President Barack Obama’s proposal this week for a $10-a-barrel tax on oil, which has been overwhelmingly rejected by Republicans, could make it easier for the next president to pass a carbon tax — by demonstrating how not to go about it. Obama made three mistakes. First, he targeted a single industry, and one that many Americans believe he doesn’t like. ...

George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen has an intriguing blog post asking a deceptively simple question: You are an investor with $10 million planning to cash out in 20 years. A genie appears and offers to send you the price of one but only one asset 20 years from now to inform your investment decisions (a stock, currency pair, commodity, ...

ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has reported a net profit of AED 1,934 million for 2015, a 10.5 percent increase from a year earlier. The number of customers increased by over 100,000. This reflects the continued growth of ADIB’s main banking activities across all customer segments, particularly its ongoing penetration and targeting of the UAE’s ...

FUJAIRAH / WAM National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) announced the donation of AED150, 000 to The Angel Appeal, a charitable initiative supporting seafarers anchored off the coast of Fujairah. This is the fourth consecutive year that the bank has reiterated its commitment to the relief programme, further underscoring its ongoing support of the local community. The Angel Appeal is an ...

OMAN / Emirates Business National Bank of Oman (NBO)launched a new initiative, ‘Women@NBO’, to empower women in the workplace and develop a strong pipeline of potential female leaders within the Bank. NBO will invite approximately 50 talented female employees with the potential to take up leadership roles within the Bank, from various branches and divisions, to attend the inaugural ‘Women@NBO’ ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) , the UAE’s credit reporting company, launched the Application-to-Application (A2A) advanced feature in January, granting lenders direct access to the Bureau’s database to extract that data they need and use it as direct input into their own decision-making systems. UAE’s Leading financial institution, Mashreq has become the first Bank to enable ...

Jakarta / WAM Electronic money (e-money) transactions conducted in the country in 2015 reached Rp5.2 trillion in value, up from Rp4.3 trillion in 2014, Governor of Bank Indonesia(BI) AgusMartowardojo said. “In 2009, electronic money transactions were valued at about Rp520 billion only, and now they have reached Rp5.2 trillion,” the central bank governor said while opening the National Non-Cash Movement ...

New York / AFP Iran remains essentially off limits to US banks, despite the lifting of some US sanctions following the landmark Iranian nuclear deal. The Obama administration in mid-January eased several restrictions on doing business with Iran, including former “secondary” sanctions that had threatened to penalize companies outside the US for their business with Iran, as well as some ...

Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business India has yet again cemented its position as one of the major business allies for the UAE. Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) has reported a strong year for Indian companies in the freezone. DAFZA has reported a 23 percent increase in the number of Indian companies operating within the freezone during 2015. Official statistics reveal ...

Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business With the fast spreading off-roading tracks and soaring number of off-roading enthusiasts in the region, Chevrolet eyes a good share of the industry. Company has launched Chevrolet Tahoe Z71, which gives a chance to break away from the regular hustle and bustle of daily life with conciliation refinement for off-road capabilities. The new 2016 Chevrolet ...