|By Matein Khalid|I had written a column two weeks ago outlining my view that US equities faced a dangerous autumn and the S&P 500 index was set for a fall of 150 points. However, even I did not expect the S&P500 index to fall 52 points on Friday (the Dow dropped 394 points and NASDAQ 133 points), its worst performance since the Brexit shock. It was even […]
FRANKFURT Volkswagen’s luxury car unit Audi has agreed to deepen collaboration with Chinese internet technology groups to offer more digital services in the world’s largest car market. Audi and FAW-Volkswagen, VW’s joint venture with FAW Car Co Ltd, have signed letters of intent with Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, Audi said on Sunday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Parent Volkswagen has been hobbled by a scandal over the […]
By Se Young Lee and Jeffrey Dastin | SEOUL/NEW YORK SEOUL/NEW YORK A U.S. government safety agency on Friday urged all consumers to stop using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, which are prone to catch fire, and top airlines globally banned their use during flights. Following reports that the phones’ batteries have combusted during charging and normal use, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission […]
|By Steve Austin| At first sight it appears that low oil prices are good for society. A low oil price helps us save dollars at the pump, acts as an economic catalyst making exchanges cheaper and thereby stimulating the economy. However, there are downsides as well, often out-of-sight-out-of-mind and we will address these today. Change in economic model For the first time we have entered an era […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The extent to which the economic slowdown has affected the performance of companies is fairly well known. Still, when Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund and corporate entity Mubadala announced its half yearly result, it came as a shocker. The Mubadala Development Co., which has announced a merger with International Petroleum Investment Co., has posted a first half loss of AED 4.43 billion ($1.2 […]
/By Matein Khalid/The oil market has been a rollercoaster in 2016. A global financial panic triggered by China’s yuan depreciation caused Brent crude to fall below $30 a barrel in late January. I was amazed at the sheer scale of the speculative short positions accumulated by oil traders and hedge funds in both West Texas and Brent futures markets, the highest since the oil crash of 2008. The […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|The new bankruptcy law of the UAE envisages the setting up of a regulatory body called the Committee for Financial Restructuring to administer the law and its procedures. The Committee will be in charge of: overseeing the procedures of financial restructuring outside the scope of the court and will appoint experts in the field of financial restructuring, establish an electronic record of individuals against […]
SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector continued on its upward trajectory in August, with business conditions improving to the greatest extent in a year. Output and new business remained the key growth drivers – both rose sharply and more quickly than in July. Employment and input stocks also increased, with a number of companies looking to expand capacity in line with rising workloads. Meanwhile, price pressures […]
UAE. Change is the new normal for the global health care sector, according to Deloitte’s recent report entitled “2016 Global health care sector outlook – Battling costs while improving care”. As providers, payers, governments, and other stakeholders strive to deliver effective, efficient, and equitable care, they do so in an ecosystem that is undergoing a dramatic and fundamental shift in business, clinical, and operating models. This shift is […]
/By Arabian Post Staff/The UAE moved a step closer to a federal bankruptcy law when the country’s Cabinet approved the final draft of the new law. The law, which will help companies facing financial difficulties to restructure and avoid arbitrary liquidation and criminal proceedings by the state. Companies and individuals are now able to restructure their debt while avoiding bankruptcy liquidation. The law contributes to strengthening the […]
/by Arabian Post Staff/The global growth of asset management stalled as the industry in 2015 recorded its worst year since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Growth in assets under management (AuM) stalled—or in the case of the Middle East declined 10%—and net new flows of assets, revenue growth, and revenue margins all dipped lower in 2015, according to […]
/By Arabian Post Staff/ UK bank Barclays move in 2008 to raise capital funding from private investors in Abu Dhabi and Qatar to avoid government bailout has snowballed into a major controversy as it now transpires that the bank itself loaned the money to these investors. Plc loaned $3 billion to Qatar to help fund a share purchase as the lender sought investments from the Middle East […]
