News

Sydney / AFP Australian carrier Qantas on Tuesday said first-half net profit soared 234 percent on the back of belt-tightening and lower oil prices, as it announced a Aus$500 million stock buyback to share the spoils with investors. The Aus$688 million (US$497 million) result comes on the heels of a ruthless cost-cutting drive that has seen thousands of jobs axed ...

New York / AFP US corporate major Honeywell has held talks to acquire United Technologies in a deal that would merge the two US industrial heavyweights with major aerospace operations, CNBC reported. Honeywell initiated the talks within the last two weeks, offering United Technologies a premium in stock and cash, the report said, adding that a deal could fall through in ...

NEW YORK / Bloomberg Sysco said that it will pay about $800 million to buy rival European food distributer Brakes Group, a deal which will help the company expand in the region. The companies valued the deal at $3.1 billion, when $2.3 billion of debt is included. Houston-based Sysco is purchasing Brakes Group from its private equity owner, Bain Capital. ...

OSLO / Relaxnews The Norway-based budget airline will start flying a nonstop Paris-New York route with introductory fares starting at $US175/€179 from July 29. Norwegian is also opening Paris-US routes connecting the French capital with Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale. Low-cost airlines have now officially brought their price-crunching battle to long-haul routes. Already known for budget fares between several European ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, opened on Monday the first Arab Fiscal Forum – Fiscal Policy and Growth, in Abu Dhabi, held in co-operation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The two-day event is being attended by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF, Arab Finance Ministers, senior officials, experts from regional ...

Paris / AFP World oil prices are unlikely to rise from current levels before 2017, and even then their recovery will be slow as massive oil stocks feed into the market, the IEA said on Monday. “We must say that today’s oil market conditions do not suggest that prices can recover sharply in the immediate future—unless, of course, there is ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Ahli Bank Q.S.C. (Ahlibank) announced that Moody’s has assigned it an A2/Prime-1 deposit ratings and a baa3 baseline credit assessment. Moody’s Investors Service has assigned long and short-term, local and foreign currency deposit ratings of A2/Prime-1 to Ahlibank and a Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of baa3. The long-term deposit ratings carry a stable outlook. Moody’s ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Ensuring a secure salary transfer system to the corporates in the UAE, UnionPay International has launched region’s first EMV prepaid salary cards. Through these cards, banks in the UAE can now offer workers secure and advanced payment services conforming to the country’s Wage Protection System (WPS), at economic costs. UnionPay International is a global provider of ...

Alkesh Sharma Emirates Business Ushering in an innovative technology ‘aqua-agro’ that could ensure constant supply of land nutrients even to aquatic life, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences is looking forward to establish research ties with the Emirates. A high-level delegation of the leading European varsity visited the UAE and held talks with various educational and research institutes in the region. ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre in Abu Dhabi, has announced that its Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), is now a recognised member of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (OSCO) with effect from February 2016. As an associate member, ADGM-FSRA is committed to complying with international regulatory standards on financial markets and ...