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GAIL TO BUY 1/3 OF LNG SHIPS FROM INDIAN BUILDERS

New Delhi: GAIL (India), under a petroleum ministry directive, has decided to buy a third of the LNG ships it plans to acquire to ferry the fuel from the US to India, from Indian shipbuilders. Considering that the PSU, whose massive LNG imports from the US would start in 2017, has lined up investments to the tune of $7.6 billion for hiring the required specialised vessels, the move would give a big boost to the Indian shipbuilding industry.

Domestic players such as L&T and Pipavav are among the obvious beneficiaries of the decision, which is in line with the Modi government’s thrust on the domestic manufacturing sector. Although some analysts are doubtful about the feasibility of Indian ship makers meeting such huge demand g

Antimissile Systems for Passenger Jets?

Can jetliners protect themselves from missiles? As the rockets hitting Israel disrupt commercial carriers and investigators probe the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 – the question is swirling again in the aviation industry. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration early Thursday lifted a 24-hour-plus ban on American carriers flying into Tel Aviv, but not before the decision sparked a wider discussion about whether international carriers should fly […]

Amid Outcry Abroad, A Wealth of Backing In Israel for Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has so far not agreed to a broader cease-fire plan. By JODI RUDOREN July 26, 2014 JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is stuck between mounting international outcry over civilian casualties from his assault on the Gaza Strip and intensifying calls at home to finish the job he started. Several of his top ministers are pushing for a full takeover of […]

du expects network sharing by year-end

Du, the United Arab Emirates’ second biggest telecoms operator, expects to offer Internet-based phone calls and broadband services across the country before the year-end in a network sharing deal with rival Etisalat that has been in the works since 2009.  This network sharing agreement is an important step for du, which ended Etisalat’s domestic telecoms monopoly in 2007, but which has since been limited to newer areas […]

COMMERCE DEPARTMENT REBUTS DIPP, PUSHES FOR FTAs

NEW DELHI: Rebutting the department of industrial policy and promotion’s (DIPP) contention that import surges due to bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) harmed India’s manufacturing sector, the commerce department, part of the ministry to which the DIPP belongs, has said India needs to persist with the strategy of embracing such pacts to integrate itself more seamlessly to the world trade order.

In a letter to DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant, who has been vocal against FTAs and comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPAs), Rajeev Kher, his counterpart in the commerce department, said that instead of attacking (past) FTAs without any factual basis, it is better for the government to look ahead and use such partnerships for

RBI RAISES FII SUB-LIMIT IN GOVT BONDS BY $5 BN

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the foreign institutional investors’ (FIIs’) sub-limit in government bonds by $5 billion, after the existing $20-billion limit was almost exhausted. The move is expected to stabilise yields, volatile in the recent past. The overall limit for FII investment in government bonds has been kept unchanged at $30 bn. As a result on the rise in the sub-limit, that for long-term investors like insurance and pension funds will be reduced to $5 bn. RBI said the incremental investment limit of $5 bn shall be required to be invested in government bonds with a minimum residual maturity of three years. Besides, all future investment against the limit vacated, when the current investment by these foreign inve

SIX BANKS MAY GET `TOO BIG TO FAIL’ TAG

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has said that up to six banks will be designated as systemically important, or SIBs, for the domestic financial market and will need to have higher capital than their peers to prevent the financial system from collapsing if there is a crisis.

The central bank said it would now go about identifying these banks which are too big to fail and would release a list of names in August 2015, according to a report uploaded on its website on Tuesday evening.

State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank may be among the six, according to consultants and analysts. Banks falling in this category will have to set aside more capital per l

Middle East set to gain gold global market share

The Middle East will take a bigger share of gold demand as buyers from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates diversify investments and Dubai nears offering a contract for immediate delivery bullion. MKS (Switzerland) SA, a Geneva-based bullion trader and refiner, expanded into Dubai three years ago and employs 25 people there, with the gold trade an “important market,” said Frederic Panizzutti, chief executive […]

Poroshenko sworn in amid east Ukraine clashes

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a combative inaugural speech that Ukraine would not give up Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from it in March. “Crimea was, is, and will be Ukrainian,” Poroshenko said in an emotional address after his swearing-in on Saturday. He was greeted with a standing ovation. He stressed the unity of Ukraine, which is fighting a pro-Russian separatist uprising in the east, and said it […]

Russia and Ukraine discuss ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s president-elect Petro Poroshenko have discussed a ceasefire and other possible steps to de-escalate the crisis between their countries in a brief meeting in France, French officials said. The meeting hosted by French President Francois Hollande, before D-Day celebrations on Friday, took place as clashes continued in eastern Ukraine near a border crossing with Russia, killing at least 15 pro-Russian separatists overnight.   Putin and […]

