A deal between Iran and six major powers intended to pave the way to a solution to a long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions will come into force on January 20, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the European Union said on Sunday. Shortly after the interim accord takes effect, an Iranian official added, Tehran and world powers will start negotiating a final settlement of their differences about […]
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index touched a four-month high as signs of improvement in the labor market support expectations the U.S. economy will be strong enough for the Federal Reserve to end bond purchases this year. The dollar remained higher versus most major peers before government data today forecast show initial claims for unemployment benefits fell. A report tomorrow may say U.S. employers continued to add positions […]
Negotiations between Iran and six world powers on implementing a landmark November deal to freeze parts of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing some sanctions have run into problems over advanced centrifuge research, diplomats said. The dispute over centrifuges highlighted the huge challenges facing Iran and the six powers in negotiating the precise terms of the November 24 interim agreement. If they succeed, they plan to […]
Italian carmaker Fiat SpA struck a $4.35 billion deal to gain full control of Chrysler Group LLC, ending more than a year of tense talks that have obstructed Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne’s efforts to combine the two automakers’ resources. The agreement, announced on Wednesday, cements Marchionne’s reputation as the industry’s consummate dealmaker about a decade after he took the helm of Fiat as a car business newcomer, […]
Luxury brands are stepping up the battle for travelling shoppers with more outlets at airports and on cruise ships, tapping into one of the fastest growing sections of the market that looks set to keep booming thanks to soaring numbers of Asian tourists. Revenues from travel retail, which also includes sales on airplanes, rose 9.4 percent in 2012 to $55.8 billion, according to a market study by […]
A bipartisan budget deal announced in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, though modest in its spending cuts, would end three years of impasse and fiscal instability in Washington that culminated in October with a partial government shutdown. While praised by the Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the agreement faces a challenge from some House conservatives […]
Swiss authorities are urging banks to quash their doubts and enter a U.S. voluntary disclosure program aimed at uncovering American tax evaders. The Swiss financial watchdog Finma requested banks to decide by today whether they will join the first stage of the U.S. Department of Justice program by applying for non-prosecution agreements by the end of 2013. Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is scheduled today to respond […]
Dabur India Ltd, the household goods maker controlled by the billionaire Burman family, is expanding in the rural market of the world’s second-most populated nation to revive sales that grew at the slowest pace in two years. The company increased its rural network to cover 36,000 villages as of October from 14,000 in March 2012, Dabur said in an e-mail. That helped the maker of Hajmola digestive […]
The chief financial officer of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment vehicle, Kingdom Holding , is to leave the firm, two banking sources aware of the matter said. Shadi Sadeek Sanbar, who has worked with the firm for more than eight years and is seen as a close aide of the Saudi billionaire, will leave the firm at the end of the year, the sources said, requesting anonymity […]
U.S. lawmakers said they aimed to tighten sanctions on Iran to prevent Washington giving away too much in a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program that diplomats said was still possible despite the failure of high-level weekend talks. Their comments reflected widespread Congressional skepticism about a rapprochement between Iran and world powers and coincided with renewed lobbying from Israel against a proposal it sees as leaving open a […]
Some merchants and dealers were found to have exploited the ‘24 hours’ facility extended by the Dubai government whereby some major shopping malls were allowed to remain open day and night during Eid Al Adha, according to a statement released by Khalid Al Boom, Senior Director of Promotional Events Control Section, at the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED). The outlets announced false promotional offers and this […]
The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain its massive bond-buying campaign when it concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday and may point to softer readings on the U.S. economy to signal that the policy will be extended into 2014. The central bank, which will announce its policy decision at 2 p.m., has held interest rates near zero since late 2008 and has quadrupled the size of its […]
