BLOOMBERG Australia’s central bank (RBA) paused its almost yearlong tightening cycle, highlighting policy lags and a “substantial” slowdown in household spending while keeping the door open to further interest-rate increases. The currency and government bond yields slid after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate unchanged at 3.6%, in line with a majority of economists and market expectations. ...

BLOOMBERG Stocks and US index futures dropped as hawkish messages from the New Zealand and Australian central banks signalled a prolonged fight against inflation and revived concerns about an economic slowdown. Contracts on the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.2% and Europe’s Stoxx 600 declined for a third day. Gold traded near a 13-month high, while Treasury yields rose. Nvidia Corp ...

BLOOMBERG Jarred by daily double-digit moves in Treasury yields, bond investors are bracing for at least another year of rocky trading, abandoning hopes that in 2023 the market would return to normality. That’s forcing them to ditch their old playbooks designed during calmer and more predictable times and look for flexible and nimble investments to ride the most-turbulent market since ...

ABU DHABI / WAM UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a phone call from Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, during which they discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance them in a manner that serves common interests. His Highness affirmed the UAE’s ongoing commitment to bilateral relations with Israel, describing its cooperation as a ...

PRISTINA / WAM His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has met with Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo. During the meeting, which took place in Pristina, Kosovo, Sheikh Abdullah conveyed the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his wishes for further progress ...

ABU DHABI / WAM AD Ports Group on Tuesday announced the signing of a General Corporate Facility agreement with a syndicate of 13 regional and international banks. The multi-currency facility, equivalent to around $2 billion, includes three tranches amounting to EUR 600 million, $620 million, and AED2,863 million with a tenure of up to 2.5 years. The demand for the ...

LATAKIA / WAM As part of Operation Gallant Knight 2 launched by the Ministry of Defence, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) organised a group iftar for several cancer patients and their families in Latakia Governorate, Syria, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Farah Association for Supporting Children with Cancer. The initiative aims to provide moral and ...

VIENNA / WAM The Opec Fund for International Development (Opec Fund) has entered into two separate loan agreements worth $20 million each with Acwa Power. The funds will be used to support the construction and operation of two wind power plants — the 500 MW Dzhankeldy wind farm and the 500 MW Bash wind power plant, located in the Bukhara ...

NEW DELHI / WAM The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected growth in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to moderate to 6.4% in fiscal year (FY) 2023 ending on March 31, 2024 and rise to 6.7% in FY2024, driven by private consumption and private investment on the back of government policies to improve transport infrastructure, logistics, and the business ecosystem. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi University (ADU) and Sky News Arabia Academy (Snaa) signed a cooperative memorandum of understanding (MoU) to offer the College of Arts and Sciences students comprehensive knowledge, understanding, and skills to excel in the field of mass communication. The main aim of the MoU is to train future media professionals in the fields of TV, ...