News

  Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond scrapped a plan to increase tax on the self-employed, after a storm of criticism from legislators in his own ruling Conservative Party. Hammond was accused of breaking a manifesto pledge not to hike national insurance contributions, made by the Tories before they won the 2015 election, when he announced the proposal ...

  Bloomberg The UK jobless rate matched its lowest since 1975 in the three months through January but Britons are seeing their wages go nowhere. Unemployment unexpectedly declined to 4.7 percent, matching the rate it last reached in 2005, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. The number of people in work rose by 92,000 to 31.9 million, the ...

  WASHINGTON / AP Americans spent only slightly more last month at retail stores compared with January, a sign of consumer caution despite rising optimism about the economy. The Commerce Department said Wednesday retail sales ticked up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in February, after a much bigger gain of 0.6 percent the previous month. January’s gain was revised higher. ...

  Bloomberg After a decade-long hibernation following the dot-com crash, Canada’s Tucows Ltd. is roaring back to life with an acquisition and a deepening effort to win over disgruntled US mobile phone customers. The Toronto-based internet services provider is the largest re-seller and manager of domain names after Scottsdale, Arizona-based GoDaddy Inc. Its customers are firms like Squarespace Inc. and ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s Audi brand was raided by German prosecutors as investigations into the manipulation of diesel engines continue to weigh on the automaker more than a year after revelations of emissions cheating. More than 100 police took part in searches Wednesday at the company’s main sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm as well as seven other locations across Germany. ...

  AP US homebuilders are feeling more optimistic about their sales prospects than they have been since the high-flying days of the housing boom. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday jumped to 71 this month. That’s up six points from 65 in February and the highest reading since June 2005. Readings above 50 indicate ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business SAP SE announced a five-year $200 million (AED 734 million) investment in the UAE, underpinning objectives outlined by the UAE Vision 2021 plan to create economic diversity and jobs for youth. Senior officials participated in the official ribbon-cutting VIP ceremony and inaugurated new SAP MENA headquarters in Dubai Internet City. Ammar Al Malik, Executive Director, ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM LEAD Development and Project Management Consultants (LEAD) and The National Investor (TNI) will build the first residential community of private ‘green’ villas and townhouses at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable urban development, it was announced. The project, which will also include apartments, is to be delivered over 250,000 sqm of gross floor area (GFA). ...

  DUBAI / WAM HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, launched ‘Dubai Post’, an interactive online community portal that uses smart technologies to provide unique audio-visual content. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed highlighted the important role that media plays in the UAE’s comprehensive development efforts. He affirmed the ...

  DUBAI / WAM Sotheby’s, one of the world’s largest auction houses, has officially opened its Dubai gallery and office at Dubai International Financial Centre (DFIC), in the presence of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, and Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), alongside Sotheby’s President and CEO, Tad Smith, ...