San Francisco / AFP Amazon challenged YouTube by adding a platform to its video service that lets “storytellers and creators” share works online and generate revenue. The US online retail titan unveiled Amazon Video Direct where, like at YouTube, people can upload videos for online viewing at an ad-supported venue. The move came shortly after the Seattle-based firm made Amazon ...

  Bloomberg Later this year, outdoor-gear retailer North Face will offer its environmentally conscious shoppers at its outlet in Tokyo’s posh Harajuku fashion district a chance to save the planet. North Face’s outlets in Japan will sell a $1,000, special edition “Moon Parka,” a gold-colored jacket based on the design of its existing Antarctica parka, made out of synthetic spider ...

  Bloomberg In the latest salvo in a long-running feud over the costs of processing payments, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sued Visa Inc.’s US unit, saying the company wants the retailer to use a less-secure method for verifying debit cards in order to route transactions through its own networks to boost profits. Wal-Mart filed a heavily redacted complaint in New York ...

  Bloomberg Dean Foods Co., the largest US dairy processor, agreed to buy the manufacturing and retail operations of Friendly’s Ice Cream LLC for $155 million to add another consumer brand and help build its business beyond commodity fresh milk. The deal includes Friendly’s trademark and intellectual property, Dallas-based Dean said in a statement. The company will retain Friendly’s senior ...

  Buenos Aires / AFP With hardship rising due to job cuts and inflation, Argentina has adopted a scheme from Europe’s economic crisis: putting food in outdoor “social fridges” for the needy. “I was sick of seeing how food got thrown away and then shortly afterwards people were foraging for it” in the trash, said Luis Pondal, a restaurant owner in ...

  Las Vegas / AFP Hyperloop One startup, intent on zipping people along at near-supersonic speeds in pressurized tubes, announced that the French national rail company had joined its growing list of backers. Hyperloop One said that it raised US$80 million in fresh funding from an array of investors, including GE Ventures and France’s SNCF. “The overwhelming response we’ve had ...

  Our Correspondent/ Emirates Business Fetchr is a technology solution that makes shipping as delightful as shopping. It helps local merchants and global brands build, launch and grow profitable e-commerce and online businesses. “Consumers use their phones to shop for just about everything. With our app, you can now use your phone to ship anything, anywhere. We aim to change ...

  Our Correspondent / EMIRATES BUSINESS Gemini Property Developers (GDP), an India-based company is a well renowned name in the UAE and Middle East real estate market. GDP’s most recent project, Gemini Splendor, is the first of a series of high-profile, luxury residential projects, the company plans to build in the GCC in the coming years. “This milestone project marks ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Emirate of Abu Dhabi on Tuesday announced that it has successfully issued its benchmark dual-tranche 5 and 10 years, US$ 5bn bonds. The 5-year Bonds was priced on 25th April 2016 at a yield of 2.218%; the 10-year Bonds with a yield of 3.154% with a spread of 85bps and 125bps respectively, over the ...

  DUBAI / WAM The Emirates Group released its 2015-16 annual report, announcing that the group posted an AED8.2 billion (US$2.2 billion) profit for the financial year ending 31st March, 2016, up 50% from last year. The group’s revenue reached AED93 billion (US$25.3 billion), a decrease of 3% over last year’s results, and the group’s cash balance increased strongly to ...