News

  Bloomberg U.K. inflation accelerated more than economists forecast in June, boosted by airfares on trips to continental Europe. The rate rose to 0.5 percent from 0.3 percent in May, the Office for National Statistics said in London on Tuesday. Economists had expected 0.4 percent, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food ...

  Bloomberg Ericsson AB will accelerate cost cuts after posting sales that missed analysts’ estimates, as Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg battles waning demand for mobile-network gear. Ericsson said it will reduce research and development spending and try to reap efficiency gains from a new company structure. Second-quarter sales fell 11 percent to 54.1 billion kronor ($6.3 billion) as phone ...

  Bloomberg The pace of North Sea oil-field shutdowns is picking up as the impact of the market slump is compounded by the uncertain investment environment created by Brexit. Projected spending on decommissioning in the British sector in the decade to 2024 has risen to 16.9 billion pounds ($22.4 billion), according to Oil & Gas U.K., an industry group. That’s ...

  Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund scrapped its forecast for a pickup in global growth this year, citing Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, and warned the damage could worsen if confidence falters among investors and companies. The IMF sees global gross domestic product rising 3.1 percent this year, down from April’s 3.2 percent projection and equal to growth ...

  Bloomberg Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, said Bayer AG’s latest $55 billion takeover offer is “financially inadequate” and doesn’t ensure a deal would be completed. Monsanto also said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s still open to further “constructive conversations” with the German company and other parties about a deal. Bayer said on Thursday it upped ...

  Bloomberg Volvo AB cut its outlook for the North American truck market for the third time this year after stagnant freight volumes and excess inventory drove orders in the region down by nearly one-third in the second quarter. Truck orders in North America fell 29 percent, and manufacturers as a whole will probably sell about 240,000 vehicles there this ...

  Bloomberg If there’s one industry where all of Brazil’s political and economic upheavals come together, it’s shipbuilding. A Rio de Janeiro shipyard, where suspended president Dilma Rousseff once promised to employ an army of welders, electricians and engineers to make offshore oil platforms, is all but shut. Every other day, 50 workers on average hand in their helmets and ...

  Bloomberg UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer, reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, driven by growth at its Optum technology and consulting unit. Optum, whose businesses range from data analysis to running clinics, has accounted for an increasing chunk of UnitedHealth’s profit. That helped cushion an additional $200 million loss from sales of Affordable Care Act ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Careem — the region’s leading app-based booking service — has announced a strategic partnership with NEXT Future Transportation, Inc. to bring battery-powered, self-driving electric pods to the MENA region. The partnership comes in line with the announcement of the launch of the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy, a new initiative aimed at making 25 percent of ...

  Emirates Business Professional training courses delivered online are rapidly increasing in popularity across the Middle East, but the supply of suitable courses is failing to keep up with rising demand, according to the latest research by online recruitment firm GulfTalent. The findings are based on a comprehensive survey of 1,600 professionals based in nine countries across the Middle East, ...