“This step will strengthen the hands of the common man in the fight against corruption, black money and fake currency.” —Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For the first time, Indian patriot and defender of the common man, Narendra Modi, appears to be in over his head. Practically, the unintended (?) consequences are nothing short of a crushing blow to those his efforts are said to protect. The […]
Updated Nov. 25, 2016 8:52 p.m. ET The most valuable U.S. financial-technology startup is extending its lead. Stripe Inc., whose software is used by businesses to accept and track digital payments, will be valued at $9.2 billion in a new funding round that is being completed, the company said. That valuation, which includes roughly $150 million in new cash being raised, nearly doubles the privately held company’s […]
The Ras Al Khaimah Government has decided to amend maternity leave rules for working women, enabling them to take three months of fully paid leave. The move follows the directives of the UAE Gender Balance Council to strengthen the balance index between the sexes in government agencies, news agency WAM reported. The council was launched by Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed […]
By Sam Forgione | NEW YORK NEW YORK Key stock indexes on Wall Street swept to record intraday and closing highs on Black Friday thanks to gains in consumer staple and technology shares, while European stocks climbed and a stabilization in U.S. Treasury yields promoted investors to sell the dollar. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes, as well as the small cap Russell 2000 , hit […]
Chinese phone supplier Huawei has supplanted Samsung as the second most profitable smartphone brand globally in Q3 2016. Apple continues to remain atop the list, having enjoyed 91 percent of all smartphone profits this year. Huawei, meanwhile, enjoyed 2.4 percent of the pile, earning an estimated $200 million for smartphone sales during the aforementioned quarter. Huawei Places Second It should come as no surprise that Apple has […]
Vivendi has been pursuing a creeping strategy to takeover Ubisoft by way of its continued acquisition of Ubisoft stocks. The game company’s top executives have so far balked at this bid, stating that Ubisoft will never be the same if the French media conglomerate proved successful. Looming Vivendi Takeover The observers’ consensus is that Vivendi’s hostile takeover is a done deal despite claims that Ubisoft is doing its […]
Days before the hearing, Imran Khan, a former cricketer turned opposition party leader, called off a planned protest and organized instead a “thanksgiving” rally on Wednesday to celebrate the court’s decision to take over the Panama Papers commission. Thousands of Khan’s supporters reveled in the streets of Islamabad. Pakistani commentators and media gave differing accounts of the week’s events, with some declaring the cancellation of the protest […]
As Wall Street traders departed for Thanksgiving this week, they could celebrate a rare achievement. On Monday and Tuesday, the four most widely cited indices of US stocks — the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 — hit all-time highs simultaneously. The last time a “grand slam” happened was on New Year’s Eve 1999, at the height of the […]
Not many people know about the second floor café in Building 3 at Emaar Square. Dubbed “the digital café”, it serves great food, great coffee and of course has pretty decent Wi-Fi. It has a “google” feel to it. But when the history books of the Middle East digital revolution are one day written, chances are the café will get a chapter to itself. For the […]
Better access to low-interest funding could spur growth of East African Small & Medium Businesses JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 24, 2016 Small & Medium Businesses in East Africa should be looking at ways to maximise their efficiency and improve debt management to navigate the risks that high interest rates pose for their businesses. That’s the word from Billy Owino (https://Twitter.com/OwinoBill), Regional Director for Sage East Africa (www.Sage.com), […]
The host Toronto Argonauts and the league seemed to misread the market by setting ticket prices between $189 and $899. By October, when half the seats remained unsold, they slashed the prices of the lowest-cost seats to $89. Continue reading the main story A sellout is now expected at the open-air stadium, which was expanded to about 35,000 seats for the game, thanks to a spike in […]
By Paul Arnold and Ludwig Burger | ZURICH/FRANKFURT ZURICH/FRANKFURT U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Friday it was in preliminary talks with Actelion (ATLN.S) about a potential takeover of Europe’s largest biotech firm, currently valued at about $20 billion. Lung disease specialist Actelion confirmed it had been approached and said there was no certainty a deal would occur. An acquisition of the Swiss company […]
