Bahrain is the GCC country economically most at risk from the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates last week, new research claims. The Fed’s 25 basis points hike in interest rates will add to liquidity pressures already experienced by the Bahraini economy, while doing little to mitigate inflationary pressures as these mostly reflect subsidy cuts, according to a report by BMI Research. Meanwhile, further hikes […]
By David Morgan | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A top aide to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign said on Sunday it was an “open question” whether President-elect Donald Trump’s advisers colluded with Russia to hack into Democratic Party emails to try to sway the Nov. 8 election. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said there was evidence that Trump associates had contact with a Russian intelligence official and the website Wikileaks […]
Iran has shown commitment to the deal on its nuclear programme agreed with world powers, the head of the United Nations atomic energy watchdog said on Sunday, following complaints by Tehran over what it calls a US violation of the accord. The White House said on Thursday that a bill extending US sanctions against Iran for 10 years would become law without President Barack Obama’s signature, adding […]
BERLIN Daimler (DAIGn.DE) does not expect Donald Trump to favor U.S. carmakers over their European counterparts, the carmaker’s chief executive told a German paper, shrugging off concerns over the president-elect’s protectionist rhetoric during his campaign. “I find it hard to believe that it would come to punitive tariffs,” Dieter Zetsche told Bild am Sonntag in an interview published on Sunday, adding he did not expect any negative […]
David Cameron began 2016 in 10 Downing Street and ended it at DePauw University in a small Indiana town, speaking for a reported £120,000 an hour. The former British prime minister is now paid almost as much for a 60-minute speech as he used to earn in a year, as he tries to make sense of his own historic failure: Brexit. Whatever he says now, Mr Cameron’s […]
Langham Hospitality Group has signed an agreement with Advanced Hotels Company to manage a luxury hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, it announced on Sunday. The Langham, Jeddah is located within the downtown district of the city, directly opposite a new shopping complex and with a 360-degree view of the city and the corniche. The hotel will have 239 rooms and 39 suites, as well as an opulent […]
TOKYO Nissan Motor Co (7201.T), Renault SA (RENA.PA) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) will combine their electric vehicle platforms in an effort to slash prices down to levels comparable to conventional gasoline cars, the Nikkei newspaper said. The strategy comes as auto giants Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) are also aiming to mass-produce battery electric vehicles amid tightening emissions and fuel-economy regulations around the […]
Apple’s competitors have clearly got a bit of an obsession with the MacBook Air. Following the ASUS ZenBook UX330UA, which blatantly copied the fruity ultraportable’s design, Acer has now released the TravelMate X349-M, a more affordable alternative with a similarly familiar look about it. With prices starting at less than £600 (inc. VAT), the TravelMate X349 inevitably lacks some of the finer features and superior performance of […]
A series of big events shaped financial markets in 2016. Here is a selection of FT analyses and commentary, alongside charts, highlighting a tumultuous year. The new year rout January proved brutal for investors. After just 10 trading days, global equity markets had lost more than $4tn of value, with sentiment hammered by fears about China’s economic slowdown and a depreciating currency. In turn, bond markets were […]
In pictures: Christmas celebration kicks off in Lebanon Source link
By Stanley White and Izumi Nakagawa | TOKYO TOKYO Japanese workers put up with long hours and unpaid overtime under pressure from cost-saving companies, and figures from government, which wants more money in workers’ pockets to boost consumer spending, appear to underestimate the problem. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is trying to enact labor reforms as part of his “Abenomics” plan to end decades of stagnant growth and […]
Venezuelans are bracing for Christmas without cash after the country’s highest denomination banknote was withdrawn from circulation with new larger bills not due until January, as many fear that the country is spiralling towards hyperinflation. Embattled President Nicolás Maduro this week announced plans to scrap the ubiquitous 100 bolívar bill, which makes up about half the country’s banknotes but is increasingly worthless as annual inflation is forecast […]
