News

Bloomberg Indians’ love affair with gold is cooling. Imports slumped more than 25 percent to 54 metric tons in June from a year earlier, a person familiar with the information said, asking not to be identified as the figures aren’t public. Overseas purchases plunged 40 percent to 343 tonnes in the first half from a year ago, according to data ...

Bloomberg China unveiled further details of its three-year environmental plan, reiterating its goal to reduce coal consumption and listing the cities where it’s targeting steel capacity curbs. Policy makers will promote natural gas use over coal in areas battling severe air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as well as Fenhe and Weihe river plains, according to three-year plan published by ...

Bloomberg HNA Group Co., the once-acquisitive Chinese conglomerate that’s been selling billions of dollars in assets this year amid soaring borrowing costs, said that Co-chairman Wang Jian died after an accident in Provence, France. He was 57. Wang, who was on a business trip, had a fall from which he couldn’t recover, HNA said in a statement on its website. ...

Bloomberg US lawmakers plan to pressure the Trump administration to closely scrutinise T-Mobile US Inc.’s planned purchase of Sprint Corp., arguing the acquisition poses a threat to American security because the owner of Sprint has ties to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co. A draft letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who leads a US national security review of the ...

Bloomberg Failure to reach a Brexit deal would wreak havoc on British business, especially manufacturers that rely on just-in-time supply chains. That’s the view of Business Minister Richard Harrington, who in an interview defended the right of companies to openly voice their concerns. “It would be completely disastrous for business in this country,”Harrington said. Four months after Prime Minister Theresa ...

Bloomberg The UK’s dominant services sector grew at the fastest pace in eight months in June, driving a bounce back in the nation’s economy and boosting the case for a Bank of England rate increase as soon as next month. The unexpected gain in the gauge of activity followed reports this week showing faster growth in manufacturing and construction. IHS ...

Bloomberg The euro area’s services sector expanded at a faster pace than initially estimated in June, as the industry drove a pick-up in the bloc’s growth momentum. A purchasing managers’ index for the region climbed to 55.2 last month, higher than an earlier flash estimate of 55 and up from 53.8 in May, IHS Markit said on Wednesday. The survey ...

Bloomberg It’s no secret that Google is set for another round of hefty antitrust fines. The decision could come as soon as July 18, judging by the gaping hole in the European Commission’s calendar the week after US President Donald Trump visits Brussels. But while the size of the penalty will grab the headlines — after last year’s record 2.4 ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The UAE GDP is expected to accelerate to 2.6% growth in 2018 and to around 3.8% in 2019. The growth will be primarily driven by recovering oil prices, an expansionary fiscal stance at the federal and emirate levels, a buoyant trade and tourism environment and a pick-up in investment ahead of Expo 2020 in Dubai, according ...

RIYADH / WAM The Saudi-led Arab Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen has expressed its rejection of a report issued by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying it contains inaccurate data on children who lost their lives in the armed conflict in Yemen. Colonel Turki Al Malki, the Coalition’s official spokesperson, said that the report included false, baseless infor- mation ...