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Bloomberg As OPEC ministers gathered in Vienna to agree a nine-month extension of their oil-supply pact, the man credited with bringing about the landmark deal learned from a news broadcast that he had been fired. The story broke as Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa attended a closed session with counterparts. First came an unconfirmed report from an Algerian TV station, ...

DUBAI / Reuters Kuwait’s Agility, one of the largest Gulf logistics companies, said it had agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a civil lawsuit accusing it of defrauding the United States military on food supply contracts. It follows the earlier settlement of the parallel criminal portion of the case involving more than $8.6 billion of contracts that ...

Bloomberg In China, a bicycle-sharing phenomenon is changing the way urban dwellers get around — and forcing listed manufacturers to scramble to get a slice of the profits. Across major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, sidewalks are filling up with parked bikes that anyone with an app can unlock with a swipe of their phone. The cost is a ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese company that raised a $93 billion fund for technology investments, is considering boosting its stake in chipmaker Nvidia Corp., people familiar with the matter said. The firm would raise its holding over time and begin to work more closely with Nvidia, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. ...

Bloomberg BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW are getting their turn in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump, who’s making a habit out of attacking the visible — and free trade-dependent — auto industry. “The Germans are bad, very bad,” Der Spiegel cited Trump as saying to unidentified participants at a closed-door meeting with European Union officials in Brussels. “Look at ...

Bloomberg The US and Russia are engaged in a rivalry for dominance once again, this time in the wheat market. After Russia recently pulled ahead, the US has fought back, with the help of a weaker dollar. One irony of the situation is that the US is taking market share partly amid the FBI investigation into ties between President Donald ...

Bloomberg California Governor Jerry Brown criticized a US Senate bill that aims to simplify auto efficiency standards, warning the measure represents a step toward decimating requirements that manufacturers produce cleaner cars. Legislation introduced by Missouri Republican Roy Blunt would align the differing approaches that separate US agencies take to regulating fuel mileage and carbon emissions. Sponsors include Michigan Democrat Debbie ...

Bloomberg The European Union will demand its top court have the power to enforce the rights of its citizens in Britain after Brexit. In a draft working paper circulated this week, the EU Council of bloc members said the European Court of Justice should have “full jurisdiction” over the rights of nationals and that the European Commission should have the ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The UAE’s continued construction boom ahead of Expo 2020, has driven demand for ceramic tiles to increase by almost 70% and, with almost 40% of tiles imported from overseas, this poses huge opportunities for international manufacturers to win contracts on prestigious UAE projects. As the largest exporter of tiles to the UAE, India is well positioned ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Computer and telecommunication capital inflows to the country grew by 2.5 percent to AED13.1 billion during 2016, as per UAE Central Bank statistics. According to the UAE Balance of Payment service data, the computer and telecommunications sectors’ combined credit side hit AED20.9 billion, accounting for 1.5 percent of the 2016 GDP, while their debit reached AED7.8 ...