate […]
Sweet Homes Group has revealed plans for its first hotel apartment project in Ajman, valued at AED141 million ($38.3 million). The developer said the serviced apartments project will be located along Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed road. Once completed, the development will feature 272 studio units and 72 one-bedroom apartments across an area of 11,394 square metres. Expected to be completed in 2019, the hotel apartment will also […]
MILAN The European Central Bank has told Monte dei Paschi it needs to plug a capital shortfall of 8.8 billion euros ($9.2 billion), higher than a previous 5 billion euro gap estimated by the bank, the lender said on Monday, confirming what sources told Reuters. Last Friday the Italian government approved a decree to bail out Monte dei Paschi (BMPS.MI) after Italy’s No. 3 lender failed to […]
Infrastructure works for two new berths at King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City will be finished in the next few weeks, significantly boosting capacity. Berths 5 and 6 are part of the port’s expansion plan, which aims to significantly uprate the port’s capacity, thus boosting its standing in the maritime industry, both regionally and internationally, a statement said. “With the two new berths, […]
MOSCOW Russian state development bank VEB will post a loss of 130 billion roubles ($2.14 billion) this year, its chairman Sergei Gorkov said on Monday, less than an expected loss of 200 billion roubles. Speaking to reporters, Gorkov said VEB’s sale of American depository receipts, or ADRs, in Russian state gas company Gazprom GAZPI.UL this year had contributed 118 billion roubles to the overall loss. (Reporting by […]
Emirates airline has announced that it will operate the first ever commercial Airbus A380 flight to Morocco and North Africa, when it takes the iconic double decker aircraft to Casablanca on March 26, 2017. The airline’s flagship aircraft will replace the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft currently used on the Dubai-Casablanca route, offering increased seat capacity across all three cabin classes and an enhanced premium product experience. The switch […]
FRANKFURT European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann said plans for a state bailout of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) should be weighed carefully as many questions remain to be answered, according to German newspaper Bild. “For the measures planned by the Italian government the bank has to be financially healthy at its core. The money cannot be used to cover losses that are already […]
One may assume the life of a member of a Royal Family is easy, right? After all, members receive the “royal treatment” all year long. But the truth is royal families are just like all our families. Their lives can include controversy, scandal and some drama. And this year was no different. Whether it was relationship rumours, links to the Panama Papers scandal, tax fraud trials or […]
Well before India’s surprise ban on using 86 per cent of its cash supply, rightwing circles were abuzz with speculation about prime minister Narendra Modi taking such a step to fight so-called black money. Mainstream economists paid little heed to the chatter — deeming it “too preposterous” to take seriously, given the economic damage it would inflict. But with India now reeling from the acute cash crunch triggered […]
Saudi Arabia will resist plans to introduce a tax on expat remittances for now, according to Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, secretary general of the Financial Committee at the Royal Court. Saudi Arabia’s Shura council has discussed plans to impose a 2 to 6 percent tax on expat workers’ remittances, following a proposal submitted by former Shura council member Husam Al Angari. He proposed an initial tax of 6 percent […]
Kuwait, 26 December 2016 Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” and Gulf Bank announced in a joint statement the successful completion of “Markaz” 5 years bond issue with a nominal value of 25 Million Kuwaiti Dinar, which was oversubscribed. This extensive demand reflects the investors’ trust in “Markaz”, the quality of the issue, and the high creditworthiness of “Markaz,” in addition to the effectiveness of the joint distribution efforts […]
SEOUL The detained friend of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye, at the centre of a corruption scandal engulfing Park’s administration, said she was sorry on Monday when questioned by a special parliamentary committee, an opposition MP said. Choi Soon-sil, whom Park has said she turned to at difficult times, denied key allegations against her, including colluding with Park to pressure big businesses into paying money to […]
