A wave of about 25 African, European and South American countries is set to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank this year, reinforcing Beijing’s determination to push a global agenda even as US President Donald Trump rails against the ills of economic globalisation. Jin Liqun, president of the AIIB, said on Monday that an expanded membership would help boost lending by the $100bn multilateral organisation, which […]
Scientists have introduced a new way to increase energy efficiency of metal-air batteries. (via WSJ)
23 January 2017 Foursan Group, a leading Middle Eastern private equity firm, announced today the successful exit by its fund, Foursan Capital Partners (“FCP”), of its investment in Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank (“JDIB”), a premier Islamic banking institution listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. FCP was the second largest shareholder of JDIB and sold its stake to Bank Al-Etihad, a leading, publicly-listed financial services institution, realizing a […]
Proscient to provide Process Safety and Operational Risk Management System (PSORMS) capabilities to reduce risk, improve productivity and lower costs Proscient to provide Process Safety and Operational Risk Management System (PSORMS) capabilities to reduce risk, improve productivity and lower costs Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 23 January 2017 Petrotechnics, the developer of Proscient – the hazardous industries’ first software platform for Operational Excellence – has been selected by Accenture […]
In my 35 years covering the tech market, I have heard from executives—over and over—how their inventions will change the world. And while at times, this is true—the semiconductor, PC, and smartphone come to mind—I have been wondering lately if Silicon Valley should take stronger aim at solving the world’s major healthcare dilemmas. On cancer, Silicon Valley has been pretty active already. Nvidia, for example, […]
The discovery of a new type of quantum phase transition has been announced by researchers. This unique transition happens at an elastic quantum critical point, or QCP, where the phase transition isn’t driven by thermal energy but instead by the quantum fluctuations of the atoms themselves. (via WSJ)
Doha Bank, Qatar’s fifth-largest lender by assets, reported a 84.8 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday, according to Reuters calculations, missing analyst expectations. The bank earned a net profit of 35 million riyals ($9.61 million) in the three months to Dec. 31 against 231.4 million riyals in the same period of the previous year, Reuters calculations showed, using financial statements in lieu of a quarterly […]
Samsung’s 8-point battery safety check. Samsung has unveiled the results of its inquiry into why its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphones began exploding shortly after launch, and the company has put in place measures to stop this happening again. All of this is welcomed, but it needs to be put into perspective – lithium ion batteries used in smartphones, tablets, laptops, and countless other devices have an […]
By Naveen Thukral | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil ticked lower on Monday, falling for the first time in three sessions as prospects of rising U.S. production weighed on the market. U.S. energy companies last week added the most rigs drilling for new production in almost four years. Drillers added 29 rigs in the week to Jan. 20, bringing the total count up to 551, the most since November […]
Abu Dhabi’s government merged two of its top investment funds on Saturday to strengthen their financial clout in an era of low oil prices, creating a company with assets totalling about $125 billion. The new fund, Mubadala Investment Co, was formed by merging Mubadala Development Co and International Petroleum Investment Co, which own corporate stakes in the energy industry and other sectors across the world. The new […]
H.E Bin Shafar: “Empower boosted cooperation with many international energy companies at the summit” Abu Dhabi, UAE, 22 January 2017 Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (EMPOWER), the world’s largest district cooling service provider, successfully concluded its participation in the 10th World Future Energy Summit (WFES), as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017, which was held from 16th to 19th January at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre Empower team […]
Like cosmic lighthouses sweeping the universe with bursts of energy, pulsars have fascinated and baffled astronomers since they were first discovered 50 years ago. In two studies, international teams of astronomers suggest that recent images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory of two pulsars — Geminga and B0355+54 — may help shine a light on the distinctive emission signatures of pulsars, as well as their often perplexing geometry. […]
In one of the first international phone conversations by the new US president since his inauguration, Israel PM Netanyahu is set to call Trump on Sunday afternoon: the civil war in Syria, the Palestinians and the nuclear agreement with Iran will be on the agenda Netanyahu told his weekly Cabinet meeting. PM Netanyahu: This evening there will be a telephone conversation between President Trump and myself. — […]
MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is sending a cabinet-level delegation to Beijing this week to meet with China’s Vice Premier Wang Yang and other top Chinese officials to discuss investment deals and his country’s chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year. The January 23-24 trip by Philippine officials includes Duterte’s finance, budget, economic, public works and transport secretaries, according to a […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. The aura of numbers-crunching superstar Nate Silver was diminished by Donald Trump’s victory. He was seen as among the many missing the boat. Old media chortled at stumbling by a paragon of big data. Now comes Silver’s pre-inaugural revenge. He […]
Energy ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC countries meeting in Vienna on Sunday have struck a positive note regarding their agreement to cut oil output as a committee set to monitor compliance with the deal meets for the first time. “I am satisfied, I am optimistic and, as I said, the markets are on their way to rebalance and it’s happening,” Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said. Compliance […]
By Rania El Gamal and Vladimir Soldatkin | VIENNA VIENNA A committee of OPEC and non-OPEC countries responsible for monitoring compliance with a global agreement to reduce oil output is set to meet for the first time in Vienna on Sunday. The committee is expected to discuss how to best monitor compliance with the deal reached late last year as well as what level of compliance would […]
Bringing mobility into Germany’s transition to a new energy economy is a complex undertaking. While carmakers are developing more economical combustion engines and alternative drive systems, research establishments and companies are working on making more efficient use of vehicles. A new data logger simultaneously collects data from vehicles with combustion engines, electric drives, external sensors, and location data, and permits the development of new hybrid and electric […]
Beware the delusions of an aggravated man. Of all the fantasies perpetrated in Donald Trump’s joyless rant of an inaugural speech, none was more preposterous than the self-casting of the man in the golden elevator as Defender of the People. The president’s crusade for Joe and Jane Sixpack will commence with an immense tax cut for the rich and, should Family Sixpack have any pre-existing health problems […]
MEXICO CITY Mexican presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador plans to tour major U.S. cities in February, just as the current government embarks on negotiations with President Donald Trump that could determine the country’s economic future. “Enough of being passive,” Lopez Obrador’s leftist Morena party said in a statement. “We should put a national emergency plan in place to face the damage and reverse the protectionist policies […]
By Catherine Ngai and Liz Hampton | HOUSTON HOUSTON Commodities trader and investor TrailStone Group has purchased Cargill Inc’s gas and power trading group, three sources familiar with the deal said this week. The move, first reported by Sparkspread, comes amid a reshuffling in the power and natural gas industry as private equity firms and hedge funds pour into the space, filling a void left by banks […]
The sequel to the award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth was finally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival after its announcement in December 2016. The followup to the 2006 documentary was accepted with a standing ovation, and followed by rave reviews. Though the screening at the film festival is limited, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power is scheduled for a July 28 theater premiere. We may have to wait […]
While the year ahead could prove to be a bumpy one for global financial markets amid ongoing political and policy risks, there is reason for optimism over the outlook for stocks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Compared to 2016, a number of structural tailwinds should give investors greater confidence in MENA’s fundamentals. The implementation of major fiscal and capital market reform throughout the […]
As feminism has empowered women to become the best version of themselves, many Hollywood stars and other famous people have started to encourage their counterparts with different practices to achieve this goal. Recently, Gwyneth Paltrow’s website, Goop, started selling jade eggs for women’s vaginas. The website is created to be the ultimate beauty guide, according to the Goop editors, and Paltrow created her own online lifestyle magazine in […]
