News

  Mumbai / Emirates Business Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, partnered once again with the community development charity Magic Bus on its mission to support children and youth in India. Mumbai-based Etihad Airways staff were joined by a team from the airline’s Head Office in Abu Dhabi for a three-day community service project which saw ...

  Sharjah / Emirates Business The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) organised a Tourist Guide Licence Renewal Course. The course is part of the Authority’s efforts to provide training for those who work in the emirate’s tourism sector in an effort to develop their competencies and improve the quality of service in the industry. This, in turn, resonates ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Festival City (DFC), an Al Futtaim group development, has announced a first-of-its-kind attraction set to open in a matter of weeks. The innovative and spectacular multimedia show located within the unforgettable stage of Festival Bay, will bring together elements such as light, water and fire to dramatic effect. With the final stages of development ...

  Bloomberg Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson exposed fresh divisions in the UK government by declining to endorse a new proposal that Britain should consider paying the European Union for continued access to its markets after Brexit. In a series of television interviews on Sunday, Johnson steered clear of echoing Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, ...

  Bloomberg One of the Nordic region’s biggest asset managers is adjusting its portfolio to reflect a lack of confidence in Europe and a growing faith in the prospects of a US boom. Ilmarinen, a Finnish pension fund that oversees about 36 billion euros ($38 billion) in assets, plans to adjust its investments so it’s no longer underweight the US, ...

  Bloomberg US regulators are calling out AT&T and Verizon for exempting their own video apps from data caps on customers’ cellphones. This may not result in any changes in how the wireless carriers operate, however, as agency leaders appointed by Donald Trump, the incoming president, are expected to look more favorably on such practices. The Federal Communications Commission sent ...

Bloomberg Quebec’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest on record last month while Alberta’s surged to a two-decade high, underlining the swing in Canada’s economic momentum through the recovery from an energy crash. Joblessness in the mostly French-speaking province fell to 6.2 percent in November from 6.8 percent in October, and in Alberta it climbed to 9 percent. The national ...

  DETROIT / AP Toyota plans to reveal a new version of America’s top-selling sedan next month at a time when US buyers are moving away from cars toward SUVs and trucks. The Japanese automaker said that it would show off the 2018 Camry at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show in January. It is likely to arrive in showrooms ...

Tehran / AFP Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani presented his budget on Sunday, with OPEC’s decision to cut production helping to boost its expected oil revenues. Rouhani’s 2017-2018 budget is based on oil prices of $50 per barrel, up from $40 last year, with a focus on unemployment, water resources, railways and the environment. The sums look realistic after last week’s ...

  Cairo / AFP Egypt is raising tariffs on some imported goods to up to 60 percent following a decree by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the finance ministry said. The ministry said the measure was introduced to “reduce imports”, which have seen Egypt’s trade deficit soar to more than $49 billion (46 billion euros). Sisi’s list of hundreds of imported ...