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Bloomberg The Czech Republic must distribute its growing wealth more widely, and even a cooler economy won’t stop higher social expenditure and investment, according to the country’s finance chief. The richest former Soviet satellite is relaxing traditional spending controls that have underpinned one of Europe’s sturdiest budgets. Just five years after austerity exacerbated a record-long recession, Alena Schillerova — the ...

Bloomberg CVS Health Corp. and Aetna Inc received conditional approval to proceed with their proposed $68 billion merger, one of the largest in a series of recent deals that stand to transform the US health-care business. The combination would create a giant with a hand in insurance, prescription-drug benefits and drugstores across the US. By bringing those businesses under one ...

Bloomberg Swisscom AG is considering options for its Fastweb SpA unit, including a sale or partnership, that would increase the Italian business’s market share in mobile services, people familiar with the matter said. The company has discussed a tie-up with CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s local wireless unit, Wind Tre SpA, though the Hong Kong conglomerate isn’t interested in adding landline ...

Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp. is pressing deeper into its strategy of making cloud services more compatible with competitors, rather than trying to force customers into its own walled garden. IBM unveiled three new products to manage security, artificial intelligence and storage services across multiple cloud systems, regardless of whose they are. Having arrived late to the cloud revolution, IBM ...

Bloomberg Three commodities traders were charged by the US Justice Department with orchestrating a $60 million fraud that involved spoofing and conspiring to manipulate futures contracts, according to prosecutors and court filings in Houston. Yuchun “Bruce” Mao, a 39-year-old Chinese national, is accused of working with two other traders at his firm in a scheme to rig the purchase and ...

Dubai / WAM The second United Nations Data Forum 2018 will commence on Monday, October 22. The three-day forum takes place in Dubai and will bring together more than 2,500 data experts, high-ranking government officials and prominent policy makers from 120 countries around the world. With 80 interactive discussion panels and over 400 global spe-akers, the second edition of the ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The fourth edition of the annual UAE-India Economic Forum (UIEF), which will be held in Dubai on October 24, is poised to explore the strengthening ties and bilateral trade relations between the two countries. The UIEF is supported by the Telangana Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The forum, to ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has revealed that compliance with tax returns requirements for excise tax one year after its introduction in the UAE has amounted to 97.7% of registered businesses — one of the highest rates in the world — while the total number of registrants reached 715 registrants. Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director General ...

Emirates Business Maqta Gateway LLC, an Abu Dhabi Ports subsidiary, announced that it is to carry out its first testing of international blockchain solution Silsal with a maritime operator in partnership with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, a global leader in shipping and logistics. The announcement marks the latest milestone for Silsal. The innovative solution provides a seamless and secure link ...

STOCKHOLM / WAM Mariam Hareb Almheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, met Elisabeth Backte- man, State Secretary of Swed-ish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, to discuss means of enhancing ties in innovations in food technology. This meeting was held as part of UAE minister’s visit to Sweden, where she visited a number of research centres and companies which support ...