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Bloomberg China’s alternative to the American-owned GPS extended its coverage beyond the Asia-Pacific region with a goal of becoming a dominating technology in the future, spurring gains in shares of related companies. The service, called Beidou, is now available in some parts of Europe and Africa within China’s Belt and Road initiative, spokesman Ran Chengqi told reporters in Beijing. The ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration is proposing that limits on mercury pollution from power plants are too co- stly to justify and no longer “appropriate and necessary,” a finding that could make it difficult to impose more stringent curbs in the future. For now, at least, the Environmental Protection Agency isn’t seeking to rescind the 2012 standards, responding to a clamour ...

Bloomberg US consumer confidence slumped in December to the lowest since July as a gauge of labour market expectations fell by the most in 41 years, the latest sign Americans are growing less optimistic as stock markets gyrate and the expansion moderates. The confidence index decreased to 128.1 from 136.4, according to a report from the New York-based Conference Board. ...

Bloomberg Two years after the US Federal Trade Commission sued Qualcomm Inc, unleashing a series of existential challenges to the company’s business model, the chipmaker is about to get its chance to square the record. Lawyers for the regulatory agency and the company are set to begin presenting arguments on January 4 in a 10-day non-jury trial over claims that ...

Bloomberg The UK is planning to double the charge on disposable plastic bags issued by the country’s largest retailers to 10 pence (about 13 cents) as part of a drive to protect the environment. The fee will also be extended to all small shops, according to the plans published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The proposals ...

Bloomberg Move over, Netflix: Apple Inc will be the best performing FAANG stock in 2019, according to veteran analyst Gene Munster. Apple will be rewarded in the coming year as investors focus more on revenue and earnings growth rather than iPhone unit sales, said Loup Ventures’ Munster, who has covered the company for more than a decade. The Cupertino, California-based ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s top rental-car companies say a cultural shift towards sharing automobiles rather than owning them will bolster demand as growth quickens in Latin America’s largest economy. The three main providers of rental cars in Brazil have far outpaced the Ibovespa’s 11 percent advance in 2018. Cia de Locacao das Americas is up 85 percent, Localiza Rent a Car SA ...

RAS AL KHAIMAH / WAM Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Minister of State, stated that the memory of the country’s founder and the builder of its modern advancement, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, will remain with the UAE’s people. He made this statement during a dialogue meeting, titled, ‘Centennial of Zayed,’ which was held on Wednesday by the Emirates ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Municipality (ADM) attained new achievement this year when its building data management system (BDMS) was recognised among the global top five systems in the ‘International Best Practice Competition’ at the Global Organisational Excellence Congress. The congress, held in Abu Dhabi from December 10 to 12, saw the participation of 250 regional and international ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) continue to present one of the world’s key growth regions for printing. In 2019, the total value of the commercial print business in Mena is forecast to reach $32 billion, according to research from Smithers Pira, the worldwide authority on the packaging, print and paper supply chains. They released ...