Gold’s tumble to the lowest since 2010 promises to prolong a mergers and acquisitions boom that’s seen transactions at a three-year high as weaker prices slash asset valuations. Deals valued at $9.6 billion were proposed or completed in the six months to June 30, up 7 percent on the previous half, as producers including OceanaGold Corp. agreed acquisitions, according to data complied by Bloomberg. They totaled $22.3 […]
Emirates National Oil Co. increased its offer to buy Dragon Oil Plc to 800 pence ($12.50) a share, winning support from minority owners including billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Advisors U.K. Ltd. that rejected ENOC’s offer in June. Elliott and Baillie Gifford & Co., which hold a combined 13.1 stake in Dragon Oil, have accepted the new price, ENOC said in a statement. ENOC had offered to buy […]
UAE. The MENA Private Equity Association, a non-profit organisation supporting the development of the private equity and venture capital industry in the Middle East and North Africa, launched today its ninth “MENA Private Equity & Venture Capital” Annual Report. According to the Report, which was compiled in collaboration with Deloitte and Zawya – Thomson Reuters, 2014 was a significant year for the industry and has demonstrated the […]
DUBAI // A model to help promising young leaders achieve their potential has been launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. Called “The Leader of the 21st Century Model”, it has been launched for the UAE Government Leaders Programme and is created by the UAE Government. Inspired by the leadership of Sheikh Mohammed, it aims to strengthen the competencies and leadership skills […]
ANTAKYA, Turkey — A Pentagon program to train moderate Syrian insurgents to fight the Islamic State has been vexed with problems of recruitment, screening, dismissals and desertions that have left only a tiny band of fighters ready to do battle. This tiny band, 54 in all, suffered perhaps the most destructive problem yet on Thursday: Its leader, deputy and at least five others were abducted in Syria, […]
|By Matein Khalid|So Pearson PLC has sold the FT Group (with its flagship Financial Times newspaper) to Japan’s Nikkei Inc for $1.32 billion. Pearson will use the cash proceeds to increase its investment in education publishing businesses in the US and Canada, now 75% of revenues. This deal is a milestone in the history of newspaper publishing and my own life as an investor/financial journalist. I discovered […]
INTERNATIONAL. The undisputed king of oil and gas is making some moves that could change the face of the global refining sector. In June 2015, Saudi Arabia pumped a record 10.564 million barrels a day, a record level. As if being the world’s biggest exporter of oil was not enough, the desert kingdom is now looking to conquer the refining sector as it has quickly become the […]
UAE. To preserve economic and social stability and continue with development plans, MENA governments are considering tax measures to broaden their revenue base and increase tax yields. The evolving tax landscape in the MENA region was discussed at the EY MENA Tax Conference held recently in London. The conference was attended by EY Tax specialists and senior finance and tax executives from major European companies with investments […]
Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the Gulf’s only listed stock exchange, reported a 48 percent fall in second-quarter net profit on Monday as bourse turnover slumped. The firm, which runs securities trading in Dubai, made a net profit of 132.4 million dirhams ($36.05 million) in the three months to June 30, down from a net profit of 252.5 million dirhams in the year-ago period, a statement said. DFM’s […]
|By TAP Staff| A company owned by Dubai Holding said on Sunday it plans to sell its 60 percent stake in Maltese telecom operator Go. Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT), a unit of Dubai Holding, said in an emailed statement it “has not yet approached or identified any buyer for its stake”, and “has only just started the process of evaluating its options.” Go is undertaking a restructuring […]
Pearson Plc is in talks to sell its half stake in the publisher of the 172-year-old Economist magazine, marking another step toward the former conglomerate’s transformation to an education company. The Economist is one of the assets that were excluded from London-based Pearson’s agreement this week to dispose of the FT Group to Japan’s Nikkei Inc. Pearson’s 50 percent holding could be valued at as much as […]
