Bloomberg The euro dropped toward $1.1800 as investors continued to unwind long positions, with fresh tactical selling pressure setting in ahead of a speech by the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later on Tuesday. What started off as a knee-jerk reaction after the German election now appears to have become a broader hit on euro bulls’ conviction. Concern that European ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Greece plans to start stress tests for the country’s four systemic banks in late February with a view to determine by June if they need fresh capital before the end of the Greek bailout program. ECB President Mario Draghi said Single Supervisory Mechanism may front-load stress tests for Greek banks. Banks have been asked to send ...

DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s central bank has scrapped administrative fees for mortgage holders if they switch between fixed and floating rate loans, as part of new measures to boost the housing market. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority also announced, via its twitter account, other measures to help reduce mortgage costs, including allowing a mortgage holder to move to a ...

Bloomberg Singapore banks have closed accounts of several companies which specialize in providing cryptocurrency and payments services, according to two local bodies which represent financial-technology firms. Noting that cryptocurrency firms have had similar problems with their banks in other countries, the head of Singapore’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry Association, or Access, asked the government to step in. “From our analysis, ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Juma Mohamed Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary of the Foreign Trade Sector at the Ministry of Economy, drew attention to UAE-Chinese relations that continue to witness significant developments, especially in the trade and investment sectors, as 60 percent of China’s trade to Africa and Europe passes through the UAE while the value of their trade exchange is ...

ABU DHABI / Reuters The United Arab Emirates’ first nuclear reactor will ‘definitely’ be operational next year with the operating company getting a licence in 2018, the UAE’s energy minister said on Monday. The world’s largest single nuclear project, the Barakah plant will have capacity of 5,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity, with four 1400 MW reactors. Korea Electric Power Corporation ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The Lifestyle Expo in Dubai is being held to foster business collaboration between Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and the UAE as well as the rest of the Middle East-Africa (MEA), region, helping companies seize the enormous business opportunities emerging from China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Expo 2020 Dubai. Jointly organised by the Hong Kong ...

DUBAI / WAM Emirates Airlines announced an increase in the frequency of flights between Dubai and Tunis from six to seven a week, starting October 30. The additional Dubai – Tunis flight will be operated every Monday with an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER, to give passengers in Tunis greater access to Emirates’ global route network, particularly destinations in the Middle East, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Police will begin using some 17 radar devices powered by solar energy on the two roads from Maha Forest to Ashoush, and from Al Sudaira Tunnel to Al Faqa Intersection, beginning September 26. Brigadier Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, Director of the Central Operations Sector at the Abu Dhabi Police, said that the use ...

ABU DHABI /WAM Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, on Monday marked a new partnership with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a leading financial institution, to seek opportunities to collaborate and consult on initiatives to promote the growth and development of the FinTech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The Memorandum of Understanding ...