The numbers involved in musical theatre are staggering, according to Nick Allott. His favourite statistic is this: The seven Harry Potter films — the most successful franchise ever — grossed a total of $13bn; the four most successful musicals — Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera – have garnered a whopping $16bn. “A lot of people don’t know that,” says the managing director […]
Last year Donald Trump ended his run of 14 seasons as the cocksure boss on The Apprentice to prepare for his improbable White House bid. Today, as the US president-elect, he is assembling his administration in a way that suggests a new show is in the offing: The Appointee. The billionaire showman has brought the spectacle of reality television to the task of choosing his top political […]
Beauty salons operating in Dubai have been told they must install automated cash registers by the end of February 2017 following complaints about price manipulation. The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) section of the Department of Economic Development (DED) said it has launched a campaign, named ‘e-Cashier’, aimed at enhancing transparency and protecting consumer rights. It said in a statement that the number of consumer complaints […]
By Nandita Bose and Siddharth Cavale Crowds were thin at U.S. malls and stores on Black Friday morning, formerly the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, and online channels were expected to show the strongest gains in sales over last year. Consumers’ greater interest in shopping online was reflected in glitches for the Macy’s Inc website, which was overwhelmed and forced many customers to wait to […]
Tata has replaced Cyrus Mistry as chairman of its steel subsidiary, as it seeks to reassert control over its operating companies in the midst of India’s biggest boardroom battle. In a statement to the Mumbai Stock Exchange, Tata Steel said that “in view of the current situation” its board had voted by a majority to replace Mr Mistry as chairman with immediate effect and elected Mr O […]
Oman’s tourism ministry has signed an agreement with Orascom Development Holding to build a new beachfront city complex. Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrizi, Minister of Tourism, signed the deal with Samih Sawaris, chairman of Orascom and Omani tourist firm Muriya, to develop City Walk. Set to be located in North Al Hail, the development comes as part of the continued collaboration between the Ministry and Muriya to […]
By Francesca Landini and Stephen Jewkes | MILAN MILAN France’s Amundi has submitted the highest offer to buy Italian UniCredit’s asset manager, Pioneer, while a consortium led by Poste Italiane and Ameriprise Financial are scrambling to stay in the race, three sources close to the matter said on Friday. Two of the sources also said that Australia’s Macquarie (MQG.AX) was practically out of the race because its […]
By Bernardo Vizcaino June 11 (Reuters) – United Insurance Company of Pakistan will seek shareholder approval to offer Islamic insurance (takaful) products, a month after regulators cleared the way for conventional firms to enter the sector. The regulatory change aims to increase insurance penetration in Pakistan, which remains the third-lowest in Asia. United Insurance will seek approval in an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday, allowing it to […]
A Malaysian businessman and his partner have been charged with orchestrating the single biggest fraud in the history of Singapore’s stock exchange, which wiped out S$8bn in value and triggered a lasting loss of investor confidence. Soh Chee Wen, also known as John Soh, faced charges in a Singapore court on Friday in relation to an alleged fraud in which three publicly listed stocks soared in valuation […]
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has hired HSBC to advise it on a potential purchase of a stake in ACWA Power, a developer and operator of power and water plants, sources close to the matter said. Riyadh-based ACWA Power has chosen JP Morgan to advise it on the process, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is not […]
Palestinian leaders were more wary. “I don’t personally know Jared Kushner and have never met him, but welcome the idea of having him assist in breaking the deadlock in the negotiations of the conflict,” said Amin Maqboul, secretary general of the revolutionary council of Fatah, the party that controls the Palestinian Authority. Continue reading the main story The extent of Mr. Kushner’s relationship with Israel is unclear. […]
BOSTON Activist shareholders plan a record number of resolutions focused on climate change at U.S. company annual meetings in 2017, even as President-elect Donald Trump looks set to loosen environmental regulations. Based on filings so far, U.S. companies are on track to face roughly 200 resolutions on climate matters at their shareholder meetings next year, according to Rob Berridge, who follows the subject for Ceres, a sustainability […]
