Dubai / Reuters Positive third-quarter earnings from affiliates of Saudi Basic Industries supported Saudi Arabia’s stock index in early trade on Thursday but the rest of the Gulf was weak, following global shares lower. Yanbu National Petrochemical (Yansab) climbed 2.0 percent after it reported a third-quarter net profit of 607.6 million riyals ($162.1 million), more than double the year-earlier ...

  Tokyo / AFP Tokyo stocks reversed early gains on Thursday morning as exporters were hit by a rush into the yen after China released worse-than-forecast trade data that fuelled worries about the economic giant. Traders kicked the day off on a bright note as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting suggested the central bank will hike US interest ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business As much as 94% of all companies in the UAE are SMEs. Together, they contribute 30% of the country’s GDP, and employ 72% of the country’s working population. The figures come from BLOOVO.COM’s latest research on the beneficial role SMEs play in catalysing economic diversification and employment regionwide. SMEs operate extensively throughout the rest of ...