Amid all the buzz about China’s hosting the G-20 summit in Hangzhou — all the accords, arguments and alleged snubs — another symbolically significant event was largely obscured. Last week, the World Bank issued bonds denominated in Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, in China’s interbank market. Beginning in October, the yuan will be included in the basket of currencies ...

E-books are not taking over the world! That seems pretty clear from a Pew Research Center survey released last week, which showed that the percentage of Americans who read digital books hasn’t risen since 2014. The survey didn’t show any real sign of a print resurgence either, though. Overall, the percentage of Americans consuming books in any form appears to ...

  London / AFP Europe”s stock markets rose on Wednesday on the eve of a key interest rate decision from the European Central Bank, which is widely expected to maintain its stimulative monetary policy. In afternoon deals, London”s benchmark FTSE 100 index added 0.3 percent, as dealers also digested a raft of mixed official economic data. In the eurozone, Frankfurt”s ...

  Bloomberg U.S. stocks were little changed, with equities near records while investors brooded over the direction of Federal Reserve monetary policy after mixed economic reports. The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 2,183.41 at 9:32 a.m. in New York, following a two-day gain that brought the gauge within 0.2 percent of its all-time high. “Interest rates are off ...

  London / AFP Stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in quiet early trade on Wednesday as some investors stayed away from the bourses ahead of market closures next week for Eid al-Adha holidays. Riyadh”s main index was down 0.2 percent in the first hour. Emaar the Economic City rose 2.9 percent after it said on Wednesday that an ...

  Bloomberg As the world’s biggest crude producers stop short of taking action to address the global oversupply, output cuts by their largest customers are helping to mop up the glut. While Asia buys more oil than any other region, it also accounts for about 8 percent of supply and has been cutting back as crude’s collapse prompts a wave ...

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is weighing plans to cancel more than $20 billion of projects and slash ministry budgets by a quarter to repair finances squeezed by low oil prices, people familiar with the matter said — efforts that analysts expect to slow economic growth. The government is reviewing thousands of projects valued at about 260 billion riyals ($69 billion) ...

  Emirates Business Oman’s Ministry of Transport and Communications “MOTC” has signed an agreement with Emirates Classification Society, TASNEEF, authorizing it to inspect the small ships that are not abiding by the international conventions in GCC countries. The agreement will help ensure that all ships and vessels are compliant with the safety requirements of the GCC “GCC CODE”. The Emirates ...

  Bloomberg Iran hinted that it may soon drop its opposition to an oil-production freeze, with a senior official saying the OPEC member’s crude output is closing in on its pre-sanctions level and that limiting supply is “a political decision.” The Persian Gulf exporter is pumping 3.8 million barrels a day, approaching its daily target of 4 million barrels, Mohsen ...

  Emirates Business The Qatar Ministry of Culture and Sports has awarded the operation of two world-class arenas to ELAN Live Nation, a joint venture (JV) between ELAN Group, a diversified and fully integrated media and entertainment group in the Middle East, and Live Nation, the global leader in live entertainment. The JV will operate Lusail Multipurpose Arena in Lusail, ...