News

ABU DHABI / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced that it conducted 226,139 additional Covid-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment. In a statement on Sunday, the ministry stressed its aim to continue expanding the scope of testing nationwide to facilitate the early detection of coronavirus cases and carry out necessary treatment. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Emirates Steel announced its plans to add Hot Rolled Coils (HRC) to its wide-range products portfolio so that it can mainly meet the needs of the local and regional markets of the high-quality flat products. Emirates Steel is currently conducting a comprehensive evaluation for the project to construct the fully automated first-of-its-kind HRC plant in Mena ...

ABU DHABI / WAM National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) announced the launch of four pilot projects, all part of Tabreed’s R&D funding commitment, which reinforces the company’s unwavering stewardship towards sustainability beyond just environmental benefits. This will also contribute to an improvement in Tabreed’s operational efficiency while enhancing district cooling plant life and reliability, with the funding expected to contribute ...

Bloomberg The US merchandise-trade deficit widened in January as imports climbed to a record high, signalling a continuing recovery in demand from American consumers. The deficit grew to $83.7 billion from $83.2 billion in December, according to Commerce Department data. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had called for an $83 billion shortfall in January. Imports rise 1.1% to $218.9 billion, ...

Bloomberg The UK is set to create a 5 billion-pound ($7 billion) grant program to help businesses that have been hard hit by the pandemic. The ‘Restart’ program will mostly apply to retail, hospitality and leisure — the industries that have been impacted most by the series of lockdowns imposed in the last year. The plan will be announced on ...

Bloomberg Norway’s $1.3 trillion wealth fund, the world’s biggest, is handicapped in chasing its environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment goals by the political process, according to Global SWF. The lengthy decision-making that determines which asset classes Norway’s investing behemoth can buy puts it at a disadvantage compared with smaller money managers, “in particular” regarding ESG, according to Diego Lopez, ...

Bloomberg Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will slash its manufacturing capacity by 25% over five years and write off investment in products it’s decided to scrap under new Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bollore. The British carmaker will take a non-cash charge of about 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) in the quarter ending in March related to higher previous spending and projects ...

Bloomberg European credit markets have just completed a round-trip recovery from peak pandemic fear. Borrowing costs are retreading pre-crisis levels, with confidence in an economic recovery sparking double-digit gains in the riskiest debt. Healthier balance sheets are turning 2021 into the year of the rising star as more companies re-establish investment-grade credentials — the reversal of 2020’s swell of fallen-angel ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE expressed its support for the Saudi Arabian foreign ministry’s statement regarding Jamal Khashoggi. In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed its confidence in and support for the Saudi judiciary, as well as Saudi Arabia’s commitment to enforcing the law with transparency and integrity, and holding those responsible ...

Bloomberg The decline of Angola, from being Africa’s top crude producer five years ago to barely pumping more than war-torn Libya, shows the heavy toll of a slump in oil-industry investment. The nation’s production has fallen by more than a third since 2015, when international oil companies started slashing investment in response to a plunge in crude prices. Despite government ...