Bait Al Kandora, the Dubai-based menswear clothing designer, has announced an agreement with HBS Investment to sell it a 25 percent stake, thus becoming the second largest shareholder. The agreement comes after Bait Al Kandora opened four branches in the city and plans to expand further, a statement said. HBS Investment is supported by Al Shamsi Holdings which was established in 2000, and focuses on fashion retail […]
The calendar may have only just flipped into March, but it has already felt like a long year for dollar bulls. They have been frustrated with the wait for detail from Donald Trump on the proposed tax and fiscal policies that started their run at his election in November. It is a rally that has faded in 2017, with the US currency down 0.25 per cent this […]
Emerging markets had a third month of strong inflows into their equities and bonds in February, in a further sign of reviving optimism over an asset class that was expected to be caught in the crosshairs of any US move to protectionism. There were cross-border flows to EM assets of more than $17bn in the month, up from just over $14bn in January, data from the Institute […]
There were no surprises in Yellen’s speech in Chicago on Friday in which the Fed chair confirmed the sudden and dramatic hawkish turn hinted at earlier in the week by Dudley and Williams, and which sent March rate hike odds from the low 30s to nearly 100% in the span of days. According to Yellen, the FOMC would “evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve […]
04 March 2017 MARC has affirmed its ratings of A and BBB on special purpose vehicle RCE Advance Sdn Bhd’s (RCEA) outstanding RM5 million Class B and RM10 million Class C notes under the RM420 million Fixed Rate Medium-Term Notes (MTN) Programme respectively. The outlook on the ratings is stable. There is currently no outstanding Class A notes under the programme upon the repayment of RM5 million on November 15, 2016. The rating […]
Investors have poured nearly $80bn into US equity funds since November’s election as optimism over the new administration’s pro-growth agenda received a boost after President Donald Trump addressed Congress this week. Funds invested in US stocks counted $6.7bn of additions in the week to March 1, lifting flows since November 8 to $79.4bn, according to data from EPFR. The inflows have partially reversed a near constant exodus […]
Bahrain’s fiscal deficit will fall only marginally to 12.3 percent of GDP this year from 13.6 percent in 2016 as oil prices settle well below the country’s breakeven figure, according to ratings agency Fitch. The agency said it expects Brent to average $45 per barrel in 2017, nearly $40 below the breakeven price for the Gulf kingdom. Fitch Ratings affirmed Bahrain’s long-term foreign and local currency issuer […]
Uber on Friday confirmed the existence of a controversial programme that used a fake version of its app to confuse unwitting regulators and competitors trying to order cars. The secret weapon — codenamed Greyball — has been used during the ride-hailing company’s battles with regulatory authorities and rivals around the world over several years. It operates by displaying car icons in random locations and automatically cancelling rides […]
With its high growth rates and huge potential, battery demand is a key focus for metals markets. If 2016 was all about lithium, then 2017 should see cobalt start to attract greater attention. Prices have already accelerated to levels last seen in 2011, as rising demand from the core portable electronics meets relatively stagnant supply growth. And while risks remain — technological on the demand side and […]
By Michael Martina and Philip Wen | BEIJING BEIJING Defying pressure for a strong increase in defence spending, China said on Saturday its military budget this year would grow about 7 percent, its slowest pace since 2010. Last year, with China’s economy slowing, the defence budget recorded its lowest increase in six years, 7.6 percent, the first single-digit rise since 2010, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run […]
03 March 2017 Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hazana Maldives Limited (Hazana) today to provide technical assistance in the areas of credit risk and Islamic finance. Hazana, a Maldives government company specialising in Islamic investment and finance, manages the commercial assets of the government and holds its strategic investments. The MoU was signed by Mohd Razlan Mohamed, Chief Executive […]
The biggest issue facing the world of social media influencers is transparency. Should the person with 100,000 followers on Instagram (or 5.4 million followers as the keynote speaker, Joelle Mardinian, can boast) announce that she is being paid to promote a product? The inevitable tangents to the four hours of conversations tried to answer the question: what constitutes an influencer (or a content generator as one panellist […]
