Prices for German luxury cars in China are tumbling as the country’s stock market sell-off and worries about broader economic growth chill demand for auto brands that once commanded price premiums from affluent Chinese consumers. At Mercedes-Benz stores operated by a dealer group with nearly 200 multiple brand outlets, customer traffic at showrooms has dwindled markedly since mid-June, when a stock market slide that saw indexes plunge by […]
An updated version of Microsoft’s Power BI service will be released July 24, the company announced Friday. The goal of the updated service is to enable business users to benefit from business intelligence and analytics without requiring sophisticated help from analysts, data scientists, or other tech staff. The new set of business-intelligence tools will replace Microsoft’s current Power BI for Office 365 service. Also available on July […]
The White House is seen covered by snow in Washington February 21, 2015. Reuters/Yuri Gripas/Files WASHINGTON The federal government could find more cyber intrusions as it takes a close look at its sprawling and sometimes creaky systems in the wake of massive hacks, the nation’s chief information officer told Reuters. “I think it’s a realistic chance, and I think this is true no matter where you go. […]
VIENNA — One of the last major obstacles to concluding a historic nuclear deal with Iran is a dispute over a set of United Nations sanctions that appeared to be resolved months ago and only peripherally has to do with nuclear weapons. The sanctions, passed in a series of resolutions by the United Nations Security Council beginning nine years ago, ban the shipment of conventional arms into […]
Ellen Pao speaks to the media after losing her high profile gender discrimination lawsuit against venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers in San Francisco, California March 27, 2015. Reuters/Beck Diefenbach SAN FRANCISCO Ellen Pao resigned as acting chief executive of Reddit Friday in the latest sign of turmoil at the site, recently roiled by the firing of a popular employee and ongoing tensions over the […]
UAE. Core Savills, the largest commercial lease transaction and one of the leading international real estate companies in the UAE, is optimistic on the outlook for the Dubai real estate market. Research released today by the firm has suggested declining apartment and villas prices in the emirate since the market peaked late last year will stabilize during 2016 and return to growth later in the year or […]
UAE. Private sector businesses in Dubai signalled further strong increases in business activity and new orders in June, though the rates of expansion moderated to 27- and 53-month lows, respectively. Despite softer increases in activity and new work, Dubai private sector companies were increasingly optimistic towards the year-ahead, with the degree of positive sentiment reaching a 19-month high. Furthermore, increased confidence towards the business outlook underpinned the […]
DUBAI // Why do women wear black and men white? Is everybody in the UAE rich because of oil? These were just some of the questions and misconceptions young Emiratis tackled about women and life in the UAE from visitors to the UAE pavilion at Milan Expo 2015. The questions posed by curious visitors covered religion, history, women’s rights and education. The Emiratis hope their answers helped […]
VIENNA — One of the last major obstacles to concluding a historic nuclear deal with Iran is a dispute over a set of United Nations sanctions that appeared to be resolved months ago and only peripherally have to do with nuclear weapons. The sanctions, passed in a series of resolutions by the United Nations Security Council beginning nine years ago, ban the shipment of conventional arms into […]
The newest version of Apple’s mobile operating system is set for release this fall, but the company is — for the first time — offering the public a chance to take iOS 9 for a test drive. The public beta is now available for anyone to download, although Apple recommends that users first back up their devices and/or use secondary devices in case the preview OS has […]
Electronics giant Samsung is bleeding on the smartphone side, with seven straight quarters of decline. The company hopes to correct that in the quarter ahead by beating Apple to the punch. Samsung is set to roll out its next Galaxy Note phablet device in mid-August. That breaks the company’s release cycle, which usually sees new Note devices hit the market in September. The electronics giant needed to […]
TEHRAN — As nuclear negotiations in Vienna grind on through deadline after deadline, Iranian officials have begun a public campaign to blame the United States in the event that the talks fail. Iran’s public diplomacy has long been geared toward selling a possible deal to hard-liners at home. But as an interim agreement between Iran and the West was extended on Friday to give negotiators more time, […]
