| By Yaroslav Trofimov| Despised by some, admired by others, the U.S. has been the Middle East’s principal power for decades, providing its allies with guidance and protection. Now, however, with Russia and Iran thrusting themselves boldly into the region’s affairs, that special role seems to be melting away. As seasoned politicians and diplomats survey the mayhem, they struggle to recall a moment when America counted for […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai Islamic Bank is exploring an entry into India as it seeks to benefit from the funding needs of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, it was reported. “We as part of our international growth strategy are looking into India as one of the emerging Islamic finance markets,” Chief Executive Officer Adnan Chilwan said in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News. India […]
|By TAP Staff| The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) said it would list two new futures contracts to trade this week. The first, the India Silver Quanto Futures contract, would trade before and after the closure of Indian markets to offer traders increased trading opportunities and would be cash settled and denominated in U.S. dollars. The second contract will be the Mini WTI contract sized at […]
|By Matein Khalid| 2015 has been a horror story for emerging markets and Asian shares have not escaped the fallout from the 40% plunge in Shanghai/Shenzhen since June. Yet financial markets discount the future while UAE investors invariably extrapolate the recent past. So even while I resurrect the ghosts of 1998 when Suharto’s regime fell amid anti-Chinese riots in Jakarta, South Korea was forced to accept a […]
Letters spell the word ”Alphabet” as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris, France, August 11, 2015. Reuters/Pascal Rossignol Google, which has now morphed into holding company Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), is in talks with messaging startup Symphony Communication Services LLC for a round of fundraising, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Symphony’s chat […]
Saudi Arabia is expected to cut the prices of crude it sells to Asia in November after the Dubai benchmark weakened last month, in a move that will help the OPEC kingpin retain its market share in the region amid a global oversupply, traders said. Prices, however, are likely to be lowered less than what is indicated by a formula, given the top oil exporter tempered gains […]
Letters spell the word ”Alphabet” as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris, France, August 11, 2015. Reuters/Pascal Rossignol Google Inc has morphed into Alphabet Inc. After U.S. markets closed on Friday, Alphabet replaced Google as the publicly traded company that will house Google’s search and Web advertising businesses, maps, YouTube and its “moonshot” ventures […]
Discount broker Scottrade said on Friday that it was the victim of a cyber attack from late 2013 to early 2014 that compromised client names and addresses in a database with information on some 4.6 million customers. The firm said it learned about the attack from federal law enforcement officials who were investigating the theft of data from Scottrade and other financial services firms. The company did […]
UAE. Lifting of Iran sanctions in the future will significantly boost its economy and positively affect the neighbouring GCC economies, especially the UAE. According to speakers at a panel discussion organised by ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty in the UAE, this is due to its solid trading infrastructure. ICAEW members and guests gathered at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai recently to discuss the impact of lifting Iran’s sanctions. […]
An attendee at the Microsoft Ignite technology conference walks past the Hewlett-Packard (HP) logo in Chicago, Illinois, May 4, 2015. Reuters/Jim Young/Files REUTERS – Hewlett-Packard Co said its board had approved the previously announced split of the company into two separate listed entities – computers and printers, and corporate hardware and services. Hewlett-Packard said on Thursday that it expected its split into Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co and […]
ADEN // The smiling, triumphant fighters waving the flags of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen at the Marib Dam were not just celebrating a strategically important victory in the battle to restore stability to Yemen. They were also fulfilling a vow by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. While visiting families of the Emirati […]
UAE The next six months may prove a pivotal turning point in the recovery of global commodities markets according to Ole Sloth Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, the online trading and multi-asset investment specialist. Following nine months of geo-political incidents in Europe and the Middle East, and widespread uncertainty catalysed by major economic crises in Greece, Russia and China, Hansen is optimistic the next […]
|By Matein Khalid| Even as China’s President meets the capo di tutti capi in Seattle, its manufacturing PMI falls to 47, a post Lehman low, with new export orders in a slump. I found it significant that the offshore yuan fell 200 pips to 6.4346 after the PMI. This proves my core argument, outlined a month ago. The Middle Kingdom will respond to its economic decline and […]
While Dubai continues to pump out sumptuous new apartment blocks, for a rising number of expatriates the city no longer offers the luxury lifestyle that lured many foreigners to the Gulf. A shortage of affordable homes and a reduction in overseas allowances since the financial crisis are pushing foreign staff on middle incomes out to less glamorous areas of the city far from the office, or to […]
|By TAP Staff| FGB claims to be the first bank in the UAE to offer a one-stop financing solution to start-ups. The bank’s new ‘Startup Proposition’ offers new businesses a range of financial solutions, from business current accounts and business credit cards, to start-up loans, overdrafts and trade/working capital facilities, with no collaterals required. The start-up package is designed to support new businesses in the initial stages […]
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama announced on Friday that he had reached a “common understanding” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on curbing economic cyber espionage, but threatened to impose U.S. sanctions on Chinese hackers who persist with cyber crimes. The two leaders also unveiled a deal to build on a landmark emissions agreement struck last year, outlining new steps they will take to deliver on pledges they made […]
A logo is pictured at Google’s European Engineering Center in Zurich April16, 2015. Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann/Files WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened a preliminary investigation into whether Google Inc (GOOGL.O) uses its Android operating system to dominate competitors as more consumers go mobile, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. The Android mobile platform is a key element in Google’s strategy to maintain revenue […]
Bloomberg|David McLaughlin| Google Inc. is back under U.S. antitrust scrutiny as officials ask whether the tech giant stifled competitors’ access to its Android mobile-operating system, said two people familiar with the matter. The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement with the Justice Department to spearhead an investigation of Google’s Android business, the people said. FTC officials have met with technology company representatives who say Google gives priority to its own […]
INTERNATIONAL. Gleaming glass skyscrapers, state-of-the-art technology, and wealthy merchant families have replaced the Gulf’s muddy towns and villages populated by traders and pearl fishers that once lacked electricity, running water or modern communications. The region’s modern day projection of a visionary cutting- edge, 21st century urban environment masks however the fact that some things have not changed. Gulf states continue to be ruled by the same families, […]
UAE. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States of America are the world’s five most innovative nations, according to the Global Innovation Index 2015, while China, Malaysia, Viet Nam, India, Jordan, Kenya, and Uganda are among a group of countries outperforming their economic peers. The GII 2015 looks at “Effective Innovation Policies for Development” and shows new ways that emerging-economy policymakers can boost […]
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, has launched ‘DME Auctions,’ a new platform that will provide a transparent spot commodity auction system for the first time in the region. It will provide commodity market participants with the flexibility to buy and sell physical energy products and other commodities in the Middle East and beyond via an […]
Kuwait’s government spending in August stood at KD4.2 billion ($13.91 billion) fiscal-year-to-date (fytd), marking 22 per cent of the FY15/16 budget, slightly above the historic average of 14 per cent, a report said. The figure, while being 6 per cent lower than during the same period last year, indicates that spending cuts have not yet been fully reflected in the interim figures, added the latest Economic Update […]
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has raised Dh504 million ($137 million) in its rights issue, which was nearly three times oversubscribed with Dh1.46 billion in subscriptions received. The rights issue, the first tradable rights issue for a bank in the UAE, forms part of the comprehensive capital plan to support ADIB’s strong growth plans. Following the close of the subscription period on September 10, all 168 million […]
Microsoft has announced that Almoayyed Computers, the flagship division of Almoayyed International Group, has won the ‘Microsoft Country Partner of the Year 2015 Award for the Kingdom of Bahrain’. Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,300 entrants from 108 different countries worldwide. Almoayyed Computers was honoured among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in […]
