US-based Hyperloop One on Tuesday put the cost of traffic congestion between Dubai and Abu Dhabi at almost $800 million in lost working hours. Nearly 4,000 vehicles travel on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway every day as majority of the people, who work in the UAE capital, reside in Dubai which offers cheaper housing options. “Reducing this commute to 12 minutes opens a whole new realm of options,” […]
Salesforce has built in its Einstein artificial intelligence platform and the upshot is that the move appears to be a smart way to grow organically and hit its revenue growth targets. special feature How to Implement AI and Machine Learning The next wave of IT innovation will be powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. We look at the ways companies can take advantage of it and […]
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, […]
The two Fortune 500 companies, International Business Machines corp. (IBM) and Salesforce, have agreed to integrate their artificial intelligence platforms and some of their software and service components. As part of the deal, Salesforce customers could make use of the data from IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence platforms whereas IBM would be deploying Salesforce Service Cloud for internal use, more or less a sign of good will. The […]
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 […]
By Saikat Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stocks edged lower on Wednesday after a strong start to the week due to profit-taking as investors lacked conviction to buy risky assets before a U.S. policy meeting next week that may see interest rates rising for the second time in three months. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent in early trade, a […]
A buoyant stock market and improving US economic growth have given the Federal Reserve cover to lift interest rates three times this year, including when it meets in less than a fortnight, a Financial Times survey of top economists has found. About three-quarters of the 43 economists surveyed in March said the Fed would increase interest rates by 75 basis points in 2017, a capitulation from months […]
Saudi Arabia has promised to launch major development projects towards the end of 2017 to re-energise an economy which has been hit by austerity measures, industry sources told Reuters. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s top economic official, made the commitment at a recent meeting with a delegation representing the Saudi private sector, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. While they pledged […]
DUBAI – March 7, 2017 Hotpack Packaging Industries, a leading producer and wholesaler of quality disposable food packaging materials in the UAE, has recently announced an investment of GBP 50 million to develop a facility in Wrexham – Wales, England. The facility will be equipped with the latest in packaging and manufacturing technologies. The announcement was made when Ms. Lesley Griffiths, Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Environment […]
Banks have structured some unusual and complex deals for European companies to raise capital through a combination of debt and equity derivatives in recent weeks, reflecting investor enthusiasm for convertible securities. Last week BASF launched a $600m bond bundled with warrants, in a so-called neutral structure which effectively makes the chemicals group a middleman between its investors and its banks. The deal, put together by Deutsche Bank, […]
A new biology breakthrough has important implications for plants as they adapt to a warming environment, say authors of a new report. (via WSJ)
As Abdelmonem Alserkal tours his latest architectural commission, his pristine white kandura stands in contrast to the monochrome building that broods in Alserkal Avenue – the warehouse creative community he has brought to life in Dubai’s industrial neighbourhood of Al Quoz. A muted study in steel, small mirrors, translucent polycarbonate and sprayed, shot-blast and polished concrete, the new venue is the latest milestone in Alserkal Avenue’s decade-long […]
One week ago, we pointed out a curious bifurcation: the Fed was telegraphing an imminent rate hike – one which following Yellen’s Friday conference is now virtually assured – even though it appears the FOMC would be hiking in a quarter in which GDP comes in in the mid 1%-range, or lower. The reason: while “soft data” – which is important to animal spirits if not actual […]
A meeting in a forest between a biologist and a mathematician could lead to thicker, faster growing trees. (via WSJ)
Brazil’s economy shrank 3.6 per cent last year as high inflation, a runaway budget deficit and political turmoil drove the country to its worst recession on record. The contraction, which was felt across almost all economic sectors from industry to services, was slightly worse than economists’ estimates and only marginally better than 2015, when gross domestic product contracted 3.8 per cent. GDP in the final three months […]
Few institutions embodied the eurozone crisis more clearly than Bankia, the Spanish lender which was bailed out in 2012. Yet you would have been hard pressed to see any signs of that as the lender tapped debt markets this month. The bond sale by Bankia, still majority owned by the Spanish government, attracted almost €5bn in orders for the €500m of debt it sold. Its “tier 2” […]
07 March 2017 Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), rose 6.9% in January 2017 compared to the year-earlier period. While this was down from the 10% annual growth recorded in December 2016 it still was well above the average annual growth rate of 3% over the past five years. Growth […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian shares rose on Tuesday, diverging from New York markets that slipped on concern about President Donald Trump’s ability to focus on economic policies. Oil prices were slightly lower amid fears growing U.S. production will offset OPEC cuts. Futures are pointing to a positive open for Britain’s FTSE 100 .FTSE and France’s CAC 40 .FCHI. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares […]
SHANGHAI A senior Chinese nuclear power executive has said the country needs to accelerate the construction of new nuclear power plants if it is to meet targets to boost its use of nuclear energy, lower pollution and cut reliance on traditional fuel sources. He Yu, chairman of state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN) said the country needed to build between four and six nuclear reactors each […]
By Ernest Scheyder | HOUSTON HOUSTON Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer, said on Monday it would invest $20 billion through 2022 to expand its chemical and oil refining plants on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The investments at 11 sites should create 35,000 temporary construction jobs and 12,000 permanent jobs, Chief Executive Darren Woods said in a speech at CERAWeek, the world’s […]
Monday 21:56 GMT Overview Global equities sold off on Monday, encouraging flows into sovereign debt, after Asian markets were rattled by North Korea firing missiles into the Sea of Japan and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate meeting drew nearer. US President Donald Trump’s latest spat with the country’s security services may also be damping the mood somewhat as markets continue to price in a rate rise by […]
The CEO of Assurant appeared on Bloomberg TV to explain why demand for his services is likely to increase: the chief executive of the mobile phone insurer said he expects a surge in demand as carriers charge customers more to replace their devices. “If you think back five years ago, you as a consumer didn’t know how much that phone cost, you thought it was free or […]
By Sophie Louet and Claude Canellas | PARIS/BORDEAUX PARIS/BORDEAUX Francois Fillon fought off a rebellion that had threatened to end his candidacy for the French presidency on Monday as party leaders swung behind the centre-right former prime minister despite allegations that he had misused public funds. Hours after party heavyweight Alain Juppe ruled out challenging Fillon, the conservative Republicans’ party leadership unanimously backed their beleaguered candidate, Senate […]
Drastic cuts in oil industry investment risk creating a shortfall in supply that by 2020 will expose the market to a surge in prices, the International Energy Agency has warned. Despite a chorus of analysts predicting a decline in oil consumption in the coming years, as governments push for energy efficiencies, cleaner fuel usage and electric cars, the IEA cautioned in its five-year outlook: “We see no […]
