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Bloomberg Airbnb Inc. agreed to buy HotelTonight, its biggest acquisition yet, in a move to increase hotel listings on the site ahead of an eventual initial public offering for the home-sharing startup. Airbnb declined to disclose financial terms of the deal, but a person familiar with the matter said the price is close to HotelTonight’s last private valuation. A venture ...

Bloomberg Purdue Pharma LLP says its decision on whether to file for bankruptcy to avoid being swamped by opioid lawsuits doesn’t depend on the timing of the first trial over its role in the public-health crisis. A judge in Oklahoma refused Purdue’s, Johnson & Johnson’s and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s requests to push back a May trial of Oklahoma officials’ ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump took a victory lap on Twitter, saying aluminum prices are down about 12 percent since his tariffs were implemented. While Trump’s figure is mostly accurate, as far as the price of the metal traded on the London Metal Exchange is concerned, the president failed to point out that the impact of tariffs was reflected mostly in ...

Bloomberg US hiring was the weakest in more than a year while wage gains were the fastest of the expansion and the unemployment rate fell, a possible sign that America’s jobs engine is starting to slow down. Treasuries rose while the dollar and stock futures fell. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 20,000 after an upwardly revised 311,000 gain the prior month, ...

DUBAI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday announced allocation of AED5.8 billion ($1.6bn) for water and electricity projects in northern emirates. His Highness also approved an AED2.4 billion project to build dams and a federal water network that connects the water resources ...

Bloomberg The global economy is suffering more than expected from trade tensions and political uncertainty which are clouding prospects particularly in Europe, according to a gloomy report from the OECD. As these are the organisation’s first forecasts in almost four months, it’s partly playing catch-up with developments since then. In that period, little has gone right for the world’s biggest ...

DUBAI / WAM Nasdaq Dubai welcomed the listing of a $750 million conventional bond by Emirates Development Bank (EDB). It is the first product to be listed on the exchange by the bank, which is wholly owned by the UAE government. The listing supports EDB’s mission which includes contributing to the economic prosperity of UAE nationals by providing financing solutions ...

Bloomberg The US trade deficit widened in 2018 to a 10- year high of $621 billion, bucking President Donald Trump’s pledges to reduce it, as tax cuts boosted domestic demand for imports while the strong dollar and retaliatory tariffs weighed on exports. The annual deficit in goods and services increased by $68.8 billion, or 12.5 percent, Commerce Department data showed ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business LuLu, the largest hypermarket chain in the Middle East, unveiled its Organic & Healthy food festival, which was inaugurated at LuLu Hypermarket at The Mall at World Trade Center, Abu Dhabi. As the health-conscious customer base in the country continues to increase, the week-long promotion features great deals and offers on healthy selection available across ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one among the largest jewellery retailers globally with a strong retail network of 250 outlets spread across 10 countries launched a special collection of diamond and 18K gold jewellery as a glittering tribute to the unspoken love of a mother. Arab Mother’s Day is celebrated on March 21 every year to honour ...