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ABU DHABI / WAM The Ministry of Economy (MoE) revealed that the total number of commercial agencies registered in the UAE markets across various sectors reached 5,944 by the end of last year. In addition to the 348 new agencies registered during 2020, 65 new agencies were registered during the first quarter of this year. The ministry emphasised that it ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business HE Dr Ali Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Chairman of the Board of National Takaful Company “Watania” said that the company approved a dividend payment of 7.5% to the shareholders. 2020 marks the 3rd consecutive year of dividend, on the back of 6% declared in 2019. Speaking in the official press statement HE Dr Al ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, announced that it conducted 256,181 additional Covid-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment. In a statement on Wednesday, 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 ...

Bloomberg The US federal budget deficit more than doubled to a record in the first half of the fiscal year amid a fresh wave of stimulus payments to cushion Americans from the persistent coronavirus pandemic. The deficit last month was $659.6 billion, the third-largest on record and biggest since last June, swelling the total from October to March to $1.71 ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is set to lay out its blueprint to raise nearly $1 trillion of debt over five years as it seeks to fund its recovery from coronavirus pandemic. The bloc is aiming to issue the first debt under its NextGenerationEU stimulus in June and will use a “state of the art” platform to begin selling bonds ...

Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. said gross bookings last month were the highest in a year as vaccination rates increase in the US, encouraging more people to get out of their homes. The company’s mobility unit, which handles ride-hailing services, passed $30 billion in annualised gross bookings run rate in March, Uber said in a securities filing. Average daily bookings rise ...

Bloomberg The French economy is slowing only slightly in April due to the tightening of Covid-19 restrictions, easing concerns that school closures would cause a deeper contraction. The Bank of France said activity will decline to 7% below pre-crisis levels in April after President Emmanuel Macron imposed stricter travel restrictions and ordered schools and nurseries to close. The hit to ...

Bloomberg Denmark will gradually reopen its borders to some countries next month when older Danes are expected to have gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccination shot, the government said. Denmark will be open to vaccinated citizens from European countries as of May 1, the government said. Residents who haven’t gotten a shot but come from European countries with low contamination ...

Bloomberg The UK economy rebounded in February as a mass vaccination program and the prospect of a loosening of coronavirus restrictions lifted consumer confidence. Gross domestic product rises 0.4% following a revised 2.2% decline in January, the Office for National Statistics said. All the main sectors of the economy saw output rise. The economy remains 7.8% smaller than it was ...

DUBAI / WAM In his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, has ordered the payment of bonuses totalling over AED14 million to citizens whose taxi number plates are used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation and Taxi Franchise Companies. Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) ...