By Michel Rose and Sudip Kar-Gupta | PARIS PARIS Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Wednesday he would vote for Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, the biggest Socialist Party name to date to turn his back on its official candidate and support the centrist instead. While it was not clear if the defection would benefit poll favourite Macron, who politely thanked Valls, it prompted […]
Bloomberg suffered its second-ever drop in the number of ubiquitous terminals dotting global trading desks as it fell victim to cost cutting by the finance industry. The number of Bloomberg’s distinctive black terminals, used daily by bankers, traders and money managers, fell by 3,145 last year to just under 324,500, down nearly 1 per cent from 2015, according to a report on Tuesday from Burton-Taylor International, one […]
By Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper | LONDON LONDON Prime Minister Theresa May will file formal Brexit divorce papers on Wednesday, pitching the United Kingdom into the unknown and triggering years of uncertain negotiations that will test the endurance of the European Union. Nine months after Britons voted to leave, May will notify EU Council President Donald Tusk in a letter that the UK really is quitting […]
By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Patpicha Tanakasempipat | BANGKOK BANGKOK Thailand’s military government is working on a law to help regulate Buddhism, officials say, giving the junta far more say over a pillar of Thai society that has so far eluded its control. The proposed bill, which has not been made public, would appear to significantly reduce the say of the Sangha Supreme Council, Buddhism’s governing body in Thailand. […]
A mega-merger of the two biggest banks in the UAE should leave the combined company with a larger representation on the benchmark emerging-market index, triggering hundreds of millions of dollars of inflows to the stock, according to calculations by EFG-Hermes strategists. Thursday marks the last day of trading in First Gulf Bank before its combination with National Bank of Abu Dhabi in a deal that creates the […]
After nine months’ gestation, the Brexit process has started. Both sides of the referendum have political points; Brexiters can say the UK economy is growing and there has been no market implosion, while Remainers can say UK assets have drastically underperformed the rest of the world, and the costs of the historic sterling devaluation are yet to be counted. Now, it is time to work out what […]
ABU DHABI // Big businesses need to be more aware of the crimes being committed on their watch, one of the country’s most senior police officers has said. Maj Gen Mohammed Al Romaithi, commander-in-chief of the Abu Dhabi Police, said the private sector has a greater role to play in combating crimes, such as drug smuggling through ports. He was speaking at the Unity for Security Forum […]
Wednesday 04:40 GMT Overview Asian markets were mixed, with energy stocks benefiting from a recovery in crude oil prices, while the UK pound dropped after Prime Minister Theresa May dispatched the letter that will trigger Britain’s exit from the EU. Hot topic The pound weakened 0.3 per cent to $1.2409 in Asia trade, bringing its losses over the past two sessions to 1.2 per cent, in response […]
The United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security has removed Chinese telecommunications technology solutions provider ZTE from its trading blacklist following the company pleading guilty to illegally exporting products to Iran. “Upon recommendation by BIS, the company and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd will be removed from the Entity List on 29 March 2017 (United States time),” ZTE said in a statement [PDF] to the […]
Authored by Lauren McCauley via TheAntiMedia.org, Privacy advocates on Monday are urging Americans to call their elected officials, warning that there are only 24 hours left to “save online privacy rules” before the U.S. House of Representatives votes on a measure that would allow major telecom companies to collect user data and auction it off to the “highest bidder.” Wasting no time, the House is expected to […]
After the biggest downturn in a generation, there are reasons to think the worst of the commodities slump might be over. The Financial Times’s Commodities Global Summit began on Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland. Here are the main talking points from the first day. There was no shortage of talk on Opec, which in November agreed its first reduction in supply in almost a decade. Executives from some of the world’s […]
(Image: C-SPAN broadcast) Rules preventing internet providers from selling personal information, such as customer browsing histories, will be repealed, following a vote in the US House of Representatives this afternoon. The Republican-led House voted 215-203 in favor of repealing the rules, implemented just a few months ago under the previous Obama administration. It follows a similar vote in the Senate last week, which also speedily passed the […]
