News

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) revealed signs of progress within the tourism sector as the emirate prepares to gradually open up to international travel. Hotel occupancy rates in Abu Dhabi have risen by 3% year-on-year since July 1 and are expected to rise further with the launch of a ...

Bloomberg The UK economy expanded much slower than expected in May, underscoring the struggle to recover from the depth of the coronavirus slump. The expansion of 1.8% fell short of the 5.5% pace expected and still leaves the economy almost 20% smaller in the latest three months. While activity has since picked up as lockdown restrictions eased, the UK, along ...

Bloomberg Cellnex Telecom SA is considering bidding for a stake in CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s European wireless tower business, according to people familiar with the matter, as it scouts for new acquisitions. Europe’s largest wireless tower operator is in early-stage discussions about acquiring a minority holding in the CK Hutchison portfolio, the people said, asking not to be identified as ...

Bloomberg Before the bankruptcies came the bonuses: $10 million at J.C. Penney Co., $25 million at Chesapeake Energy Corp., $1.5 million at Hertz Global Holdings Inc. That’s how much was promised to executives only weeks or in some cases days before bankruptcy. Of the 100 or so major companies that have filed since the coronavirus shutdown began, 19 of them ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) will recommend keeping its external borders shut to Americans and most other foreigners for at least two more weeks as fears grow of a second coronavirus wave, according to officials familiar with the matter. Member-government envoys in Brussels plan to urge no expansion of a list of 15 countries — Canada, Japan, South Korea and ...

Bloomberg Only one-quarter of business leaders say their organisations are fully ready for the end of the Brexit transition period, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors. Nearly half of the 978 company directors polled late last month said they weren’t able to prepare for a transition now, and one in seven said they were focused on the ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte kept investors guessing over the fate of toll-road manager Autostrade per l’Italia SpA, ahead of a cabinet meeting due to consider the option of stripping away its highway concessions in a long confrontation with the Benetton family. A decision on the issue which has split the ruling coalition “must involve the entire government,” Conte told ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE’s Mars Mission will inspire new projects and enterprises, including big companies and SMEs, in all sectors, to take risks, mitigate them and succeed, a minister told Emirates News Agency (WAM). “When you talk about transforming the economy and developing science and technology, and building new companies and small and medium enterprises, it depends on ...

DUBAI / WAM Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) has recorded 10.6 percent growth in the retail and e-commerce sector with a total trade value of AED37.6 billion despite the sudden challenges facing both regional and global economy. More than 1,000 companies from 96 countries play a pivotal role in Jafza’s retail and general trading sector. Approximately 39 percent of these ...

Bloomberg Google said it plans to spend $10 billion over the next five to seven years to help accelerate the adoption of digital technologies in India. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of parent Alphabet Inc., made the announcement at the annual Google for India event via video conference. He said the coronavirus outbreak has made clear importance of technology for conducting ...