News

Bloomberg Mastercard Inc agreed to buy a payments platform owned by Denmark-based Nets for 2.85 billion euros ($3.19 billion), using its biggest-ever acquisition to help extend a push into faster payments. With the purchase, Mastercard is getting an electronic-billing platform and clearing and instant-payment services, according to a statement on Tuesday. The company said the purchase will hurt profit for …

Bloomberg Brent oil slid below $60 a barrel for a second day as investors weighed the prospects of a prolonged standoff between the US and China, following the Trump administration’s labelling of the Asian nation as a currency manipulator. London-traded futures erased an earlier rally to fall about 0.5 percent on Tuesday. A move by the People’s Bank of China …

Bloomberg India’s biggest aluminum producer Vedanta Ltd. is prioritising controlling costs as it embarks on expanding capacity, according to CEO. Vedanta plans to double alumina capacity at its refinery in the eastern state of Odisha to 4 million tons over the next 2.5 years and raise aluminum smelter production capability by 30% to 3 million tons “at an all-in cost …

SHABWA/ WAM The United Arab Emirates through its humanitarian arm — the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) — has provided relief aid to people affected by heavy floods in Merkhah As Sufla District in Shabwa, Yemen. The ERC team distributed 800 food baskets to 4,720 citizens and provided shelter camps for Yemenis whose homes were damaged by the floods. The move …

Bloomberg Oil slid as escalating trade tensions between the US and China prompted investors across financial markets to flee risk assets, though West Texas Intermediate pared losses after a report signaled an inventory drop at America’s main storage hub. Futures fell in London and New York after posting a loss last week. The dispute between the top major economies is …

ABU DHABI / WAM The total combined revenue of 50 companies listed on the Abu Dhabi and Dubai financial markets rose to AED33.73 billion in the first half of 2019, increasing by 14.7 percent compared to the same period in 2018. A survey conducted by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), on companies that disclosed their financial results showed that the …

DUBAI / WAM Regional aircraft markets will need $600 billion in investments to meet the demand for 150-seat 10,550 aircrafts by 2038 due to rise in air travellers, according to Embraer, the Brazilian aerospace conglomerate. Market growth will drive 65 percent of this demand for the aircrafts, while the remaining 35 percent will replace ageing aircrafts, it said in a …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, lowered pricing for September sales of all crudes to Asia while raising prices to buyers in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean region. State-owned Saudi Aramco cut pricing for its flagship Arab Light crude to buyers in Asia by 75 cents, to a $1.70 a barrel premium over the Oman-Dubai Middle Eastern benchmark, …

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump said “things are going along very well with China,” and repeated his contention that Beijing is paying the US “Tens of Billions of Dollars” after successive rounds of import tariffs. This was “made possible by Chinese government’s monetary devaluations and their pumping in massive amounts of cash to keep their system going,” Trump said in …

ABU DHABI / WAM In collaboration with the local customs administrations, the Federal Customs Authority initiated the executive procedures to unify customs system across the UAE. The move is meant to authorise common customs electro-nic system within all local customs administrations as well as border zones in order to contribute to cementing the security scheme, facilitate trade, simplify clearing procedures, …