News

Bloomberg The euro area’s economic expansion is standing on increasingly shaky ground after reports showed German investor confidence tumbling to its lowest level since late 2012 and the risk of a recession in the nation jumping. The sentiment gauge from ZEW showed more investors now see a worsening in Europe’s largest economy than forecast an improvement, a mood swing that ...

Bloomberg UK wages are rising at their fastest pace in almost three years, raising the prospect of an end to the squeeze on living standards. Annual pay growth excluding bonuses accelerated to 2.8 percent in the three months through February, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Inflation averaged 2.9 percent in the same period and is forecast to ...

Bloomberg Sanofi plans to sell its European generic-drug unit to buyout firm Advent International Corp. for 1.9 billion euros ($2.4 billion) as part of a broader move by Chief Executive Officer Olivier Brandicourt to focus resources on biotechnology and new medicines. Advent has made a binding and fully financed offer, and the companies are in exclusive negotiations, Paris-based Sanofi said ...

Bloomberg US new-home construction rose by more than forecast in March on a rebound in multifamily starts, giving a boost to first-quarter economic growth, government figures showed on Tuesday. The results show a tight job market, improved finances and consumers’ elevated confidence to purchase big-ticket items are supporting construction. That means homebuilding probably contributed to economic growth for the second ...

Reuters UnitedHealth Group Inc on Tuesday posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates, fuelled by growth in its core insurance and health-services businesses and raised its earnings forecast for the year. Shares of UnitedHealth rose 1.3 percent to $233.25 in premarket trading. The largest US health insurer has been adding more physicians through a series of acquisitions, helping ...

Reuters Johnson & Johnson reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Tuesday and raised its full-year sales forecast, helped by growing demand for its cancer drugs. J&J’s pharmaceuticals sales rose 19.4 percent to $9.84 billion, driven by sales of its cancer drugs such as Darzalex, Imbruvica and Zytiga that rose 45 percent to $2.31 billion in the quarter. J&J raised its ...

NEW YORK / Reuters The global economy is set to grow at a faster clip than anticipated in 2018, due mostly to lower tax rates in the United States, but tensions over trade threaten to derail months of synchronised global expansion, the Institute of Internatio-nal Finance (IIF) said on Monday. The Institute, a global financial industry association, lifted its forecast ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre (IFC) in Abu Dhabi, has been awarded fintech Regulator of the Year 2018 at the 2018 Seamless Middle East Awards held in Dubai. The Seamless Awards is an annual platform that recognises trail-blazing companies and individuals from the finance, ecommerce and retail industries that have demonstrated unparalleled ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Minister of State for Defence Affairs Mohammed Al Bowardi this morning welcomed the visiting South Korean Defence Minister Song Young-moo and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, Al Bowardi praised the relations between the UAE and South Korea, saying they are witnessing progress and development in various fields. The UAE Minister and his South Korean counterpart ...

CALIFORNIA / WAM Google announced the launch of ‘Maharat min Google’, a free digital skills-building programme in Arabic, in an effort to help people in Mena find jobs, advance their careers or grow their businesses. Based on a blended learning model, Maharat min Google provides free courses, tools, and in-person digital skills training to students, educators, job seekers and businesses. ...