The triggering this week of Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty to facilitate Britain’s exit from the EU is undoubtedly a momentous event. At issue in the forthcoming talks will be whether Britain can win back control over immigration and lawmaking without wrecking trade relations in its biggest market and damaging London’s status as the pre-eminent international financial centre. A minimum of two years of difficult and […]
The UAE will close down a business for 72 hours and impose a severe financial penalty for value added tax evasion, according to tax consultants who attended a VAT briefing by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The briefing for advisors took place last week ahead of a nationwide awareness campaign by the MoF that will educate various stakeholders on the collection of VAT ahead of its implementation […]
The former chief financial officer of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel has been offered immunity from prosecution by government lawyers investigating payments to women allegedly harassed by Roger Ailes, the network’s former chairman, according to people briefed on the case. Mark Kranz was CFO of Fox News from 2004 until last year, leaving the channel shortly after Mr Ailes was pushed out by its parent company, 21st […]
Agricultural trading bosses gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland for the FT’s Commodities Global Summit have warned against closed borders and potential trade wars as rising protectionist rhetoric casts a shadow over their ability to access global markets. David MacLennan, Cargill chief executive, says raising tariffs will hurt the world economy, and Carl Casale, head of CHS, a leading US grain co-operative, highlights the damage it would wreak on […]
The Gulf emirate of Qatar is tiny, but it’s made a name for itself by placing big bets. Thanks to vast reserves of natural gas, its 2.6 million residents enjoy the world’s highest per-capita income: $129,700 a year. Qatar has acquired more than $335 billion worth of assets around the globe, buying up trophies such as London’s Shard, the tallest building in Europe. The emirate has also […]
Middle Eastern online retailer Souq.com will make an announcement later on Tuesday about Amazon.com Inc’s bid to buy 100 percent of the company from its shareholders, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. One of the sources, declining to be identified ahead of the announcement, said the statement would say that Souq.com’s shareholders had accepted the bid. Souq.com declined to comment. Amazon officials could not immediately […]
Patient experience at the forefront as the UAE healthcare market continues to grow 28 March 2017 Abu Dhabi – The UAE healthcare market is estimated to reach Dh71.56 billion by 2020, achieving an annual average growth of 12.7 per cent, marginally higher than the GCC growth average, propelled by medical tourism and a higher than ever demand for new facilities & technologies. With its vision to develop […]
Jordan’s state media say public and private sector officials from Saudi Arabia and Jordan have signed 15 economic agreements, including establishing a joint fund that will launch an estimated $3 billion worth of investments in Jordan. The Petra news agency says the agreements were signed after a meeting late Monday between Saudi King Salman and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. Planned projects include reconstruction and rehabilitation of a […]
Tuesday 08:45 GMT What you need to know ● Markets recovering their poise after “Trump trade” wobble● S&P 500 futures higher and helping European to open on the front foot ● Energy stocks underpinning bourses as oil prices gain ground● Dollar steadies after sliding to four-month lows, Treasury yields nudge up● Gold prices ease back as haven flows dwindle——————- Hot topic Investors are rediscovering their risk appetite […]
The grant announcement continues a run of significant recognition for the Center’s work. In recent days, five separate Center investigations have been honored as part of three prestigious journalism competitions. The Center was a winner in three categories of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers “Best in Business” competition, while taking a first place and a second place prize in the Association of Health Care […]
The Australian Federal Court has handed down its decision in Telstra’s proceedings against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)’s final access determination (FAD) on wholesale copper pricing, with the judgment reaffirming the regulator’s decision. The ACCC’s FAD, published in October last year, cut the prices that the telecommunications giant can charge wholesale customers for use of its legacy copper network during the transition to the NBN […]
HONG KONG Acquisitive Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is in talks to buy a controlling stake in the owner of the publisher of Forbes magazine, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Hong Kong-based investor group Integrated Whale Media Investments (IWM), which holds 95 percent of Forbes Media, is also in talks with another Chinese media firm and is scouting for more potential buyers for most […]
