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UAE. A new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy, delves into the challenges faced by Exploration & Production (E&P) companies here in the GCC region. The fact is, these are trying times for E&P companies globally. Following more than a decade of strong financial returns, the industry has experienced several difficult years caused […]

UAE. MENA’s digital market value is expected to reach US$35 billion in 2015, and overall digitization initiatives could add $820 billion to regional GDP, creating 4.4 million jobs by 2020. However, this rapid digitization and the resources of the region make MENA an attractive target for a wide array of cyber-threats, according to a study by Strategy&. The Strategy& study looks into national cyber-security efforts by the […]

In a memo to employees on Thursday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spelled out his mission for the company: “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” Microsoft will also aim to “reinvent” productivity and business processes, build an intelligent cloud platform and create a more personal computing experience for its users, he said. Nadella’s vision statement comes just a week after the […]

GCC construction … buoyant. GCC construction sector in major growth phase DUBAI, 1 days ago The GCC construction industry foresees growth for the next three years, encouraged by factors such as favourable macroeconomics, positive demographics, and rising tourism activities, said an industry expert. “Higher budget allocation towards construction sector, as part of the strategic vision of the member nations, lends an added push to the industry,” added […]

UAE. The UAE has emerged No. 5 in the KPMG 2015 Change Readiness Index behind Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Norway in terms of its enterprise capability, government capability and people and civil society capability according to a recent study by KPMG International and Oxford Economics. The index ranked 127 countries for their capacity to prepare for and respond to accelerating change brought about by natural disasters, […]

UAE. Female CIOs expect to increase their budgets by 2.4 percent in 2015, whereas male CIOs report average increases of just 0.8 percent, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. The worldwide survey included responses from 2,810 CIOs, representing more than $397 billion in CIO IT budgets in 84 countries. Among the respondents to the 2015 Gartner CIO Agenda survey, 13.6 percent were women. “For a second […]

As the civil war in Yemen continues, many families say they are living in constant fear. Parents say that their older children have been wetting their beds at night, and that younger ones are so traumatized that they are sent running for cover by the sound of a door slamming. The fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces has displaced a million people, destroyed cultural heritage […]

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The wrap up of DockerCon on Tuesday also marked the ushering in of a new era for the convention’s namesake company and the containerization ecosystem in general. One visible, real-world sign of the shift came when Docker founder and CTO Solomon Hykes and CoreOS CEO Alex Polvi met on stage to shake hands and announce the launch of the Open Container Project. Being led by the Linux […]

Are you ready for another PC on a stick? Lenovo this week joined a handful of companies that have come out with this concept by releasing the Ideacentre Stick 300. The portable gadget works with any HDMI-compatible device, which means it can be plugged it into a flat-screen TV — or provide ultra-portable computing power to road warriors in hotel rooms or any location where there’s a […]

Redmond rolled out Office for Android-powered tablets in January. Now, Microsoft is finally releasing Office apps for the Android phone. That means if you’re using a Samsung, LG, HTC or some other Android smartphone you can tap into the power of Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps on the run. All you have to do is download them from the Google Play store. Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president […]

A BlackBerry Passport smartphone is shown at its official launching event in Toronto, September 24, 2014. Reuters/Aaron Harris/Files WATERLOO, Ontario BlackBerry (BB.TO) shares fell on Tuesday as doubts surfaced about the sustainability of the sharp growth the former smartphone pioneer reported in crucial software revenues, an area BlackBerry’s CEO said he will augment via acquisitions. The company’s shares were down 3.5 percent in afternoon trading. They had […]

UAE. While Standard & Poor’s expects somewhat of a correction in the UAE’s residential real estate market after three years of sharp price appreciation–it should be nothing on the order that led to the Dubai crisis in 2009. After reaching a peak in 2014, the property market in the United Arab Emirates is set to soften in 2015 and early 2016. The market is facing a turnaround […]

