DUBAI // The Middle East needs more people like Dr Ismahane Elouafi. In fact, much of the world does. An expert in food and water security, she has a crucial role to play at a time when farmers across the region are increasingly struggling to grow crops in what is clearly a harsh climate. But the director general of the Dubai-based International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture relishes […]
Mario Draghi has declared victory against deflation and moved a step towards ending the European Central Bank’s ultra loose monetary policy, sending the euro and German bond yields higher as investors bet on the end of crisis-era stimulus measures. Facing growing pressure from monetary hawks in Germany, the ECB president said the bank decided to change its guidance to investors — omitting a reference to using all […]
By Shinichi Saoshiro | TOKYO TOKYO Asian stocks edged up and the dollar rose to 1-1/2-month highs versus the yen on Friday, ahead of the closely-watched U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later in the day. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 percent, taking cues from a modest bounce in Wall Street overnight. Japan’s Nikkei climbed more than 1 percent on the back of […]
New York and London are locked in a frantic race to be the main international listing venue for Saudi Arabia’s initial public offering of its state oil company, emerging as clear frontrunners in what is set to be the world’s biggest ever flotation. Executives from the New York Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange have held talks with Saudi Aramco, the state group valued at as much […]
China’s Uber rival Didi Chuxing announced that it has officially opened its first US-based research and development lab in Mountain View, California this week. Didi Labs will seek out engineering talent and focus on artificial intelligence (AI)-based security and intelligent driving technologies, according to a statement made by the company. Founder, chairman, and CEO of Didi Chuxing, Cheng Wei said the company’s vision is to build an […]
Oil prices were under intensifying pressure on Thursday, with the US West Texas Intermediate benchmark dipping below $49 a barrel for the first time since late November. The falls came after oil prices fell the most in more than a year over the previous session when US crude inventories climbed for a ninth straight week to a record high. Renewed concerns about a supply glut sent ripples […]
By Toby Sterling | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Dutch paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel NV (AKZO.AS) rejected a 21 billion euro ($22 billion) bid from larger U.S. rival PPG Industries Inc (PPG.N) on Thursday, saying instead it wanted to “unlock value” by spinning off its chemicals business. PPG’s unsolicited offer comes just days before an election where the vulnerability of the biggest Dutch companies to foreign takeover has […]
The tour to the city included a special preview on the first ever complete model of the Sustainable City to be showcased at the Future Cities Show 2017 Dubai, 9 March 2017: The UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi visited ‘The Sustainable City’ – the region’s first sustainable and integrated project and the first residential project in Dubai that produces clean energy, […]
Thursday 14:30 GMT Overview The euro is firmer and Bund yields are trundling higher with Treasuries after the European Central Bank stood pat on interest rates and indicated it was not looking to ease policy further. Oil prices tried to rally but have resumed their sell-off, putting energy stocks under pressure and weighing on equity benchmarks. Hot topic (1) After a period when politicians seemed to rule […]
By Jessica DiNapoli and Makiko Yamazaki | NEW YORK/TOKYO NEW YORK/TOKYO U.S. nuclear firm Westinghouse Electric Co LLC has hired bankruptcy attorneys, in a sign that owner Toshiba Corp (6502.T) is more seriously weighing a Chapter 11 filing as an option to help it rein in a multibillion dollar financial maelstrom. People familiar with the matter said the nuclear engineering company had brought in law firm Weil […]
Oil prices were back under pressure on Thursday, with the West Texas Intermediate benchmark falling under $50 for the first time since December. The falls came after oil prices fell the most in more than a year over the previous session when US crude inventories climbed for the ninth straight week to a record high. Renewed concerns about a supply glut sent ripples through the currency market […]
By Jonathan Barrett and Aaron Bunch | SYDNEY SYDNEY Notices in several languages emblazoned with the symbol of the skull and crossbones caution against the risk of being swept off the rocks at Maroubra Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. But the warnings were not enough to prevent Nepali university students Shristi Bhandari, 23, and Sudeep Uprety, 26, from walking beside an ocean pool towards a rocky ledge […]
By Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Democrats mounted a fierce uphill battle on Wednesday to thwart a Republican plan backed by President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, even as the legislation also drew fire from a top medical group and dissatisfied conservatives. Two House of Representatives committees began debating the bill and considering amendments two days after it was unveiled by […]
VIENNA The U.N. nuclear agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors on Wednesday backed the agency’s chief, Yukiya Amano, for a third term as director general after he ran unopposed on a platform of continuity in dealing with issues like Iran’s nuclear programme. Amano, a 69-year-old career diplomat from Japan, has headed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2009, including the years leading up to Iran’s nuclear agreement […]
“Talk is cheap, implementation is difficult,” said Fadel Gheit, a senior oil company analyst at Oppenheimer & Company. “They will have to recreate books that never existed.” Photo Khalid A. al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister and chairman of Saudi Aramco, speaking at a conference in Houston on Tuesday. Credit Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle, via Associated Press As a prize, there are fewer bigger than Saudi Aramco. The Saudis […]
A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it will ask lawmakers to investigate whether billionaire investor Carl Icahn should have been subject to lobbying disclosure laws when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program. Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard by shifting the burden of […]
07 March 2017 Dubai, UAE – The board of Dragon Oil, a subsidiary of Dubai-government owned ENOC Group, appointed industry veteran Ali Rashid Al-Jarwan as the new Chief Executive Officer. His appointment to Dragon Oil comes close on the heels of the new board of directors being appointed in January this year. The new head takes over from His Excellency Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, ENOC, […]
SYDNEY Climate change was responsible for breaking more than 200 Australian weather records over the past three months, researchers said on Wednesday, a glimpse of conditions to come that will likely threaten energy security and agriculture. Much of Australia’s east coast endured its hottest summer on record, the independent Climate Council said, while torrential rain in Western Australia caused flash flooding. The sort of unseasonable conditions seen […]
Here are the big questions set to frame a new trading week for markets. How frothy are equity and junk bond valuations looking?Another record-breaking week for equities and a red hot reception for the Snap initial public offering is not the only sign of investor optimism running wild. Junk bond spreads — the premium investors demand to hold the bonds over Treasury yields — are heading towards […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 8, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Aarti Jhurani rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Al Ain Heritage event Register […]
Writing is a process – a set of predictable, repeatable steps in the journey to the finished work. While there are probably as many processes are there are writers, here are some of the identifiable steps. Explore: All good writers express a form of curiosity, a sense that something is going on out there. See your world as a storehouse of story ideas. Gather: Writers collect words, […]
VIENNA U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration pledged on Tuesday to show “great strictness” over restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities imposed by a deal with major powers, but gave little indication of what that might mean for the agreement. The 2015 deal between Iran and six major powers restricts Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Trump has called […]
ABU DHABI // Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed has told Emirati youth to think beyond expectations of “comfortable” government jobs and prepare to compete with the rest of the world. “If you want to participate in shaping the future then you need to stop thinking of a government job,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said. “No other country in the region supports youth-led projects like […]
The biggest impact investing deal to ever see the light of day — that is how a fascinating new hedge fund deal is being touted. Impact investing is the practice of trying to make a measurable, positive societal impact as well as making a financial return on your money. The US hedge fund Mariner Investment Group reckons it has found a way to turn an investment of about $150m into […]