/By Matien Khalid/I have been bullish on emerging market debt as an asset class since last autumn. Even though the Chinese yuan devaluation was toxic, this asset class is up 12% in 2016, thanks to almost $5 billion in cash inflows. The tax amnesty in Indonesia, the political changes in Brazil after President Dilma’s impeachment, the election of a center-right pro-business government and $16 billion sovereign debt […]
By David Shepardson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Volkswagen AG has agreed to spend more than $1.2 billion to compensate its 650 U.S. dealers for their losses from the German automaker’s diesel emissions scandal, two sources briefed on the matter said on Thursday. The company and a lawyer for VW dealers announced a tentative settlement at a court hearing in San Francisco, but declined to disclose the amount. The […]
A new speech analytics tool announced yesterday by Verint Systems is designed to help customer service professionals get real-time guidance for better managing calls. The software-based system can alert service reps to caller insights as they happen as well as help companies ensure compliance with important policies and regulations, the company said. The Melville, New York-based Verint said the new real-time speech analytics capabilities are natively embedded […]
Beginning “as early as next year,” Samsung may start selling refurbished smartphones directly to consumers. The new resale program is aimed at strengthening Samsung’s earnings as global phone sales slow down, according to report today citing “a person with direct knowledge of the matter.” Offering lower-cost refurbished phones could also help Samsung better compete against Chinese manufacturers whose cheap devices have cut into its sales, especially in […]
|ARABIAN POST SPECIAL| On April 13 this year, Emaar Properties disclosed to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) that the company has agreed to take steps for a demerger of Emaar and Emaar MGF, the premier Dubai developer’s Indian joint venture. Beginning next week, the Arabian Post launches an investigative series on Emaar’s botched India experiment, which has cost the company billions in write-offs, embarrassing prosecution of the […]
SINGAPORE Singapore will make regulatory changes to facilitate the use of electronic payments, the central bank said on Friday, as the city-state aims to become a major centre for financial technology (fintech). “Our vision is to make Singapore an electronic payments society, a society that spurs innovation in payments technology, that gives consumers maximum convenience and confidence in making payments,” said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the […]
INTERNATIONAL. Global bank rating trends were negative again in 1H16 for the fourth consecutive negative six-month period, says Fitch Ratings. The global distribution of Outlooks deteriorated in 1H16 as Negative Outlooks (22%) far outweighed Positives (5%), a level not seen since 2009. Emerging market (EM) banks experienced the majority of negative ratings trends, heavily influenced by rating actions in Brazil, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. In EMs, […]
As anyone who has driven a car or crossed a busy street knows, colors play a significant role in influencing people’s interactions with the world around them. And the color red, in particular, elicits the highest level of compliance for conformity with social norms. But according to new research co-written by a University of Illinois expert in product development and marketing, under certain conditions, the color red […]
KUWAIT. On Aug 12, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its ‘AA/A-1+’ long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Kuwait. The outlook is stable. The affirmation indicates that our ratings on Kuwait continue to be supported by the sovereign’s high levels of accumulated fiscal, external, and household wealth, despite the low oil price environment. The ratings are constrained by the concentrated nature of the economy […]
|Arabian Post Special| Sale of gold jewellery for cash is emerging as one of the major sources of gold supply and is accounting for almost a third of total supplies to the market this year. According to the World Gold Council, the high price level of gold in recent times has taken its toll on the jewellery sector and conversely recycling has sparked into life. Jewellery consumers […]
UAE. While cybersecurity is one of the most prevalent issues of our time, the resulting impact of a cyber incident is still largely unproven. Recognizing the need of business leaders to have clarity around the enterprise-wide effect of such events, Deloitte the global leader in cyber risk advisory services, released: “Beneath the surface of a cyberattack: A deeper look at business impacts,” a risk-based report outlining the […]
INTERNATIONAL. The future for many young people across the Middle East and North Africa looks bleak. The World Bank records that 54% of the working age population in the Middle East and North Africa is unemployed with little prospect of any positive immediate change. An average of 28.7% of 15 to 24-year-olds in the Middle East and 30.6% of those in North Africa are unemployed according to […]
