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Bloomberg Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG wants to increase its operating margins by making production and other processes more efficient as it positions for possible further declines in US drug prices, its chairman said in an interview. Joerg Reinhardt told the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag that his company is taking steps to increase its operating profit margin towards 35 percent ...

Bloomberg The head of the World Trade Organization has responded to President Donald Trump’s threat to leave the institution by warning such a move would cause chaos for US companies operating around the world. In an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg, Trump warned that he would withdraw from the WTO “if they don’t shape up.” The president also called the ...

Bloomberg Coca-Cola Co. is making an audacious move into coffee and retail outlets with the $5.1 billion purchase of UK chain Costa, its biggest acquisition in eight years and a push into the fiercely competitive java market. The soft-drinks company swooped in after Whitbread Plc announced a plan in April to spin off the business. The transaction gives Coca-Cola instant ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has recorded its highest ever daily Indian Rupee (INR) volume, trading 126,055 contracts on August 13. On the same day, the Exchange’s overall volume touched 185,630 contracts worth $4.17 billion, its second highest daily notional value since inception. Amidst continued market volatility, the DGCX traded over 2.08 million contracts ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump slammed what he termed ‘decades of abuse’ by Canada with a new threat to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), a day after talks with the US’s northern neighbor stalled hours before a deadline. “There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new Nafta deal. If we don’t make a fair deal ...

Bloomberg Crude rose this month as sanctions on Iranian oil stoked concern that supplies will contract, overshadowing speculation that a US-China trade war will weaken demand. Futures in London settled 4.3 percent higher in August, the biggest monthly gain since April and US crude also rose for the month. Yet, both benchmarks faltered as Saudi Arabia was said to raise ...

Bloomberg India’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in nine quarters, as strong domestic consumption and robust manufacturing growth stamped out global trade-war worries. Gross domestic product grew a stunning 8.2 percent in the three months ended June from a year earlier, the Statistics Ministry said in a statement in New Delhi. That was faster than the 7.6 percent median ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Damac Properties has awarded an AED512 million construction contract to China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) to build tower C of AYKON City, DAMAC’s luxury mixed-use development on Sheikh Zayed Road. The new contract covers civil construction works for tower C, the residential tower in the award-winning $2 billion development, overlooking the Dubai Water Canal. “CSCEC ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Land Department (DLD), announced that it has succeeded in achieving a qualitative leap in terms of improving the level of government services provided to its customers, especially in regards to the facilitating of the procedures, the satisfying of the customers, and the continuous development of these procedures through the Ejari service. DLD attributes this remarkable development ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) announced closing the registration for the 5th cohort of Dubai Future Accelerators program, and receiving applications from start-ups and global companies from 74 countries around the world. The program received over 600 applicants in which they will undergo a rigorous evaluation and selection process. Ultimately, selected companies will have the opportunity to take ...