Dubai tops global house price index

Dubai saw the steepest house price growth globally over the past year despite government cooling measures, Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index shows. House prices grew 27.7 percent over the 12 months to March 2014, the fastest pace among the 54 countries tracked on the index. However, house prices only climbed 3.4 percent in the first quarter, much slower than 9.2 percent growth in the same period […]

Relatives of Victims of Drone Strikes Drop Appeal

WASHINGTON — The relatives of three United States citizens killed in American drone strikes without trial, including Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric, have decided not to appeal a federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit they filed against Obama administration officials. The lawsuit sought unspecified damages against several top national security officials for the deaths from two drone strikes in Yemen in 2011; the victims also included […]

Prisoner Deal Puts President on Defensive

WASHINGTON — The White House argued on Tuesday that the “unique circumstances” presented by the opportunity to return Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl gave President Obama the authority to lawfully bypass a federal statute requiring the Pentagon to notify Congress a month before he transferred the five Taliban detainees necessary to complete the deal. But the White House was forced by turns to defend its decision not to notify Congress […]

At Least 120 Dead in Clashes in Yemen

A Shi’ite militant mans a checkpoint on a road in Yemen’s northwestern province of Omran, June 3, 2014. TEXT SIZE – + Reuters June 03, 2014 4:31 AM SANAA — At least 120 people were killed in northern Yemen on Monday in fighting between Shi’ite Muslim Houthi rebels and government forces before a ceasefire was agreed, a Yemeni official said on Tuesday. Ahmed al-Bekry, deputy governor of Omran […]

Deadly fighting erupts in Libya’s Benghazi

Heavy fighting is raging in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Sharia and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a former army general. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could be heard across the city, particularly coming from a special forces army base in a western suburb of Benghazi. At least seven people have died and […]

FBI probes billionaires for insider trading

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating possible insider trading involving billionaire investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler William Walters, a source familiar with the matter said. Federal investigators are looking into whether Mickelson and Walters may have traded illegally on private information provided by Icahn about his investments in public corporations, the source told Reuters, […]

Asian shares ride Wall Street optimism; dollar down

Asian shares edged higher on Friday, catching a lift from another record close on Wall Street, while the dollar groaned under the pressure of slumping U.S. yields. The S&P 500 index .SPX posted its third record closing high in four sessions, as investors shrugged off the first quarterly contraction of the U.S. economy in three years and focused on signs of a strengthening labor market. MSCI’s broadest […]

Suicide Bomber in Syria Was U.S. Citizen, Officials Say

WASHINGTON — A United States citizen working in Syria with a militant group backed by Al Qaeda conducted a suicide bombing there Sunday, in what is believed to be the first time an American has been involved in such an attack, American officials said Wednesday. The suicide attack first surfaced on Tuesday in Twitter messages from the Nusra Front, an Islamist extremist group in Syria aligned with […]

The equal partnership: female pioneers in the UAE urge women to play a role in society

ABU DHABI // Education, wise leadership and a fair constitution are the key reasons for women’s empowerment in the country. Female pioneers in politics say they are equal partners in UAE life and that is the reason for their success. Dr Nidhal Al Tenaiji, general manager at the Zayed Cultural Foundation and a former Federal National Council member, said the huge development of the UAE in a […]

Expedition 40 Launches to the International Space Station

Expedition 40 Launches to the International Space Station | NASA Expedition 40 Launches to the International Space Station The Soyuz TMA-13M rocket is launched with Expedition 40 Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev, of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst, of the European Space Agency, ESA, and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA in the early hours of Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in […]

With BRIC on wall, it may be time to enter India

Although the world’s largest democracy has been hobbled by inflation, a declining currency and difficult business environment, the pro-business Bharatiya Janata Party that just won an epic election in India has engendered optimism that the country can turn around its sagging economic scenario. It’s time to increase your exposure to India’s stock market. The timing is good with equities in India perking up of late, something that […]

Amid Split on Bank Case, U.S. Seeks a Middle Path

WASHINGTON — Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. faced a legal and bureaucratic dilemma this year: Obama administration officials could not agree about what he should tell the Supreme Court about a lawsuit in which American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel are suing Arab Bank, the largest financial institution in Jordan. The plaintiffs have accused Arab Bank of providing services to terrorists responsible for the attacks. […]

UAE set for more phone competition

Etisalat expects to conclude a long-delayed deal to allow competition in UAE fixed-line telecommunications services by the end of 2014, a company document states, which could threaten its dominant position in the lucrative sector. Etisalat and rival du have been unable to reach an agreement over so-called bitstream access, or network-sharing, in the United Arab Emirates, despite beginning talks in 2009 and the government being the largest […]

Expedition 40 Preflight: Soyuz Rocket Rolls Out

Expedition 40 Preflight: Soyuz Rocket Rolls Out | NASA Expedition 40 Preflight: Soyuz Rocket Rolls Out The Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Monday, May 26, 2014, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for May 29 and will send Expedition 40 Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev, of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight […]