News

Bloomberg Japan’s economy is set to contract in the current quarter following growth that was better than first estimated in the first three months of the year, according to one of the country’s top economic forecasters. Gross domestic product is likely to shrink by 0.5 percent in the second quarter, Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research, said in ...

Bloomberg The decades-old alliance of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co descended into open enmity as the two sides sparred over governance changes at the Japanese automaker, an apparent tit-for-tat following Nissan’s refusal to endorse a deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Nissan Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa said it was “most regrettable” that Renault planned to stymie board reforms, ...

Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Google agreed to buy Looker Data Sciences Inc. for $2.6 billion, expanding its offerings to help customers manage data in the cloud. The acquisition gives Google a new tool in its campaign to sell more cloud storage and software. So far, the company has struggled to compete with larger rivals Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. and late ...

Bloomberg UK manufacturing output fell the most in almost 17 years in April as the boost from Brexit stockpiling evaporated and car producers went ahead with planned shutdowns. The 3.9 percent decline, the most since June 2002, saw the economy as a whole shrink for a second straight month, Office for National Statistics figures show. Vehicle production plunged by a ...

Bloomberg The slowdown in US hiring seen in the jobs report could get even worse, as President Donald Trump’s still-escalating trade war threatens further blows to employers. The May payroll figures — which missed all economist estimates and included steep downward revisions — translated into a four-month average jobs gain of 127,000. That’s the slowest since 2012, and compares with ...

Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is partnering with Silicon Valley startup Aurora Innovation Inc. to develop and deploy a fleet of self-driving commercial vehicles in a bid to catch up with other automakers that have invested heavily in the technology. The two companies signed an agreement to integrate Aurora’s self-driving platform into Fiat Chrysler’s commercial vehicle lines in the US. ...

Bloomberg Europe’s troubled steel market is showing signs of bottoming out, according to the world’s No. 1 producer ArcelorMittal. While weak auto industry demand means it’s too early to call a recovery, steel prices in the European Union are starting to climb, said Geert van Poelvoorde, the company’s chief executive officer for flat products in Europe. ArcelorMittal announced output cuts ...

Bloomberg After days of wrangling over the wording of a communique, finance chiefs from the world’s largest economies warned that escalating trade and geopolitical tensions pose the biggest risk to global growth. Officials said that although growth appears to be stabilising, it “remains low and risks remain tilted to the downside,” according to the statement. “Most importantly, trade and geopolitical ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The headline seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy — rose to 59.4 in May from 57.6 in April. This was the third successive monthly increase in the index, with the latest reading signalling a ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) issued a request for proposal (RFP) for appointing consultants to study, develop and construct floating solar photovoltaic plants in the Arabian Gulf. This is a new and innovative initiative by Dewa to use solar power that supports the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 (DCES 2050) to diversify the ...