Bloomberg Americans last year bought about $200 billion worth of stuff from Amazon and its Whole Foods grocery stores. That figure is based on a Bloomberg Intelligence estimate that Amazon sold about $300 billion in merchandise in 2017 and the company’s report that two-thirds of its revenue comes from the US. If that’s accurate, Amazon.com Inc. captured about 5 percent …

Bloomberg Dad shoes are clunky, ugly — and the hottest trend in footwear, clomping down the runway at recent shows by luxury houses Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. The bulked-up sneakers, which can retail for hundreds of dollars a pair, also represent a major challenge for athletic-shoe makers unaccustomed to the volatile world of high fashion. Until recently, companies such as …

KHARTOUM / WAM The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making strenuous efforts for the convenience and comfort of millions of pilgrims while performing the fifth pillar of Islam, stated Dr Mohammed Mattar Al Kaabi, Chairman of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Awqaf, and Head of the UAE Haj Mission. “The KSA warmly welcomes millions of pilgrims and …

ADDIS ABABA / WAM Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, received Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and discussed prospects for joint cooperation, especially in vital areas of energy, infrastructure, investment, free industrial zones and civil aviation. While in the capital, Addis Ababa, Al Hashemy held a series of meetings with Ethiopian senior officials, tackling bilateral …

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE has strongly condemned a vehicle explosion that took place when gendarmerie and public security personnel were taking part in a joint patrol in the Jordanian capital, Amman. “The UAE stands in solidarity with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan against any attempts to its security and stability and supports whatever measures it may take to …

Bloomberg As much as Wells Fargo & Co. wants the public to believe it has put its troubled past behind it, yet another legal tangle shows it still doesn’t have a handle on its own questionable behaviour. In the latest turn of events, the Department of Justice has started an investigation into whether Wells Fargo colluded with developers to submit …

Bloomberg Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. is considering buying Prudential Plc’s Asia business, people familiar with the matter said, a deal that would reshape Asia’s booming insurance industry and mark the biggest-ever Chinese acquisition. Ping An has sounded out the Chinese government about whether it would be supportive of a deal, according to one of the people. The Shenzhen-based insurer …

Bloomberg China’s central bank said it won’t use the yuan as a tool to cope with trade tensions and other external issues, and that it won’t conduct any “strong” economic stimulus. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) won’t implement stimulus in “flood-irrigation” style, according to the quarterly monetary policy report released in Beijing. Prudent monetary policy should maintain neutrality and …

Bloomberg Greek lenders face higher financing costs after the European Central Bank said it will stop accepting the country’s government debt as collateral from August 21, the day after the nation’s bailout programme ends. The ECB will remove a waiver exempting Greek bonds from a rule that all collateral must be investment grade. The exemption was conditional on Greece being …

Bloomberg The list of perks at Deutsche Bank AG is shrinking fast. Investment bankers at Germany’s largest lender have been told to travel coach class on trains; fewer are able to attend conferences and some former employees said severance pay was less generous than previous handouts. Even small treats like the daily fruit bowls are disappearing. The frugal ethos described …