JERUSALEM — The two issues with perhaps the broadest consensus and resonance in Israeli politics are opposition to the Iran nuclear deal and support for the release of Jonathan J. Pollard, the convicted Israeli spy, from a North Carolina prison. Now the two could be tied together, as some in Washington appear to be highlighting Mr. Pollard’s likely parole in November in hopes of quieting the vigorous […]
UAE. Women are just as likely as men to find employment in small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE, according to the latest research by business intelligence company MEED. Of the more than top 50 SMEs in the Emirates which participated in the study, 50 per cent said they employ an equal number of women and men in their organisations. About 40 per cent even reported having […]
Shepherding livestock in the West Bank village of Susiya. Residents have been displaced three times in the last 30 years and are faced with ejection once again. By DIAA HADID July 23, 2015 SUSIYA, West Bank — Yousef Nawajaa strode between the tents bedecked with Palestinian flags, scattered through parched orchards and rocky hills, shouting delightedly to a man nearby: “Hey, did you hear? John Kerry spoke about Susiya!” […]
It could be a match made in heaven. Wall Street says Intel Corp (INTC.O) is the best suitor for Qualcomm Inc’s (QCOM.O) chip unit, if the maker of Snapdragon mobile processors decides to break itself up. “The chip deal to end all chip deals,” says Cowen and Co analyst Timothy Arcuri, would give Intel’s smartphone chip making business a much-needed boost. It would also allow Intel to […]
HUSSEIN LOOKOUT, Israel — The Obama administration opened its Middle East reassurance tour on Monday with the secretary of defense, Ashton B. Carter, promising Israeli officials that the United States would remain vigilant in trying to combat what he called “Iran’s malign influence” in the region despite the nuclear deal struck last week among Tehran and six world powers. To make his point, Mr. Carter let Israeli […]
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously approved a resolution that creates the basis for international economic sanctions against Iran to be lifted, a move that incited a furious reaction in Israel and potentially sets up an angry showdown in Congress. The 15-0 vote for approval of the resolution — 104 pages long including annexes and lists — was written in Vienna by […]
SINGAPORE, 3 days ago Chinese ultra wealthy individuals claimed nine of the 10 spots on a list of Asia’s richest millennials (definite as those born from 1981 to 1997), revealed Wealth-X, an authority on wealth intelligence, providing sales, marketing, strategy and compliance solutions to clients in the financial services, luxury, not-for-profit and education sectors. Three of the 10 spots on the list were occupied by female Asian […]
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, responded to the Iran deal as expected: It is bad, endangers Israel, he argued; we are against it and will be the only American ally not only to oppose it, but to go down gloriously, fighting a battle in Congress that we are destined to lose. Mr. Netanyahu often warns that Iran is like Nazi Germany in 1938, fooling naïve […]
|By TAP Staff| With the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers complete, American business interests are looking for opportunities. But before all the sanctions are lifted, U.S. and global businesses will have to clear plenty of hurdles before they begin investing in and selling to Iran, Voice of America said. The agreement, which puts strict limits on Iran’s nuclear development for 10 years, calls for […]
TEHRAN — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, voiced support on Saturday for his country’s nuclear deal with world powers while emphasizing that it did not signal an end to Iran’s hostility toward the United States and its allies, especially Israel. “Their actions in the region are 180 degrees different from ours,” he said. Speaking after a special prayer marking the end of the Muslim […]
INTERNATIONAL. A desperate battle was fought last week. It pitted Germany and Greece against each other. Each country had everything at stake. Based on the deal that was agreed to, Germany forced a Greek capitulation. But it is far from clear that Greece can allow the agreement reached to be implemented, or that it has the national political will to do so. It is also not clear […]
Video | Accord is ‘Bad Mistake,’ Netanyahu Says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the nuclear agreement would enable Iran to continue its “aggression and terror” throughout the region. By ISABEL KERSHNER July 14, 2015 JERUSALEM — Furiously denouncing the accord to limit Iran’s nuclear program on Tuesday as “a historic mistake,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not be bound by the agreement and warned […]
