Infrastructure of Berth 5 and Berth 6 at final stages of this year’s strategic expansion 21 December 2016 King Abdullah Economic City, The infrastructure works for Berth 5 and Berth 6 are about to be finished in a few weeks, King Abdullah Port announced on Wednesday. The two berths are part of the port’s strategic expansion plan, which aims to significantly uprate the port’s capacity, thus boosting […]
This year could go down as the one that turned everything on its head, India’s popular central bank governor Raghuram Rajan was ejected from his post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi voided 86% of the country’s currency overnight and Donald Trump became U.S. president elect. India Real Time’s most-read stories show what readers were looking at as they tried to make sense of it all. Any insight into […]
SYDNEY The U.S. dollar held near 14-year peaks on Wednesday as global yield spreads moved inexorably in its favor, while a falling yen lifted Japanese shares to a one-year top. The Nikkei .N225 added 0.3 percent in thin trade, while Australia’s main index climbed 0.6 percent to its highest in 17 months after Wall Street racked up more records. Japan’s government upgraded its overall assessment of the […]
World’s leading hotel operator AccorHotels announces first Mercure brand in the country Muscat, Oman, 20 December 2016 AccorHotels, one of the world’s leading hotel operators announces the opening of Mercure Sohar in Oman. Blending the best of business and leisure, this new hotel pays tribute to its environment with an authentic offering reflective of genuine Omani warmth and hospitality. Nestled between Al Hajjar Mountains and the Sea […]
SHANGHAI Northern China was shrouded in smog for a fifth straight day on Wednesday as citizens complained that the state’s emergency measures were still not being implemented properly. Residents in Shijiazhuang, the capital of heavily industrialised Hebei province that surrounds Beijing, complained that schools were still open even though the city remained on red alert with air pollution levels close to record highs. Media reports in central […]
Tuesday 19:45 GMT Overview A robust session for US equities saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average climb to within a whisker of the 20,000 milestone as participants shrugged off geopolitical concerns and focused on the prospect of stronger growth under the presidency of Donald Trump. The “risk-on” mood in the markets left US Treasury prices and gold lower while the yen — viewed by many as a […]
The “animal spirits” that Donald Trump’s incoming US administration may unleash would have more far-reaching consequences on the economy and financial markets than any specific stimulus package he delivers, according to Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio. Mr Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund group, wrote that “if this administration can spark a virtuous cycle in which people can make money, the move out of cash (that […]
BLOOVO.COM identifies key areas of regulatory focus to help SMEs take on job creation and national economic expansion role Dubai December 20th, 2016 With the oil price slump creating a USD 275 billion export shortfall for GCC countries, regional governments are prioritising economic diversification. Accelerating SME sector growth is an integral element of this economic strategy, says a new report by WWW.BLOOVO.COM . www.BLOOVO.COM’s research shows that SMEs […]
Talent acquisition will continue to be a key focus for Middle East-based companies in 2017 with recruiters focusing on quality of hiring, according to a new LinkedIn report. Jobs pertaining to operations, sales and engineering will be the highest priority roles to fill in the region in 2017, said its MENA Recruiting Trends 2017 report. According to the report, over 81 percent of regional talent leaders feel […]
BlackBerry’s big bet on software and services is making progress — albeit slowly. The Canadian former phone maker turned software developer posted Tuesday a fiscal third-quarter profit of just one cent for the quarter, beating Wall Street expectations, which predicted a two cent loss (statement). No longer a smartphone company, BlackBerry is investing in software and services. Read more. However, the company did miss on revenue, bringing […]
By Nidal al-Mughrabi | GAZA GAZA Gaza’s population will more than double in about 30 years, signalling even more serious economic problems ahead for Palestinians in the small enclave if the conflict with Israel is not resolved, a U.N. official said on Tuesday. Andres Thomsen, of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), told Reuters “it will be very hard to imagine that you can create the right […]
A unit of UAE-based KEF Holdings has launched a $100 million manufacturing park, spanning one million sq ft, to cater to the infrastructure needs in India and GCC markets. With 10 manufacturing lines featuring the latest technology, KEF Infra One in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu in India, promises significant cost and time savings in building hospitals, homes, schools, hotels and specialised infrastructure. Faizal E Kottikollon, founder and chairman, […]
