Bloomberg Walt Disney Co. may announce a deal as soon as this week to acquire a large piece of 21st Century Fox Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter, transferring legendary Hollywood properties to new owners. Comcast Corp., the other major contender for the Fox assets, said it’s no longer in the running. A trust belonging to Fox ...
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UK inflation climbs above 3%
Bloomberg UK inflation unexpectedly accelerated to the fastest in more than 5 1/2 years in November, which will force Bank of England Governor Mark Carney to explain why price growth is so far above his policy target. The 3.1 percent rate was stronger than economists had forecast and the highest since March 2012. The Office for National Statistics said that ...
Read More »Facebook’s fake news fight does collateral damage for small sites
Bloomberg Cyrus Massoumi spent the last few years building exactly what he thought would thrive on Facebook: A series of inflammatory conservative websites, finely tuned to produce the most viral and outrageous version of the news. The social network rewarded him with an audience. Facebook Inc. now wants something different. Reacting to concerns about how fake news spread on its ...
Read More »UAE economy to grow in 2018: IMF
Dubai / Reuters The United Arab Emirates economy is expected to recover gradually next year without suffering a significant blow to growth from the introduction of a 5 percent value-added tax in January, a senior International Monetary Fund official said. Natalia Tamirisa, IMF mission chief to the Ara b world’s second biggest economy, said Dubai’s spending on preparations to host ...
Read More »Mubadala, Softbank invest in tech firms
ABU DHABI / Reuters Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala has made 15 to 16 investments in technology firms as part of a partnership with SoftBank Group of Japan, deputy group chief executive Waleed al-Muhairi told a conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Mubadala has committed $15 billion to SoftBank’s $93 billion private equity fund, the SoftBank Vision Fund, which has ...
Read More »Central Bank cash deposits surge to AED223.26 billion
Dubai / Emirates Business The total cash deposits placed at the UAE Central Bank surged to AED223.26 billion in 11 months, a growth of 9 percent from AED204.8 billion by end of October. In the meantime, withdrawals from the Central Bank amounted to AED222.969 billion in 11 months, an increase of 11.3 percent from AED206.6 billion during the per- iod ...
Read More »OPEC, allies to announce exit strategy in June, says UAE
ABU DHABI / Reuters UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazroui said on Monday that OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan to announce in June an exit strategy from global supply cuts, but that does not mean the pact will end by then. Mazroui said it was premature to talk about the form or shape of such an exit ...
Read More »Growth in Dubai’s non-oil private sector remains strong
Dubai / WAM November’s data signalled a solid upturn in Dubai’s private sector business conditions. Steep growth in both output and inflows of new work contributed to the latest expansion, the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker. The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index – a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the ...
Read More »Mideast exports reach $766bn
DUBAI / Emirates Business The Middle East remains the world’s most important trading partner in the region despite a fall in oil prices, according to a report by World Trade Organisation (WTO). The report stated that the Middle Eastern countries recorded exports of $765.8 billion and imports of $665.2 billion in 2016. The region recorded the highest exports growth (+4 ...
Read More »Mohamed meets scholars
Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received at Al Bahr Palace on Monday the participants at the conference of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, who were accompanied by Dr. Mohammed Matar Al Kaabi, Chairman of the General ...
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