Bloomberg President Joe Biden announced measures to increase the number of federal contracts awarded to small, disadvantaged businesses. He also said he had directed his administration to more aggressively prevent discrimination in home appraisals, a detriment for wealth accumulation for Black families. Last week, Biden reiterated calls for Congress to overhaul US policing as he met with the family of ...

Bloomberg The French government will use algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify small firms at risk of collapse in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and provide as much as $3.7 billion to protect them. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire presented the new measures as part of a plan that also includes an extension of crisis lending facilities to the ...

Bloomberg European Union (EU) officials struck a deal to crack down on international companies’ efforts to dodge taxes by requiring greater disclosure, as a coordinated push by governments to take a bigger slice of corporate revenue gathers pace. Negotiators representing the European Parliament and EU governments agreed to a package forcing companies with a total revenue exceeding $917 million in ...

Bloomberg The Swiss economy is recovering quickly after restrictions to curb spread of Covid-19 hit the service sector and consumption at the start of the year. Gross domestic product contracted 0.5% in the first quarter, a deeper slump than economists anticipated. But manufacturing and service sector data for May showed an upsurge in activity — the latest in a string ...

Bloomberg Euro-area factories are struggling to keep up with the economic recovery as orders rise faster than production, setting the bloc up for a summer spike in inflation. Delivery delays for raw materials and components are constraining output growth, leaving companies unable to meet rising demand, according to a survey by IHS Markit. While purchasing activity rose at the fastest ...

Bloomberg Bullish calls on Chinese stocks appear to have gotten on the nerves of the country’s regulators, with state media reporting that authorities are against analysts forecasting specific levels for the market. “Some predictions in the market are rather whimsical and some people use exaggerated and empty terms in pursuit of influence,” according to a commentary posted on the official ...

Bloomberg European stocks rise while US equity futures drifted on Wednesday as the tussle between economic optimism and inflation concern continues to play out in markets. The dollar ticked up. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.2%, with energy shares getting a boost from oil prices at multi-year highs. Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 gauges fluctuated. AMC ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE was ranked among the top 20 countries in the world during the year 2020 in five indices related to the competitiveness of the tourism sector in the country according to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC). The country’s achievements in the tourism sector included the indexes in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (Taqa) have signed an agreement to construct the utilities facility for Ta’ziz, the new world-scale chemicals production hub and globally competitive industrial ecosystem currently under development at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. This agreement brings together two of Abu Dhabi’s industrial champions, using the expertise ...

Dubai / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has further expanded its Covid-19 vaccination campaign by opening up booking slots for 12 to 15-year-olds for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through the ministry website or Covid-19 App. The ministry also noted that those who took the second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine at least six months ago are now eligible ...