BERBERA / WAM The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation began on Thursday the distribution of new emergency relief aid to the Somali families in Berbera, a city in the northwestern Berbera District of Somaliland. The move follows the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown ...
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Brexit risk puts services firms in crosshairs
Bloomberg From architects and airlines to insurers and accountants, Britain’s services powerhouse has much at stake in Prime Minister David Cameron’s “Brexit†gamble. A vote to leave the European Union in the June 23 referendum could hamper efforts to make it easier and cheaper to do business in the bloc, potentially costing service providers billions of pounds, analysts and trade ...
Read More »Migrants workforce keeps German joblessness at 6.2%
Bloomberg German joblessness was unchanged in March, snapping a run of five consecutive declines, in a sign that Europe’s largest economy may be struggling to absorb a wave of refugees. The number of people out of work held at a seasonally adjusted 2.73 million, data from the Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg showed on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted ...
Read More »Spain misses 2015 deficit goal adding to pressure for cuts
Bloomberg Spain missed its budget-deficit goal for 2015 as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tried to rally support ahead of December’s election, marking the eighth consecutive year the nation has overshot its fiscal target. The shortfall last year was 5.2 percent of gross domestic product, the second-biggest deficit in Europe, Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro said Thursday at a press conference in ...
Read More »Euro-area prices drop for 2nd month before ECB beefs up QE
Bloomberg Euro-area inflation was negative for a second month in March, in data released on the eve of the European Central Bank’s first day of expanded debt purchasing to fight deflation. The consumer price index in the 19-nation bloc fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier after a 0.2 percent drop in February, according to data published on Thursday. That ...
Read More »Tata’s UK steel test is selling a biz few want
Bloomberg Buyers for Britain’s biggest steel operations may be tough to come by. Faced with a market flooded with cheap Chinese exports, Tata Steel Ltd. is planning to sell its U.K. business after several quarters of losses and 2 billion pounds of writedowns left the division with an asset value of almost zero. Steel prices have plunged to the lowest ...
Read More »China unveils budget plans
SHANGHAI / Reuters China’s Ministry of Finance unveiled details of its 2016 budget plans on Wednesday, with spending jacked up sharply on many items, including an 11-fold increase for “repairs†to 94 billion yuan ($14.54 billion). Other big increases have been made for health care and family planning, which will get a 47.2 percent boost to 12.43 billion yuan. Spending ...
Read More »Burned by Corus, Tata Steel seeks solace in prospects back home
Mumbai / Bloomberg Tata Steel Ltd., which is considering selling its U.K. unit amid a global glut and weak demand, is turning its focus back to India where it sees a long-term opportunity. India’s second-largest maker of the alloy will look at buying distressed assets as rapid economic expansion fuels demand in the coming years, according to Executive Director Koushik ...
Read More »BOJ to cut fiscal inflation forecasts
TOKYO / Reuters The Bank of Japan is likely to cut its inflation forecasts for the coming two fiscal years at a quarterly review next month, sources familiar with its thinking say, keeping it under pressure to do more to hit its ambitious 2 percent price target. The downgrades, due largely to falling import prices from the yen’s rise and ...
Read More »Foxconn’s net profit dips as smartphone demand slows
Taipei / AFP Taiwan’s tech giant Hon Hai said net profit dipped in the fourth quarter, hit by a slowdown in demand for smartphones as key customer Apple warns waning sales of its iPhone. Net income in October-December fell 6.67 percent to $52.9 billion ($1.6 billion) while revenue slipped 4.69 percent, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Hon ...
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