SAN FRANCISCO Google Inc (GOOGL.O) announced a surprise overhaul of its operating structure on Monday, creating a holding company called Alphabet to pool its many subsidiaries and separate the core web advertising business from newer ventures like driverless cars. The move appeared to be an attempt by the search engine giant to focus on its more creative and ambitious projects, while investors cheered the potential for more […]
A BMW i3 electric car is seen during the opening of the 85th International Motor Show in Geneva March 5, 2015. Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann/Files VIENNA The chief executive of BMW (BMWG.DE) hinted in a German paper that there was potential for another of its “i” electric car models. “Between the i3 and the i8, there is space if you look at it from the number point of view,” […]
Protesters in Baghdad on Friday. High temperatures have made the lack of reliable electricity a bigger political issue than usual. By ANNE BARNARD August 1, 2015 BAGHDAD — In the Iraqi summer, when the temperature rises above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, electricity becomes even more of a political issue than usual. This past week, at the top of Iraqis’ agenda, it has even eclipsed war with the Islamic State. The […]
FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO BMW (BMWG.DE) and Apple (AAPL.O) may rekindle a courtship put on hold after an exploratory visit by executives of the world’s top maker of electronic gadgets to the headquarters of the word’s biggest seller of premium cars. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook went to BMW’s headquarters last year and senior Apple executives toured the carmaker’s Leipzig factory to learn how it manufactures the i3 electric […]
|By Matein Khalid|So Pearson PLC has sold the FT Group (with its flagship Financial Times newspaper) to Japan’s Nikkei Inc for $1.32 billion. Pearson will use the cash proceeds to increase its investment in education publishing businesses in the US and Canada, now 75% of revenues. This deal is a milestone in the history of newspaper publishing and my own life as an investor/financial journalist. I discovered […]
ABU DHABI // Petrol prices across the country were today increased from Dh1.72 per litre of Special 95 to Dh2.14, an increase of 23.6 per cent. The revised price for Super 98 has been set at Dh2.25 and E Plus at Dh2.07. The price of diesel is set at Dh2.05, a 29 per cent drop from its previous price of Dh2.90. These prices come into effect on […]
People talk in front of a Baidu’s company logo at Baidu’s headquarters in Beijing January 16, 2014. Reuters/Jason Lee Baidu Inc’s (BIDU.O) quarterly profit missed analysts’ estimates as China’s biggest Internet search company spent heavily to diversify away from its core search advertising business, which is becoming less profitable and more competitive. Baidu’s shares fell more than 8 percent in extended trading on Monday after the company’s […]
July 27, 2015 Observatory By SINDYA N. BHANOO Farming may have originated 23,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers discovered a large number of seeds at an ancient hunter-gatherer site known as Ohalo II on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Many of the seeds had scars, a mark that distinguishes domesticated species from wild […]
Last week’s Carspotters’ Challenge focused around the Golden Gate Bridge on the West coast. I threw a question out there it if the commute ever got old and readers responded with a resounding ‘no’ plus explanation. Inspired by it, I now give you the East coast version Aside from no then/now photos, this time the bridge is unknown, at least to me, and NYC has a lot […]
Delegates arrives for a special meeting of the General Council Preparatory Committee on Trade Facilitation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva November 27, 2014. Reuters/Denis Balibouse/Files GENEVA The World Trade Organization finalised a list of 201 information technology products to be freed from import tariffs in a $1.3 trillion deal on Friday, but said it was still short of the critical mass of countries […]
The United Arab Emirates said it would let domestic fuel prices move more freely in a politically sensitive reform that could save the government billions of dollars and begin reducing the wealthy country’s love of gas-guzzling cars with big engines. Gasoline and diesel will be deregulated from Aug. 1 and a new pricing policy linked to global levels will be introduced, state news agency WAM quoted the […]
ABU DHABI // Drivers of silver taxis are crying foul over what they call unfair competition from unlicensed cabs offering cheaper fares. Taxi drivers are under immense pressure to meet their targets, often working 12 to 14 hours every day. They say the increasing number of uninsured and unregulated cabs has made it harder for the city’s 10,000 drivers to find customers. Owners of private vehicles are […]