Our round-up of the week’s best comment and analysis from the Financial Times focuses on expectations of a Trump-presidency stimulus and the danger of complacency. The selection is taken from our Markets Insight and Smart Money columns, written by industry contributors and FT commentators. Wall Street might be too complacent about Donald Trump’s corporate tax stimulus and are not pricing in an upsurge in volatility, argues the […]
1 of 15 Fancy something fancy? We pay a visit to 14 of the city’s snazziest afternoon teas to scope out scones, sandwiches and smooth brews. 2 of 15 Al Fayrooz Lounge Rating: 4/5Most impressive item: Mango soufflé with blackcurrant sorbet.There’s a very traditional feel to this afternoon tea, with old-fashioned ceiling fans and a plush Arabesque lounge setting, but the tea itself has a modern twist; […]
Authored by Paul Craig Roberts, This article by Moon of Alabama is not conspiracy theory: Read it carefully. Check out the links. The below theses are thus far only a general outlay… There is an “elite” coup attempt underway against the U.S. President-elect Trump. The coup is orchestrated by the camp of Hillary Clinton in association with the CIA and neoconservative powers in Congress. The plan is […]
(Image: file photo) An advisor working for financial planning giant Ameriprise has inadvertently exposed hundreds of investment portfolios, worth tens of millions of dollars. The data was found on an internet-connected backup drive at the advisor’s home, which was set to synchronize over the internet with his primary backup drive at his office. But neither drive had a password, allowing anyone to view sensitive client data. The […]
Facebook on Thursday unveiled a multi-part plan to fight fake news that includes teaming up with fact-checkers in the United States to cut down on the reach of bogus stories. The plan (which Poynter’s International Fact-checking Network is involved with) represents the first time Facebook has given fact-checkers the ability to verify news on its platform, and comes after months of public debate about the social media […]
By Corina Pons and Andrew Cawthorne | CARACAS CARACAS Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suspended on Saturday the elimination of the country’s largest denomination bill, which had sparked cash shortages and nationwide unrest, saying the measure would be postponed until early January. The surprise pulling of the 100 bolivar note from circulation this week – before new larger bills were available – led to vast lines at banks, […]
US planemaker Boeing is working to resolve certain issues with IranAir to finalise a $16.6 billion aircraft deal, and the manufacturer plans to commence the the first delivery in 2018, a senior company official told Arabian Business. The deal for 80 Boeing passenger jets, announced on Sunday, includes 50 narrow-body 737 MAX aircraft and 30 long-haul 777s, split equally between the 777-300ER, and the 406-seat 777-9, which […]
By David Stanway | PINGDINGSHAN, China PINGDINGSHAN, China China has ordered state firms to smash the decades-old system of providing cradle-to-grave welfare support, known as the country’s “iron rice bowl”. But the order, part of a plan to reduce financial pressure on bloated and heavily indebted state-owned enterprises (SOEs), is likely to be easier said than done as cities navigate the social and financial wrenches the changes […]
The Volcani Center, the Ministry of Agriculture’s research organization, is building a national institute for medical marijuana research. The chief scientist’s office of the Ministry of Economy has infused millions of shekels into innovative marijuana companies, much as government investment helped fuel the Israeli tech boom in the 1990s. The government is also setting standards for the cultivation, storage and use of medical marijuana. Continue reading the […]
(Image: Uber) Uber will continue operating its Volvo self-driving cars on San Francisco, California streets, despite repeated warning from state regulators the ride-hailing service doesn’t have proper permits to do so. In a letter obtained by the Associated Press, California’s Department of Justice said “the attorney general will seek injunctive and other appropriate relief,” if Uber doesn’t get the special permit to allow for self-driving vehicles. The […]
Settling into an interview with Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, the man in charge of luring foreign investors to Sharjah, it becomes evident that both tensions and ties bond the emirate with neighbouring Dubai. On the one hand Sharjah is cast into the shadows, often overlooked by businesses and visitors. On the other hand, the bigger brother’s international standing is helping the emirate of 1.5 million people […]
It was a clear and chilly afternoon in Moscow – March 18, 2014 – when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the documents to formally annex the Crimean Peninsula away from Ukraine. Frustrated Western governments soon began rolling out the only response they could agree on to Mr. Putin’s brazen redrawing of Europe’s borders: economic sanctions. Over the next two days, the United States would designate 27 individuals […]
