News

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced that it conducted 299,806 additional Covid-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment. In a statement, the ministry stressed its aim to continue expanding the scope of testing nationwide to facilitate the early detection of coronavirus cases and carry out the necessary treatment. As ...

Sharjah / WAM The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) is organising the National Libraries Summit on November 8-9 at its headquarters in Sharjah, to further its commitment to promote books and literacy. The two-day summit will be held in conjunction with the 40th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2021) under the theme “Visibility, Engagement, Impact, and Collaboration”, and convene 50 national ...

Bloomberg The US posted the second-largest annual budget deficit on record for 2021 as pandemic-relief spending sustained the federal government’s massive borrowing needs. The deficit for the fiscal year through September was $2.77 trillion, compared with the $3.1 trillion peak seen in the previous year, a Treasury Department report shows. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and acting White House budget director ...

Bloomberg Italy’s credit rating outlook was raised to positive from stable by S&P Global Ratings, which said the progress in implementing reforms will boost economic growth, benefiting fiscal consolidation. S&P affirmed the BBB rating on Italy, which is two notches above junk. The country’s prospects are looking brighter as increasing rates of vaccination have allowed it to avoid renewed lockdowns. ...

Bloomberg Alphabet Inc’s Google is slashing the fees it takes from subscription services on its app store following pressure from developers and lawmakers. Beginning January 1, the Google Play Store will charge third-party subscription apps a 15% commission, the company said. Previously, subscription apps were charged 30% for first year, then 15% thereafter. Google also charged 15% for first $1 ...

Bloomberg The cost of hedging against inflation in the UK over the next decade rises to the highest level in 25 years as investors brace for price pressures in the economy to persist. The so-called 10-year breakeven rate climbed as much as 11 basis points to 4.25%, the highest since 1996. That predates the Bank of England’s independence in 1997, ...

Bloomberg Retailers in Canada reported fewer sales in September amid supply chain bottlenecks and a reopening of the economy that allowed consumers to spend more on services. Receipts likely fall 1.9%, a preliminary estimate by Statistics Canada indicated, after a gain of 2.1% in August — slightly ahead of a 2% consensus estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The ...

Bloomberg France’s 2022 budget deficit will be wider than forecast only a month ago after President Emmanuel Macron’s government announced plans to contain energy prices, hand out checks to more than half the population, and make high-risk investments in future industrial sectors. With just six months to go until elections, Prime Minister Jean Castex said that around 38 million people ...

NEW YORK / WAM In a statement to the UN Security Council’s quarterly open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, the UAE noted recent positive developments to advance peace in the Middle East and to help resume the negotiation process and build confidence between the parties to advance the Middle East Peace Process. The ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Fertiglobe plc, a subsidiary of Adnoc and OCI, on Wednesday announced the successful completion of its initial public offering (IPO) bookbuilding process, and the final offer price of its initial public offering. Fertiglobe is the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, the Middle East and North Africa’s largest producer of nitrogen fertilisers by ...