UAE. The latest Crédit Agricole Private Banking research report, ‘Macro Comment – MENA Update’, noted that the UAE and Saudi Arabia continues to witness growth despite lower oil prices. The UAE even recorded high levels of job creation during this period.  “Interestingly in the UAE, once again new orders and new export orders components reflected strong growth, while job creation hit a three-month high. This is reflected […]

Many reporters have developed an ad hoc system of using Google-related tools in their work. Now the tech giant wants to consolidate those tools and make them easier for journalists to use. On Monday, the company announced the launch of a new site called News Lab, which intends to connect journalists with programs, data and other resources — all from Google — to help in their reporting. […]

The downturn in the helicopter will likely last18 to 24 months, say experts. Helicopter makers upbeat despite slump PARIS, 17 hours, 21 minutes ago Top US and European helicopter executives said this week that the oil price-led commercial helicopter market slump would be temporary and that they will keep investing in new technologies given the sector’s positive long-term outlook. The downturn will likely last 18 to 24 […]

|By TAP Staff| Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) secured a $1.5 billion term debt syndicated facility from local, regional and international banks. The nine year USD and AED financing was fully underwritten by Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreqbank, Noor Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. In the syndicated market, the deal was well supported and oversubscribed where additional 14 […]

WASHINGTONSurging investment by Chinese companies in U.S. research labs is yielding a fast-growing trove of patents, part of a push to mine America for ideas to help China shift from being the world’s factory floor to a driver of innovation. Largely absent from American research hubs a decade ago, Chinese firms including Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp are now using U.S. researchers to create patents ranging from […]

Saudi leaders, whose portraits are displayed at the stock exchange in Riyadh, have not confirmed the leak’s authenticity. By BEN HUBBARD June 20, 2015 BEIRUT, Lebanon — It seems that everyone wants something from Saudi Arabia. Before becoming the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi wanted visas to take his family on a religious pilgrimage. A Lebanese politician begged for cash to pay his bodyguards. Even the state news agency […]

Guards stand near an entrance to Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, May 18, 2015. Reuters/John Ruwitch/Files BEIJING China will increase support for cross-border e-commerce as the world’s second-largest economy shifts from manufacturing to higher-value services, the government said. China’s e-commerce industry has been booming in recent years, with companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and JD.com Inc benefiting from a rising middle class with more […]

Non-oil to drive ME economies to 5pc growth DUBAI, 3 days ago Middle Eastern economies are anticipated to witness around five per cent growth this year due to the gradual shift in investment to non-oil sectors, a report said. However, implementing pragmatic macroeconomic policies to stabilise global oil prices at $50 to $60 per barrel is likely to remain a key challenge to revenue growth, added the […]

KUWAIT.  Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kuwait’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘AA’ with a Stable Outlook. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at ‘AA+’ and the Short-term foreign currency IDR at ‘F1+’. KEY RATING DRIVERS Kuwait’s ratings reflect its exceptionally strong fiscal and external position, balanced against a heavily oil-dependent economy, a degree of geopolitical risk, and weak scores on measures of […]

AT&T Chairman and CEO Michael Armstrong (L) shakes hands withComcast Chairman Ralph Roberts (C) and his son, Comcast President Brian Roberts, before a press conference to announce the merger of AT&T Broadband with Comcast, in New York, in this file photo taken December 20,… Reuters/Peter Morgan/Files Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) founder and prominent cable industry executive Ralph Roberts died on Thursday at the age of 95, the company […]

A second cache of 276,394 documents stolen from Sony Pictures Entertainment — possibly by hackers in North Korea — was posted online Thursday by the not-for-profit media organization WikiLeaks. Posted on the third anniversary of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange’s asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the latest Sony documents include confidential memos from executives on coming films, notes on IT strategies, financial forecasts and movie marketing […]

Hewlett-Packard offered up a slew of new laptops on Friday, including the Pavilion x2 tablet-notebook hybrid that features a magnetic hinge so it can easily transform from notebook to tent mode to stand mode. The Envy notebooks, meanwhile, promise longer battery life and a new curved profile. “Customers want devices that are portable without sacrificing battery life or power,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, […]

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