News

Bloomberg The storm system that’s rained on the Bahamas for two days, slowing the recovery from Hurricane Dorian, is set to become Tropical Storm Humberto when it scrapes by Florida and veers sharply out to sea. Parts of Florida remain on a tropical storm watch and will probably get heavy rain in any case. The system has sustained winds of ...

Bloomberg The French government boosted its budget-deficit forecast, amid global economic headwinds and a drag on finances from President Emmanuel Macron’s stimulus in response to the Yellow Vest protests. The finance ministry cut the 2020 growth forecast to 1.3 percent from 1.4 percent previously and raised its budget deficit target to 2.2 percent of economic output from the 2.1 percent ...

Bloomberg Polish employer groups are voicing alarm over government plans to nearly double the minimum wage and hike social security fees, saying that businesses and the wider economy will face major risks from fast-rising costs. Seeking to further boost its poll-leading standings ahead of next month’s general election, Poland’s ruling party has pledged to raise the minimum wage by 78 ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The United Arab Emirates has expressed its strong condemnation and categorical rejection of an announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the planned annexation of land from the occupied West Bank to Israel in the event of an election win. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, stated ...

Bloomberg Ministers from Opec+ are gathering in Abu Dhabi with deeper production cuts off the agenda for now, but with a backdrop of growing concern about strength of oil demand as the global economy slows. Crude lurked in the low $60s for most of the summer as escalating tensions between the US and China and increasing fears of a looming ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The total value of three-month deposits in UAE banks amounted to AED532bn in July, 2019, a 6.2 percent growth of AED31.22bn as compared to the preceding month. According to the CBUAE’s figures, three-months deposits, which have been steadily growing over the recent months, account for 55.3 percent of total deposits held by UAE banks, driven by ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), signed an AED3.27 billion water purchase agreement, with ACWA Power, a Saudi-based developer, investor and operator of power generation and desalinated water plants. The deal will enable the development of over 900,000 cubic metres per day desalination facility in Taweelah – sufficient to meet the demand of water for ...

BEIJING / WAM A total of 362 deals worth valued at $26 billion have been signed at the fourth China-Arab States Expo, reported the People’s Daily. The expos was held in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, with Chinese President Xi Jinping relaying a congratulatory message during the opening ceremony of the event. According to People’s Daily, “Over 2,900 regional ...

Bloomberg Saudi Aramco has picked a slew of banks to work on its planned initial public offering following intense lobbying by some of the world’s top dealmakers, people with knowledge of matter said. Aramco selected firms including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley for top ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates Skywards, the award-winning loyalty programme for Emirates and flydubai, has touched a new high – 25 million members. Emirates Skywards is celebrating this key milestone with exciting offers and surprises for its members, starting September 12. This includes 25% discounts on upgrades and reward tickets on selected flights to and from Dubai, a network-wide special ...