Protesters marched on Capitol Hill in Washington on Saturday to protest the U.S. government’s online surveillance programs, whose vast scope was revealed this year by former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. People carried signs reading: “Stop Mass Spying,” “Thank you, Edward Snowden” and “Unplug Big Brother” as they gathered at the foot of the Capitol to demonstrate against the online surveillance by the National Security Agency. Estimates […]
Mehmood Patel still wakes up early, just as he did when he was a popular heart specialist seeing patients who waited hours for minutes of his time. Instead of surgical scrubs, he climbs into the khaki drabs of the Federal Correctional Complex in Oakdale, Louisiana. He leads health-conscious inmates on a morning walk, then cracks open one of the medical journals on his prison-approved reading list. Counseling […]
Asian stocks marked time on Wednesday with nervous investors praying that frantic talks in Washington to avert a U.S. debt default could lead to a deal before the Oct 17 deadline, after which the government would run out of ways to borrow. U.S. Senate aides said an agreement to lift the government’s $16.7 trillion borrowing limit was near but details still needed to be worked out, leaving markets clinging […]
One of the key pieces left in Dubai’s real estate regulations — an investor protection law — will soon slot into place. Top officials from the Dubai Land Department late last month made it clear that the Law (also known as Tanweer) and its provisos was on the cusp of being issued and that all options to “safeguard investor rights” have been incorporated. With Dubai’s property values […]
Ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock, the United States and Russia agreed on Thursday on a U.N. Security Council draft resolution that would demand Syria give up its chemical arms, but does not threaten military force if it fails to comply. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said a deal was struck with Russia “legally obligating” Syria to give up its chemical stockpile and the […]
Fitch Ratings has upgraded UAE-based Tamweel PJSC’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’, Short-Term IDR to ‘F1’ from ‘F2’ and Support Rating to ‘1’ from ‘2’. Fitch has simultaneously withdrawn Tamweel’s ratings. At the same time, the senior unsecured programme rating of Tamweel Funding III Limited (TFIII) has been upgraded to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’ and withdrawn, and the senior unsecured Long-Term rating of the […]
Asian stocks rose to three-week highs on Thursday as Indian shares and the rupee rallied a day after the country’s new central bank chief unveiled measures to support the currency and the banking sector. But worries the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon scale back stimulus kept markets in check. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.6 percent, having earlier hit a high last […]
NATASHA LOMAS – Trying to raise $32 million via crowdfunding always looked overly ambitious. And indeed it has proved to be so. Canonical’s Ubuntu Edge Indiegogo campaign to build a smartphone designed for converged computing has fallen considerably short of its target, ending with the fixed funding project receiving nothing at all — which, when you’ve got pledges worth around $12 million, has got to hurt. The campaign ran from July […]
After inching up 0.15 percent last week, the U.S. Comex gold futures jumped 3.72 percent this week and ended at $1,361.10 on Thursday. During Asia Friday morning, the gold futures traded as high as $1,372. The Dollar Index retreated 0.72 percent in the past two days and was flat week-to-Thursday. The S&P 500 Index and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index fell 1.94 percent and 0.20 percent respectively […]
(Reuters) – Iran has installed 18,000 uranium-enrichment centrifuges, the country’s outgoing nuclear chief was quoted as saying by Iranian media on Saturday. The U.S. and its Western allies are pressing Iran to curb its uranium enrichment program, which they suspect is aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability, but Iran refuses and insists its nuclear activity is for purely peaceful purposes. New Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a […]
High oil prices and poor returns on safe assets have pushed the GCC’s huge sovereign wealth funds into riskier investments in recent years, a report from Moody’s Investors Service says. Moody’s doesn’t attempt to quantify the shift, but even minor changes in strategy by Gulf funds are carefully watched given their hefty sway in global financial markets. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which Moody’s estimates to hold […]
By Gerald Al Fil While the comeback of stock market rallies investment banking, the Shari’ah-compliant industry faces its toughest test since it entered its boom phase a decade ago. I got puzzled when I received a tweet from @Worldmuslimnews on May 11 saying “Islamic finance is out”. Are issuances of Islamic bonds (sukuk) not going through the roof as we can read day by day? Could first […]
