News

NEW YORK / AP Gap Inc. is reporting a 2 percent drop in a key revenue measure for February, dragged down by weakness at its Banana Republic stores. The results, announced this week, were slightly worse than the 1.4 percent decline that analysts were expecting, according to Thomson Reuters. Gap said that by division its namesake brand saw revenue at stores ...

PARIS / AFP France and Britain have inked a deal to invest more than two billion euros in the development of next generation combat drones, Paris said in a statement. Following a two-year feasibility study begun in 2014, “we hope to proceed to the next phase in 2017 to prepare for the full-fledged development of operational demonstrators of air combat ...

Frankfurt / AFP Sports giant Adidas said that it expects revenues and profits this year to rise by 10-12 percent as the current consumer boom in Germany continues. “Group sales are expected to increase at a rate between 10 and 12 percent on a currency-neutral basis in 2016,” the German sportswear and equipment manufacturer said in a statement. “The positive ...

NEW YORK / AP Costco is raising entry-level wages for its hourly workers for the first time since 2007 as the warehouse club operator fights to compete in a tighter labour market. The company told investors that it will pay workers $1.50 more per hour in the US and Canada effective this month. Workers will now earn at least $13 or ...

Frankfurt / Bloomberg German retail and distribution giant Metro will decide by the end of this year on whether to expand into Myanmar and post-sanctions Iran, its chief executive said in a magazine interview on Thursday. “Myanmar is benefitting from opening up politically and has high growth potential,” CEO Olaf Koch told the weekly WirtschaftsWoche. “We’re also examining what opportunities ...

Dubai / WAM The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index increased by 8.1% to 3,240 points at the end of February compared to 2,998 points at the end of January. At the sectorial level, indices of seven sectors out of nine sectors represented on DFM ended the month in the green with the Real Estate and Construction sector index increasing ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) won three awards at the Smart Cities Summit and Awards 2016 during the World CSR Day activities in Mumbai, India. DEWA won in the Best Smart City Initiative category for their Green Charger Initiative, in addition to winning the Configuration and Deployment of Smart City Infrastructure 2016 category for its Dubai ...

Dubai / WAM Emirates Airline and Russian carrier S7 Airlines on Thursday announced an enhanced partnership which is set to improve connectivity and benefits for customers across Russia. Emirates and S7 Airlines have been in an interline partnership since 2003 which was further enhanced in 2008. The new codeshare deal further builds on this strong partnership and sees the Emirates ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Arab Trade Financing Programme (ATFP), a specialised multi-Arab financial institution with a mission to promote Arab trade and to increase the competitive capabilities of the Arab producers and exporters, approved requests for financing eligible trade transactions of goods of Arab origin and associated services for member States at the value of US$246 million in the fourth ...

RITIKA SHARMA Emirates Business Lights, camera and action! Given the number of Hollywood and Bollywood movies shot here, the world is well aware of the potential and the appeal of the Emirates capital as a hotspot for the film and television industry. The best part is — the authorities recognise it too. Aiming to give a major thrust to the ...