VIENNA — An interim nuclear agreement between Iran and six major world powers has been extended through Monday so that negotiators have more time to pursue a final accord, the State Department announced on Friday. “To allow for the additional time to negotiate, we are taking the necessary technical steps for the measures of the Joint Plan of Action to remain in place through July 13,” a […]
Mobile application developers will be able to test the quality of their apps through a new service — AWS Device Farm — unveiled by Amazon Web Services. The announcement was one of several made during the AWS Cloud Summit taking place Thursday at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Other new developments announced during the event included Amazon API Gateway, a managed service designed to […]
On Thursday Microsoft released Office 2016 for Mac, the long-awaited productivity suite that integrates with Office 365, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint so that users have access documents across personal and work accounts from their devices just by signing in with their Office accounts. A preview of Office 2016 was made available in March and elicited some 100,000 pieces of feedback from testers. The final version […]
Video | Kerry Says He Will Not Rush Iran Talks Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that he was not willing to rush nuclear talks with Iran, but that they could not go on forever without an agreement. By MICHAEL R. GORDON and DAVID E. SANGER July 9, 2015 VIENNA — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that the United States would continue to negotiate on a nuclear agreement […]
If you read the news regularly, you read about data breaches and massive hacks just about every week. That can make you a little nervous about safeguarding your financial information. A new MasterCard survey reveals you are not alone. Seventy-seven percent of consumers are anxious about their personal and financial information being hacked. In fact, the fear of a hack is higher than the fear of compromised […]
The mother of Avraham Mengistu, who is said to be held in Gaza by Hamas, before a news conference in Ashkelon, Israel, on Thursday. By ISABEL KERSHNER July 9, 2015 JERUSALEM — Two Israeli civilians are being held by Hamas in Gaza, one of them a man who walked into the Palestinian coastal territory in September, the Israeli authorities said on Thursday. Lifting a 10-month news blackout on the […]
Dubai has overtaken other financial centres in listing Islamic bonds on its exchanges, and is mounting a global drive to attract more listings while developing new channels to trade sukuk, the chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai said. “Demand for Islamic financial products still exceeds supply — there are very few financial products for which this is true,” said Hamed Ahmed Ali. The exchange is working on ways […]
SAN FRANCISCO Microsoft Inc’s (MSFT.O) future in mobile devices likely hinges on the software maker’s ability to convince developers to create apps for the phone version of Windows 10 after its ill-fated Nokia acquisition helped trigger 7,800 layoffs. The job cuts announcement is an acknowledgement that its 2013 $7.2 billion purchase of Nokia was never going to help paltry sales of its Windows Phone, and that it […]
UAE. The representation of women on corporate boards continues to increase, but the number of women leading boards still remains low globally. Overall, women now hold 12 percent of seats worldwide with only 4 percent chairing boards, according to the fourth edition of the Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective, report by Deloitte. The report outlines the efforts of 49 countries to increase the number of […]
UAE. Middle East employers must learn how to adapt to the unique demands of Generation Z in order to attract and retain new talent as we enter a new era of digital revolution, regional experts have warned. PA Consulting Group says failure to grasp how to motivate and communicate with this entrepreneurial group of people may threaten the survival of those organisations reluctant to change. A three-part […]
The Follow-up Committee of the Initiatives of the UAE President has approved a number of housing and service schemes across the country. The projects, approved during a meeting on Wednesday, were ordered by President Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the state news agency Wam reported. Among the approvals was the Dh90 million […]
ABU DHABI // The New York Times bestselling author Dan Buettner’s secrets to a long and healthy life transfixed the audience, which included members of the Royal Family, at the fifth Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Ramadan Majlis on Wednesday night. Buettner provided some surprising revelations in his tips on how to live a grand life to the age of 100 in his talk Blue Zones: Secrets of […]
