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DUBAI / WAM The Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination (ZHO) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to enhance its remote learning initiative and ensure continuity in education, the development of skills and social empowerment of people with disabilities. The MoU was signed between Abdullah Al Humaidan, General-Secretary at ZHO, and Sayed Hashish, General Manager ...

Bloomberg The French and Spanish economies plunged into record contractions and German unemployment climbed more than expected amid virus shutdowns that are pushing Europe into its deepest recession of the post-war era. France shrank 5.8%, the most since 1949, with Spain suffering a 5.2% drop in GDP. The figures highlight the dramatic effect of government-ordered shutdowns as just two weeks ...

Bloomberg UK homebuilders are starting to pull out of deals to buy land as they brace for a hit to demand. Inland Homes Plc, a firm that specialises in getting urban sites ready for construction, said on Thursday that three deals with large publicly traded homebuilders had been aborted because of the coronavirus pandemic. The cancelled deals show how developers ...

Bloomberg A gauge of Russian manufacturing slumped to the lowest level since records began in 1997 as lockdowns across Europe choked demand. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 31.3 in April, down from 47.5 in March, IHS Markit said on Thursday. The median estimate of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 40.5. “Output and new orders contracted ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. said quarterly sales and profit rose, buoyed by demand for internet-based software and cloud services needed to accommodate a shift to remote working during the coronavirus crisis. Profit in the period ended March 31 rose to $10.8 billion, or $1.40 a share, the company said in a statement. Sales rose 15% to $35 billion. The results from ...

Bloomberg The euro-area economy plunged into a record contraction, an outcome that will only add more urgency to controversial demands for joint European fiscal support. Output in the 19-country region shrank 3.8%, reflecting shutdowns to contain the coronavirus that have pushed businesses close to collapse, sent unemployment surging and forced governments to unleash billions of euros in emergency stimulus. As ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. will cut the price of its standard-range Model 3 in China for the second time this year so it can continue to qualify for government rebates on electric vehicles that are being tightened. The move will drop the price of the sedan below the 300,000 yuan ($42,400) maximum threshold for electric cars in China to qualify for ...

Bloomberg Oil clawed back its recent heavy losses as output cuts from major producers seek to stymie an unprecedented global glut. Futures rose by almost $2 in New York to around $14 a barrel. Russian oil companies will cut output by about 19% from February levels, the nation’s Energy Minister, Alexander Novak told the Interfax news agency. Even at $10 ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE spent a record 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion) of cash in the first quarter as Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury warned of the “gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known.” While almost half of the cash hit came from a bribery settlement, the abrupt drop in deliveries seen in March will worsen this quarter, eating further ...

Bloomberg As dividends are slashed around the world, the $42 billion in promised payouts by China’s biggest banks have a powerful defender — the Communist Party. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) and its three biggest peers are returning more than 30% of their 2019 earnings to shareholders, implying an average dividend yield of more than 6%. That’s ...