News

ABU DHABI / WAM Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB’s) Credit Reports and Scores will be used by the two largest telecom operators in the UAE, Emirates Telecommunications Group Company – Etisalat and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company – du. The operators will put more reliance on AECB’s reports and scores while onboarding postpaid customers and devices’ purchasers in order to assess ...

AJMAN / WAM The value of real estate transactions in the Emirate of Ajman amounted to AED793 million in February, according to the monthly report issued by the Department of Lands and Real Estate Regulation. The report noted the stable performance of the emirate’s property market. The month witnessed the registration of 454 real estate transactions during February with the ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced that it conducted 218,351 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 ...

DUBAI / WAM Expo 2020 Dubai will celebrate World Wildlife Day 2022 to spearhead a series of programmes dedicated to wildlife conservation and biodiversity, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). UN World Wildlife Day, celebrated annually on March 3, will be marked during Expo 2020’s Climate and Biodiversity ...

Bloomberg Rishi Sunak will extend furlough payments to UK workers until the end of September, protecting millions of people whose jobs were suspended during the coronavirus pandemic until after restrictions are set to be lifted. With the nation mired in a third lockdown, the government will keep paying 80% of wages for those in the program through the end of ...

Bloomberg Italy’s new government may soon seek parliamentary approval for more stimulus spending as a sluggish vaccination campaign and new coronavirus strains extend the nation’s reliance on fiscal support. Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration is planning to distribute about 32 billion euros ($38 billion) that was approved by the parliament in January through a new decree called “sostegno” or “support,” ...

Bloomberg The European Union’s (EU) executive arm is likely to extend a suspension of the bloc’s debt rules through next year amid uncertainty over the region’s economic recovery. In its guidance on fiscal policy for the coming months, the European Commission outlined its parameters for assessing whether to prolong a waiver of the EU’s spending limits, signaling that it won’t reinstate ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims there isn’t a trade-off between Canada’s strict lockdowns and economic growth will be tested this week with the release of new output data. Analysts expect gross domestic product (GDP) shrinks by more than 5% last year, a middling result among advanced economies. The US, with far less restrictive pandemic measures last year, shrinks by ...

Bloomberg Roblox Corp., the kid-focused gaming company that’s planning to go public this month, warned investors that the booming user growth it enjoyed during the pandemic is about to disappear. The total hours that users spend engaged with the gaming platform could drop by as much as 11% in the second quarter, Roblox said in a statement. Though the number ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel backed a relaxation of coronavirus restrictions despite a stubbornly high infection rate, acknowledging that many Germans are weary of curbs on daily life after months of lockdown. The German leader had been pushing back against increasingly insistent calls for a swifter loosening, but told lawmakers from her conservative bloc that “easing is necessary.” She explained her ...