Catherine Putz SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS The International Monetary Fund released its world economic outlook recently, and the news isn’t good for Central Asia. According to the IMF, recovery will be put off until at least 2017, for reasons frequent readers will find familiar: the Russian recession and low oil prices. “The economic outlook for the Commonwealth of Independent ...

  The communique issued by the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers at the conclusion of talks in Washington this weekend had a somewhat unreal, and worryingly ironic, tone. Noting that global growth “remains modest and uneven,” the G-20 warned the large advanced economies against continuing their prolonged, excessive reliance on unconventional monetary policy to power growth. Yet ...

  In June 2015, Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese prime minister to visit Ukraine since its independence in 1991. Many observers hoped his visit was a turning point lifting Ukraine-Japan relations to a higher level. Upon Japan’s invitation, the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, paid a reciprocal visit to Japan from April 5 to 7 this year. During his ...

  China is determined to become the low-emissions electric-car capital of the world. Unfortunately, its car buyers aren’t cooperating. Cleaner Cars The Chinese government has been spending billions on research grants, steep subsidies and new infrastructure — such as charging stations — to encourage consumers to go electric. It hopes to boost the number of such vehicles on the road ...

  BLOOMBERG Crude oil’s fourth-straight decline weighed on energy companies and currencies of commodity-exporting nations after talks between major producers ended in Doha without any agreement on limiting output. While the drop in energy prices was moderated by a labor strike in Kuwait that curbed production, it dragged down the ruble, which posted the biggest loss among major currencies. The ...

  ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has increased by 0.30% to close at 4650.89 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has gained AED 2.26 billion attaining AED 754.43 billion. A total of 0.71 Billion Shares were traded with a total value of AED 1.03 billion during the trading session of 18-04-2016 through 9363 transactions. The number of companies ...

Baghdad / AFP US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter visited Baghdad on Monday for talks on stepping up the fight against the IS group in Iraq, where the US has deployed troops to fight the extremists. Carter’s visit comes after a week of political turmoil that has been a setback for Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, and the US defence ...

  SANAA / AP Yemen’s Shiite rebels backed out of UN-brokered peace talks just hours before the negotiations were to start on Monday in Kuwait, demanding an immediate halt to airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition that has waged a year-long war against them, officials said. It was not immediately clear if the negotiations were completely scuttled. According to two media ...

  KABUL / AP Afghan officials say flash floods in northern provinces have killed at least 38 people overnight. Remote, northern areas of Afghanistan often see flash floods triggered by heavy rains, which also cause landslides. The officials said on Monday that the flash floods struck the provinces of Takhar, Badghis and Samangan. Heavy rains have also hit the capital, ...

Beirut / AFP Key Syrian rebel groups vowed on Monday to strike back against alleged regime ceasefire violations, casting doubt on the future of fragile peace talks due to resume in Geneva. A truce agreed in February dramatically curtailed violence across much of Syria, but fighting has surged in recent days around second city Aleppo, causing tens of thousands to ...