News

Bloomberg DowDuPont Inc. sought to reassure investors that its planned spinoff of one of the world’s biggest plastic makers will be unscathed by a groundswell of global concern about pollution. Jim Fitterling, who will lead the new company as chief executive officer, waved away worries that protests against plastic trash will weigh on the new stand-alone operation’s growth plans. He ...

Bloomberg A key gauge of the UK housing market fell to the weakest since just after the financial crisis. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its index of prices fell to the lowest in six years in October, pointing to a modest drop in values. Uncertainty about the UK’s impending exit from the European Union and a lack ...

Bloomberg Global trade tensions, Italy’s fiscal battles and US overheating pose risks to the euro-area economy, the European Commission warned as it lowered its forecast for the coming year. While the list of threats in the commission’s report aren’t a surprise, they come amid mounting signs of a persistent slowdown in the euro area. The European Central Bank has said ...

Bloomberg BMW AG is under pressure to drop its opposition to funding hardware upgrades on some diesel vehicles as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government continues efforts to defuse a crisis that’s damaging the country’s reputation as an automotive leader. Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer had summoned executives from BMW and rivals Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG to a meeting in Berlin ...

Bloomberg ASML Holding, Europe’s largest semiconductor equipment ma-ker, expects net sales to grow to 13 billion euros ($14.9 billion) by 2020, up from a previous forecast of 11 billion euros. The company already expected sales to reach the 11-billion euro mark for 2018. In a statement kicking off its investor day, ASML’s management said it expects to continue to return ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The MoU was signed during their meeting at the headquarters of the chamber. The MoU affirms the commitment of both sides to reinforce the economic and commercial cooperation between the UAE and Hungary, through ...

Bloomberg The wind changed again in the oil market as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) signalled it will consider a return to cutting output next year, potentially making the second production U-turn this year. With the US midterm elections over and crude futures wilting in the face of another historic shale oil surge, the cartel will discuss a change ...

DUBAI / WAM Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, met with Chiril Gaburici, Minister of Economy and Infrastructure of Moldova, and his accompanying delegation on Wednesday. During the meeting, held at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development headquarters in Dubai, the two sides discussed means of developing ties in the infrastructure development sector. Dr Al Nuaimi ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp. is planning to develop a $1.2 billion solar power plant in Saudi Arabia, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The plant, to the north of Riyadh, would generate 1.8 gigawatts of power, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private. SoftBank has started preliminary talks with banks and developers ...

SINGAPORE / WAM His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, has visited Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s Data Hub Integrated Solutions (MORO), a data hub that provides state-of-the-art data centre solutions and innovative business services. During the visit, Sheikh Hamdan was accompanied by Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary-General of ...