By Noel Randewich | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Technology companies have been a driving force behind the U.S. stock market’s recent record rally, and despite mounting evidence of stretched valuations the sector remains a top pick for investors expecting a wave of capital expenditures by U.S. corporations. Corporate tax cuts and reduced regulations planned by President Donald Trump will give companies reason to spend more on cloud […]
One of these sites is not like the other: ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com, SBNation.com. To the titans of sports coverage, networks with broadcast rights to major sporting events, SB Nation is a scrappy flotilla of sports blogs led by its eponymous flagship site. Because it can’t air games, SB Nation has carved out a niche for itself as a multifaceted clearinghouse for sports fans, with individual sites for […]
Ismail, a 20-year-old Emirati, has rarely ever stepped into a bank branch. “You won’t believe I haven’t visited my branch for over a year. All my transactions are done online,” he says, as he clicks an app on his phone to make a payment. “I just paid my bill and that’s how it works for me. All the services are at my fingertips and I save immense […]
Three GCC-based retailers have been named in a new list of the world’s top 250, with the UAE’s Emke Group ranked the Middle East’s biggest. Emke, which runs the Lulu chain on hypermarkets and earlier this month announces major expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, posted sales revenue of $6.2 billion. Dubai mall operator Majid Al Futtaim saw revenue of $6 billion while Saudi-based food firm Savola posted […]
Evan Spiegel gazed out over the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where onlookers were recording him with his company’s retro-cool, video-enabled sunglasses, then rang the opening bell on Snap’s first day as a public company. Breaking the tech titan’s dress code in his suit and tie, he grinned and, unlike his biggest rival, made no grand proclamations about his company’s world-changing potential. Nearly five years […]
By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Howard Schneider | CHICAGO CHICAGO The Federal Reserve is set to raise its benchmark interest rate later this month as long as economic data on jobs and inflation holds up, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday, in comments that likely cement a rate hike at its next meeting. Several of Yellen’s U.S. central bank colleagues in recent days had also put a […]
A tell-tale sign of a booming equity market is a hot technology listing and the blockbuster debut by Snap, duly summoned memories of the dotcom era. Shares in the parent of the popular messaging app surged more than 40 per cent in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday where the fresh-faced co-founders rang the opening bell to cheers from the trading floor. On Friday, they […]
While equity market euphoria at the prospect of President Donald Trump’s spendthrift, deregulatory agenda remains undimmed, bond investors are sending a very different message. US equity gauges have continued to climb this year, propelled by hopes of deregulation, tax cuts, government spending and more business-friendly policies. This week all four of the biggest stock indices achieved yet another “Grand Slam” of fresh records in the wake of […]
Souq.com, the Middle East’s largest online retailer, has announced the launch of a book store featuring more than six million books. In a move similar to Kindle books on global e-commerce giant Amazon, Souq.com’s Global Bookstore will make books more accessible to the region and supports the UAE government’s Year of Reading initiative, a statement said. The Global Bookstore features all book classifications including culture, children, family, […]
Improved characteristics in power electronics and radio applications can be achieved by using a SOI wafer for gallium nitride growth. (via WSJ)
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Institutional investors anxious not to be left out of this year’s marquee initial public offering helped Snap Inc (SNAP.N) pull off the biggest U.S.-listed technology share sale this week since Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba Group Holding Inc (BABA.N) smashed records in 2014. Keen to boost returns and with a dearth of new stocks to buy, the IPO of a buzzy social media group was […]
March 3, 2017 by: Jamie Chisholm, Global Markets Commentator Friday 08:35 GMT Overview Stock markets are retreating as Wall Street equity futures dip further from this week’s record high as investors cash in some of their bullish bets on stronger growth following the election of US president Donald Trump. The pullback comes amid heightened expectations that the improving economic scenario will encourage the Federal Reserve to increase […]
