|By TAP Staff| A shortage of prime office space in Dubai, which is being underpinned by robust demand, has translated into strong upward pressure on rents across the city, and a rapidly diminishing supply of Grade A space in more centrally located submarkets and freezones, according to the latest research from international real estate consultancy Cluttons. Cluttons’ Dubai Winter 2014 Commercial Market Outlook report shows that during […]
Benchmark U.S. oil prices are poised to test $55 a barrel after a six-month rout pushed crude to the lowest in five years. West Texas Intermediate crude ended below $58 today for the first time since May 2009 after the International Energy Agency cut its global demand forecast for the fourth time in five months. Prices are down 46 percent from this year’s highest close of $107.26 […]
Most stock markets in the Gulf fell sharply on Tuesday after oil prices hit five-year lows, triggering a fresh wave of panic selling of shares by local retail investors, though most fund managers and analysts think the region can cope comfortably with cheaper oil. Dubai’s market, traditionally the Gulf’s most volatile, tumbled 3.5 percent to 3,889 points, though it closed well above its intra-day low of 3,761 […]
Most Gulf firms can prosper with $70 oil DUBAI, 6 days ago Plunging stock markets in the Gulf show investors are panicking about the prospect of $70 oil next year. But heavy state spending means most firms in the region, with the big exception of petrochemical producers, are likely to do just fine. The main Saudi stock index sank 4.8 per cent on Sunday, bringing its losses […]
Shuaa Capital’s executive chairman and board director, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher al-Maktoum, will step down from both roles in February, the Dubai-based investment bank said on Sunday. Maktoum will depart after the disclosure of its full-year results for 2014, Shuaa said in a statement. A member of Dubai’s ruling family, Maktoum served in his present capacity since May 2011. During his tenure, the firm underwent a significant turn-around […]
Just days after Stephen Hawking, a preeminent British physicist, warned artificial intelligence (AI) could end mankind, MetaMind announced its new AI platform and an initial $8 million in funding from Khosla Ventures and Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff. MetaMind has developed what it calls “deep learning” software that combines natural language processing and computer vision to solve complex data problems. The technology’s goal is to pave […]
If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on Microsoft’s new polling data application, this is your lucky day. The company announced this week that it is opening up Bing Pulse 2.0, its experimental polling analytics technology, to anyone who wants to use it — free of charge — for part of its beta test. “Bing Pulse 2.0 beta brings an easy-to-use, self-service version of this voting […]
If some information leaked online this week is any indication, Samsung’s next Galaxy phone will feature a yet-bigger and improved display. A screenshot of the new phone was published on the Chinese Web site CNMO, which said it got the information from the database of benchmarking site AnTuTu. The specs supposedly show details of the yet-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy S6. The most prominent features of the new Galaxy, […]
If you have an Xbox and you’re having a hard time signing on to Xbox Live, there may be a nefarious reason for that. A hacker group that made a name for itself by attacking online gaming services has apparently struck again. In a Twitter post, Lizard Squad claims it took Xbox Live down. This is the same Lizard Squad that executed a distributed denial of service […]
When it comes to smartphone sales, the growth is still there — but it’s slowing. Smartphone sales growth will continue at nearly 10 percent each year through 2018, well off the pace of recent years, according to a new mobile phone forecast from International Data Corp. (IDC). Worldwide smartphone shipments will reach a total of nearly 1.3 billion units in 2014, an increase of 26.3 percent over […]
Deloitte LLP may be blocked from auditing companies in Saudi Arabia after the country’s market regulator told firms registered in the kingdom to stop using its local services, according to a circular obtained by Bloomberg. The Capital Market Authority said in the circular dated Nov. 27 that publicly traded companies it regulates should avoid working with Deloitte’s Saudi Arabian practice as of June 1. The ban could […]
Plunging stock markets in the Gulf show investors are panicking about the prospect of $70 oil next year. But heavy state spending means most firms in the region, with the big exception of petrochemical producers, are likely to do just fine. The main Saudi stock index sank 4.8 percent on Sunday, bringing its losses from its September peak to 23 percent. Dubai’s index is down 21 percent […]
