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DUBAI / Emirates Business The average size of a home loan taken out in the UAE in May 2019 was AED1.31 million, marking a steady incr-ease compared to an average loan size of AED1.67 million in May 2018, according to data from Mortgage Finder. This is in line with the current market trend which has shown a downward shift in …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is restarting preparations for a potential initial public offering of oil giant Aramco, months after putting the planned listing on hold, people familiar with the matter said. Aramco, the world’s most profitable company, held talks with a select group of investment banks to discuss potential roles on the offering, according to the people. Detailed work on the …

Bloomberg The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will extend production cuts into 2020 as the world’s leading oil exporters fret about a weakening outlook for global demand growth and the relentless rise in output from America’s shale fields. Ministers from the group meeting in Vienna agreed to prolong their supply curbs by another nine months, said delegates, asking not …

Bloomberg Gold tumbled back below $1,400 an ounce after the US and China reached a truce in their trade war, dealing a blow to havens. Prices fell the most in a year after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to resume negotiations. Still, the setback may be temporary as investors now train their focus on US jobs data due on …

ABU DHABI / WAM Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, received Masud Husain, Ambassador of Canada to the UAE, and his accompanying delegation in the presence of Matar Salim Ali Al Dhaheri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Defence. During the meeting, which was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, the two sides …

Bloomberg DP World Plc is in “very advanced” discussions to acquire Topaz Energy & Marine Plc in what would be the Dubai-based company’s first venture into the oil and gas sector. The world’s largest port operator also said in a statement that there is no certainty of a transaction. Sky News reported earlier that a $1.3 billion deal could be …

Bloomberg President Donald Trump declared the US was “winning” the trade war a day after reaching a temporary truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping. On a visit to South Korea following the Group of 20 summit in Japan, Trump said at a news conference that the Federal Reserve “has not been of help to us at all” in his trade …

Bloomberg The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec’s) output fell for a seventh consecutive month as the group signalled it would keep supplies restrained at least until the end of the year. Crude production in June dropped to 30 million barrels a day as US sanctions further curtailed Iranian shipments and Saudi Arabia chose to pare back its output. The …

Bloomberg The US and China declared a truce in their trade war on Saturday, as Donald Trump said he would hold off imposing an additional $300 billion in tariffs and the world’s two largest economies agreed to resume negotiations. After a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump told reporters that he also would delay restrictions against Huawei Technologies …

MINSK / WAM The UAE and Belarus signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in education in Minsk, reported Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA). The document was signed by Belarus Education Minister Igor Karp-enko and UAE Minister of Education Hussain Al Hammadi. “The memorandum creates foundations for mutually beneficial cooperation between countries. We welcome ties between institutions of education, for example, …