Submitted by Jayant Bhandari via Acting-Man.com, India’s Currency Ban – Part VI India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced on 8th November 2016 that Rs 500 (~$7.50) and Rs 1,000 (~$15) banknotes would no longer be legal tender. Linked are Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, and Part-V, which provide updates on the demonetization saga and how Modi is acting as a catalyst to hasten the rapid degradation of […]
It started off as one of those typical conversations you have when you’re in a foreign country and the taxi driver recognizes you to be a foreigner. “Where are you from?,” he asks, soon after I get into the bright yellow taxi cab, to which I reply “Sri Lanka.”“Beautiful country,” he responds.“Have you been there?” I ask him politely.“No, but my friend went there for a holiday. He […]
20 December 2016 UAE – As the UAE increasingly becomes a thriving hub for entrepreneurs, the demand for accounting and finance skills will rise to sustain business and ensure success and survival amidst regional and global economic pressures, according to financial experts. Recent analysis revealed by professional networking site LinkedIn showed that the UAE has the highest percentage of members indicating entrepreneurship as their job function across the […]
By Alastair Sharp and Allison Martell | TORONTO TORONTO BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO)(BBRY.O) on Tuesday posted an adjusted profit that beat expectations even as revenue dropped sharply, as the software growth it is relying on failed to fully make up for its retreat from handsets and lost service fees. The Canadian smartphone pioneer has gone through a wrenching transition in recent years featuring huge writedowns and job cuts […]
The Turkish lira is climbing off its weekly lows this morning in the wake of the assassination of the Russian ambassador in Ankara on Monday and ahead of another key interest rate decision later today. At publication time, the lira has gained 0.35 per cent against the dollar to TRY3.5180 per dollar, having slumped to as low as TRY3.5340 in the aftermath of the shooting of Andrei […]
Why does Apple want to open stores in India? Its sales in China, previously a huge market for growth, are slowing and it doesn’t want to miss out on India’s rapidly-expanding smartphone market. Opening its own stores in India, which is set to become the world’s second biggest market for the devices by next year, could help boost brand awareness and sales. (via WSJ)
It’s a hot July day in Bethlehem, and white-robed pilgrims from Nigeria stand in the courtyard entrance to the ancient church, singing and beating drums. They’ve travelled more than 3,500 kilometres to enter the church’s low wooden door, pass through a nave under restoration and down one of the staircases in the sprawling church, to the grotto. There, they will kneel in prayer and devotion at the […]
In a year replete with extraordinary political upheaval and the wrenching loss of artistic icons, the markets have played their part in contributing to the angst. Here is a look at some of 2016’s most notable one-day wobbles. China cracks It started badly. In China, the mainland’s benchmark, the Shanghai Composite index, had closed 2015 near a four-month high after bouncing nearly 21 per cent from its […]
The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy on hold and turned optimistic on the growth outlook as a slide in the yen sharply improves the outlook for Japan in 2017. Japan’s economy is “likely to turn to a moderate expansion” with rising domestic demand, large-scale fiscal stimulus and growing exports, the central bank said. Its comments highlight the dramatic turnround from September — when despairing analysts said the […]
Tuesday 02:20 GMT Overview Stock markets across Asia were largely on the back foot, with investors in the Japanese market treading particularly cautiously despite the yen weakening and the Bank of Japan keeping monetary policy meeting steady, as expected. Hot topic Global financial markets were beginning to quiet down in the lead-up to Christmas. Despite attacks in Germany and Turkey on Monday that added to geopolitical unease, […]
Reliance Jio is a great, big, and savvy Indian python that has recently slithered into the telecom space, threatening to swallow the lunch of existing incumbents like Airtel and Vodafone. The question is, will it end up swallowing itself tail-first as well? As I wrote a few months ago, and as you probably may well know, Mukesh Ambani, India’s oil to telecom billionaire who is not known […]
SHANGHAI/BEIJING Heavy smog engulfed large parts of northern China for a fourth straight day on Tuesday, with the environment ministry warning that some firms in the region were continuing to flout emergency restrictions and dozens of flights out of Beijing cancelled. Some power plants and chemical producers in the region had not scaled back operations in line with regulations, and drivers in Beijing had also been flouting […]