Gulf stock markets plunged in early trade on Sunday after OPEC’s decision to keep crude output unchanged sent oil prices tumbling at the end of last week. Dubai’s benchmark dropped 4.8 percent to a six-week low, with all traded stocks in decline. Qatar’s index also fell 4.8 percent, slumping to its lowest level since early July. Oman’s bourse dropped 4.4 percent, Abu Dhabi slid 2.0 percent and […]
OPEC’s decision to cede no ground to rival producers underscored the price war in the crude market and the challenge to U.S. shale drillers. The 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries kept its output target unchanged even after the steepest slump in oil prices since the global recession, prompting speculation it has abandoned its role as a swing producer. Yesterday’s decision in Vienna propelled futures to the […]
The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has said EU migrants should only be able to claim out-of-work benefits after three months By Raziye Akkoc 8:55AM GMT 27 Nov 2014 Follow The Deputy Prime Minister has waded into the argument about EU migrants on benefits by giving his support for “ensuring that EU jobseekers cannot claim out-of-work benefits from day one”. Nick Clegg, in an op-ed for the […]
FlyDubai’s debut Islamic bonds are signaling growing appetite for sukuk from aviation companies in the Gulf as they spend on airports and fleet expansion. The budget carrier raised $500 million this month in the first sale of the debt by a regional airline after Emirates, the world’s largest operator of A380 superjumbo planes. The issue received bids for more than six times the amount offered. Gulf cities […]
In its bid for the wearables market, Sony Corp. is developing a watch made out of electronic paper for release as soon as next year, reported Bloomberg. Although not yet officially announced, the move is considered a trial of the company’s new venture-style approach to creating products. The face and wrist band of the watch will be made from a patented material that lets the surface area […]
NEW DELHI: The T S R Subramanian committee, constituted about three months ago to review laws related to environment and forest protection, has recommended some big-ticket changes to the rules and legislation. These include a complete overhaul of certain laws, special fast-track dispensation for power, mining and linear projects, self-certification of compliance by industry and diluting the powers of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The committee’s […]
New Delhi: India has signed a euro 13 million deal with Airbus Defence and Space for the delivery of a dedicated facility in the country for the maintenance and repair its submarine fleet periscopes. The project is due to be completed in September 2016. “When a product is serviced, a lot of time is lost during the transport between different facilities. Once maintenance work can be […]
Mumbai: The board of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday cleared big-bang market reforms, including a move to replace the two-decade-old insider-trading rules with the new prohibition of insider trading (PIT) regulations, and amending the existing delisting regulations. Additionally, Sebi approved new reforms in consent mechanism under which it will give entities found violating securities laws the option of settling the matter before the […]
NEW DELHI: The government is working on big-ticket financial package for about 1,30,000-mw thermal and hydro power plants worth over Rs 6,00,000 crore that are hit by severe funds crunch while continuing to face cost and time overruns. Officials said the Department of Financial Services will shortly recommend a series of steps to the Reserve Bank of India. These include lenders providing additional debt to […]
NEW DELHI: The government will decide on Saturday whether to press ahead with the Rs 13,000 crore mega project for the private sector to supply 56 medium transport aircraft to the IAF despite only a single bidder, the Tata-Airbus consortium, being in the fray. Though the defence acquisitions council (DAC) chaired by Manohar Parrikar will take the final decision, MoD sources on Tuesday said the “emerging […]
Kolkata: The fear of bad loans and limited lending opportunities to top companies have prompted several banks to shift focus towards the retail (individual loans) and small & medium enterprises segments. India Inc’s reluctance to borrow money is keeping bankers worried. While lenders were able to stem fresh impairment in their credit quality in the July-September period, low demand for corporate loans has decelerated the growth in […]
NEW DELHI: With global energy firms refusing to participate in the ambitious TAPI gas pipeline, India may propose getting a Chinese company to lead a consortium that will build the USD 10 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. French giant Total SA had initially envisaged interest in leading a consortium of national oil companies of the four nations in the TAPI project, but backed off after […]
