BLOOMBERG  Bank of England (BOE) policy maker Swati Dhingra cautioned against raising interest rates further, saying that doing so could damage an already weak UK economy. The newest official on the central bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said it would be prudent to hold borrowing costs steady for now and noted there’s little evidence of an inflationary spiral. “Overtightening ...

DUBAI / WAM DP World’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) witnessed the highest customer registrations in a decade, marking a 30 percent year-on-year growth, and taking the total number of companies to over 9,500 in 2022. The free zone has created unparalleled opportunities in a variety of sectors through end-to-end logistics solutions, digital trade platforms and access to DP World’s ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP), an initiative under the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI), on Wednesday announced the first batch of beneficiaries of housing loans and grants for 2023. As part of the new policy announced in May 2022, the programme has issued 550 decisions worth AED435.750 million in loans and grants. This brings the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi is set to host the ninth edition of the ‘Union Fortress 9’ military parade under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The announcement came during a preparatory meeting, held under the chairmanship of Major General Ali Saif Al Kaabi, Deputy Commander of the Presidential Guard, and several Ministry ...

DUBAI / WAM DP World has announced the first commercial use of its revolutionary Boxbay High Bay Storage (HBS) system at South Korea’s Pusan container terminal, which is world’s sixth-largest container port. This pioneering technology has put Dubai in the spotlight globally as DP World, a leading provider of smart end-to-end supply chain logistics, continues to adopt innovative ways to ...

BLOOMBERG European energy prices rose amid fresh concerns about corrosion in France’s nuclear fleet, against a backdrop of strikes throughout the country and a cold snap elsewhere in the region. French power for next year jumped as much as 7.9%, the most since late January. Benchmark front-month Dutch natural gas also advanced. Electricite de France SA must review its program ...

BLOOMBERG Boeing Co is close to sealing an order from Japan Airlines Co (JAL) for at least 20 of its 737 Max planes, according to people familiar with the talks, beating out arch-rival Airbus SE and its competing A320neo aircraft family. After holding discussions with both manufacturers, JAL is leaning towards Boeing, the people said, asking not to be identified ...

BLOOMBERG Feeling the pinch of airfare inflation? JetBlue Airways Corp announced an expansion of its transatlantic service with daily nonstop, round-trip flights from New York City to Paris beginning on June 29, 2023. Main cabin fares start at $479, a price tag that’s roughly 60% lower than similar overnight departures on Delta Air Lines Inc and American Airlines Group Inc. ...

BLOOMBERG Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd posted an annual operating profit for the first time since 2019, after Hong Kong opened for quarantine-free travel again following more than two years of Covid restrictions. Operating profit in 2022 was HK$3.55 billion ($452 million), comfortably beating the HK$2.87 billion average estimate from analysts. Revenue grew 12% to HK$51.04 billion, Hong Kong’s main airline ...

BLOOMBERG Lego Group reported the smallest increase in profit in three years as the world’s largest toymaker faced higher costs and invested heavily in production to meet rising demand. Net income rose 3.7% to 13.8 billion kroner ($2 billion) in 2022, the Billund, Denmark-based company said. Expenses jumped 22% and revenue rose 17% to 64.6 billion kroner, driving gains in ...