News

Bloomberg Verizon Communications Inc said 10,400 employees, or about 6.8 percent of its total staff, were accepted for voluntary buyouts as the company looks to trim $10 billion from costs and retool for 5G wireless technology. The exit packages were available to as many as 44,000 Verizon employees, according to the statement. The buyout is the company’s second-largest, after a ...

Bloomberg US companies forecast a bright outlook for 2019, with gains across profit, employment and production, even as an escalation of the trade wars loom. Almost two-thirds of manufacturers and about 57 percent of service providers expect their revenue in 2019 to surpass 2018’s, though the gain may be smaller than this year’s increase, according to a semiannual survey by ...

Bloomberg Starboard Value is calling on Cars.com Inc to improve its performance or consider selling itself or making management changes, about nine months after the activist hedge fund reached a settlement agreement with the online auto-dealing platform. “If shareholders do not see progress soon, then we believe it would be incumbent upon the board to take more substantive actions,” Starboard ...

VIENNA / WAM The Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) has agreed to provide $50 million to support Egypt’s purchase of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas. A statement issued by OFID from its headquarters in Vienna declared that OFID contributes to cover the gap between fuel consumption and local production in Egypt. “Energy security is critical to ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Retail sales across four Gulf countries are projected to increase by more than $24 billion over the next five years, with the UAE expected to lead this trend with an estimated growth rate of 16%, according to new research from Euromonitor International. Euromonitor’s report reveals that Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are all set ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Cosco Shipping Ports and Abu Dhabi Ports inaugurated CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal at Khalifa Port, on Mon- day, positioning Abu Dhabi as the regional hub for Cosco’s global network of 36 ports and further connecting the emirate to the major trade hubs along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The deepwater, semi-automated container terminal includes the ...

DUBAI / WAM The board of directors of Federal Tax Authority (FTA) discussed value added tax (VAT) refund scheme for foreign businesses at its 7th me-eting, headed by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, and FTA Chairman. According to Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2017 on VAT, as well ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Mubadala Petroleum announced that it has completed the acquisition from Italy’s Eni of a 20 percent participating interest in the Nour North Sinai Offshore Area (Nour) concession, an offshore exploration block in Egypt. In the concession, which is in participation with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Eni as operator through its subsidiary (IEOC) now holds ...

SEOUL / WAM The UAE Ministry of Economy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the South Korean Intellectual Property Office, which stipulates that the latter will serve as the “International Research Administration” and the “International Preliminary Examining Service for International Patent Applications in the UAE,” under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty. Both sides also signed another MoU related ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), has issued a circular to banks regarding the issuance of cheque books as part of its ongoing efforts to improve responsible lending practices by banks. Before issuing customers with cheque books, banks are now required to carry out checks with the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), to ensure the creditworthiness ...