Bloomberg The push to bring self-driving cars to American roads got a significant boost when the nation’s chief auto safety regulator essentially cleared Tesla Motors Inc.’s Autopilot system of fault in a fatal 2016 crash. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the owner of a Tesla Motors Inc. Model S sedan that drove itself into the ...
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Netflix’s shrinking DVD service faces an uncertain future
SAN FRANCISCO / AP Originally cast in a starring role, Netflix’s original DVD-by-mail service has been reduced to a bit player — one that may eventually get killed off as the company focuses on its booming video streaming service. Netflix’s fourth-quarter earnings report released Wednesday provided the latest glimpse at the DVD service’s descent into oblivion as the streaming ...
Read More »Trump takes office, vows to stop ‘American carnage’
WASHINGTON / AP Pledging emphatically to empower America’s “forgotten men and women,†Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Friday, taking command of a riven nation facing an unpredictable era under his assertive but untested leadership. Under cloudy, threatening skies at the West Front of the US Capitol, Trump painted a bleak picture ...
Read More »Global packaged food market to reach US$2.2trn by 2020
Dubai / Emirates Business The most significant representation of leading F&B brands the MENA region has ever seen will soon be converging in Dubai, as more than 140 major international food and beverage producers come together at the new Power Brands segment at Gulfood 2017. Represented by a contingent of major food industry heavyweights including Unilever, Nestle, Del Monte ...
Read More »Al Noor Island hosts ‘international storytelling festival’
Sharjah / Emirates Business Storytelling, theatre and colour were the theme of the recent performance at the International Storytelling Festival, which is taking place at Al Noor Island, Sharjah’s popular tourist and recreational destination. Titled ‘A Palette of Stories’ the activity hosted, Italian directors Paola Balbi and David Bardy, British storyteller Michael Harvey, Singaporean narrator Kavina Ramachandran and Palestinian ...
Read More »Apple ready to start making iPhones in India, at a price
Bloomberg Apple Inc. is willing to start making iPhones in India, but it wants a big helping hand from Narendra Modi’s government first. The Cupertino, California-based company is scheduled to meet with officials in New Delhi next week to discuss the prospects for setting up manufacturing facilities in the country this year. Apple, the most valuable company on Earth, ...
Read More »Australia sells $7bn of bonds in biggest-ever sale
Bloomberg Australia’s government sold A$9.3 billion ($7 billion) of notes maturing in December 2021, its biggest-ever bond transaction. The offering was snapped up by investors even as doubts swirl about the country’s top credit rating and the government’s ability to rein in its budget deficit. While credit assessors refrained from taking any action following December’s mid-year budget update, S&P ...
Read More »Apple sues Qualcomm over patent licensing practices
Bloomberg Apple Inc. sued Qualcomm Inc., accusing it of monopolizing the market for chips for wireless devices and withholding $1 billion in retaliation for cooperating with South Korean antitrust authorities. Apple is demanding Qualcomm hand over money that was supposed to be a rebate for licensing fees. Qualcomm is holding back the money as punishment for Apple cooperating with ...
Read More »Buffett back in money on IBM, reversing $2.6 billion loss
Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp. has climbed above the price that Warren Buffett paid for shares in the computer company, reversing more than $2 billion in paper losses for his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. IBM rose 2.2 percent to $170.55 at 4 p.m. Friday in New York after giving 2017 profit guidance on Thursday that was higher than analysts’ estimates. ...
Read More »Middle Eastern Debt issuance reached US$77.8bn in 2016
Dubai / WAM Middle Eastern investment banking fees reached US$820.8 million during 2016, an 18 per cent increase compared to fees recorded during 2015 and the highest annual fee total in the region since 2008, according to the annual investment banking analysis for the Middle East region, by leading business information provider Thomson Reuters. “Bolstered by Saudi Arabia’s $17.2 billion ...
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