News

Bloomberg Roche Holding AG will buy Spark Therapeutics Inc. for $4.8 billion, a deal that will transform the Swiss drugmaker from a laggard to a leader in the emerging field of gene therapy. Along with French biopharmaceutical company Ipsen SA’s agreement on Monday to acquire Clementia Pharmaceuticals Inc. for as much as $1.3 billion, the Roche deal shows how drug ...

Bloomberg Barrick Gold Corp, the Canadian mining giant, has amassed a small stake in US rival Newmont Mining Corp. and warned the company that it plans to propose changes to its bylaws, as it continues to weigh a hostile takeover attempt, according to people familiar with the matter. A letter was delivered to Newmont’s Greenwood Village, Colorado, headquarters informing the ...

Bloomberg Among the world’s biggest consumer companies, Europe’s Unilever NV, L’Oreal SA and Danone are best prepared for the effects of climate change relative to their peers, according to a report from the nonprofit CDP. Formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP took a double-barreled approach in ranking the 16 largest consumer companies on measures including exposure to emissions, ...

Bloomberg Germany’s services providers bolstered economic momentum in February, with a slump in manufacturing deepening on the back of global trade tensions and weakness in the auto industry. IHS Markit’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index rose in February to a four-month high of 52.7. Owing exclusively to more optimism in services, business confidence was the best since September. Manufacturing suffered from ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. is introducing an improved version of its HoloLens augmented-reality goggles and lowering the price, as it tries to develop a bigger business selling the devices to corporate customers. At $3,500, the HoloLens 2 with a wider field of view and easier controls than the original is still an expensive piece of gear, but it’s less than the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced that it has entered into a landmark multi-billion-dollar midstream pipeline infrastructure partnership with KKR and BlackRock, two of the world’s leading institutional investors. To mark the occasion, a signing ceremony was held at Adnoc Headquarters with Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Adnoc ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The sovereign long-term commercial borrowing in the Middle East and North African (Mena) could increase by 25% this year after falling 38% in 2018, according to S&P Global Ratings. This is chiefly because higher oil prices and fiscal consolidation measures in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries significantly reduced GCC sovereigns’ funding needs in 2018. However, lower ...

Dubai / WAM As part of its efforts to strengthen its leading position amongst most innovative and smart exchanges in the region and beyond, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) organises series of brainstorming sessions during the ‘UAE Innovation Month 2019’. The sessions aim to promote a culture of innovation amongst DFM employees and various market participants including listed companies and brokerage ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received at the Beach Palace on Sunday, heads of two global investment firms, Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, and Henry Kravis, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of KKR. His Highness ...

SHARM EL SHEIKH / WAM In a step towards supporting the UAE’s digital transformation, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), on Sunday announced advanced level of preparation to roll-out 5G services in the UAE in 2019. Prominent landmarks across the UAE in all seven Emirates are currently being installed with high-technology 5G equipment and will be the first areas to have commercial ...