A Google self-driving vehicle is parked at the Computer History Museum after a presentation in Mountain View, California May 13, 2014. Reuters/Stephen Lam/Files DETROIT One of Google Inc’s self-driving cars was involved in an accident early in July, in which three employees were injured when a vehicle equipped with Google technology was rear-ended by another vehicle, the company said. Several employees suffered minor whiplash in the July […]
How long would it take to lose the novelty of driving through the Golden Gate Bridge every day? Click here for bigger version. If one would get tired of the view, would one start looking at the cars instead? What do you see, then and now? –Tigerstrypes References: http://rogerwilkerson.tumblr.com and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge Posted in Car Lust, Car Spotting, Convertibles, Economy Cars, Everyday Iron, Family Sedans, Luxury, Personal Luxury, […]
Tonight we here in the US of A bid a fond farewell to Top Gear when the last show featuring the trio of Jeremy “The Orangutan” Clarkson, Richard “The Hamster” Hammond, and James “Captain Slow” May airs on BBC America. I’m sure I don’t need to go into the details about how their run on the show came to an end, but there was some doubt whether […]
DUBAI // Police have ended burglary sprees in which two gangs stole Dh15 million worth of jewellery and other goods from 36 homes around the UAE. Seven Colombians, a Mexican and an American were caught this month and accused of burgling houses in Jumeirah, Emirates Hills, Al Safa, Al Rashidiya and Arabian Ranches, and homes in other emirates. “The gangs would target homes whose residents were on […]
Prices for German luxury cars in China are tumbling as the country’s stock market sell-off and worries about broader economic growth chill demand for auto brands that once commanded price premiums from affluent Chinese consumers. At Mercedes-Benz stores operated by a dealer group with nearly 200 multiple brand outlets, customer traffic at showrooms has dwindled markedly since mid-June, when a stock market slide that saw indexes plunge by […]
|By Matein Khald| During the 2008 post-Lehman financial meltdown, home prices in Dubai fell by 60-70 per cent and a generation of offplan flippers and leveraged investors/buyers (a mortgage, by definition, is a highly leveraged and speculative financial product. There is a reason the word “mortgage” derives from the French “mort” or death!) were wiped out. However, the Arab Spring, global liquidity and the successful debt restructuring […]
DETROIT Google Inc has begun testing its self-driving cars in Austin, Texas, expanding efforts to gather information on how the prototypes interact with traffic, road conditions and people, the company said early Tuesday. Google has been testing self-driving prototypes since 2009, mainly around its Silicon Valley headquarters in Mountain View, California. Google is sending a second specially equipped Lexus RX450h prototype this week to Austin. Last month, […]
SAN FRANCISCO When it comes to dashboard displays that are more like smart phones, two things are clear: Customers want them, and automakers are intent on supplying them. But are they really a good idea? Car companies answer with an emphatic yes. They say outsized dashboard displays that behave more like smart phones will boost revenue and attract buyers. And they also insist the new screens will […]
A Google self-driving vehicle is parked at the Computer History Museum after a presentation in Mountain View, California May 13, 2014. Reuters/Stephen Lam/Files REUTERS – Delphi Automotive PLC on Friday offered a new description of an encounter on a California road between one of its prototype self-driving cars and a self-driving vehicle operated by Google Inc, saying “the vehicles didn’t even come close to each other.” The […]
A Google self-driving vehicle is parked at the Computer History Museum after a presentation in Mountain View, California May 13, 2014. Reuters/Stephen Lam SAN FRANCISCO Google Inc (GOOGL.O) said on Thursday it had started testing the latest prototypes of its self-driving cars on Mountain View, California roads, with safety drivers aboard. The prototypes will join Google’s Lexus cars, which use the same self-driving software, the company said […]
A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw in this February 28, 2013 illustration file picture. Reuters/Kacper Pempel/Files SAN FRANCISCO The Chinese hacking group suspected of stealing sensitive information about millions of current and former U.S. government employees has a different mission and organizational structure than the military hackers who have been accused of other U.S. data breaches, according to people familiar with the matter. While […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamic State fighters are preventing fuel shipments from reaching rebel-held parts of northern Syria, causing severe shortages that are paralyzing ambulances, stopping medical centers from providing care and shutting down bakeries, according to antigovernment activists and aid workers. Adding to the misery, international aid groups said, the forces of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, are targeting medical centers in opposition areas, killing some workers and […]
