Bloomberg Norway’s economy grew much faster than expected at the end of last year, underpinning bets that its central bank will be the first in the rich world to raise interest rates this year. Mainland gross domestic product, which adjusts for Norway’s offshore industry, expanded 1.9% in the fourth quarter, the statistics office said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected ...

Bloomberg US consumer sentiment unexpectedly declined to a six-month low in early February as outlook for personal income deteriorated and more Americans anticipated faster inflation in the year ahead. The University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index falls to 76.2 from 79 last month, data showed. The median forecast in Bloomberg’s survey of economists called for a modest improvement to 80.9 ...

Bloomberg A year of pandemic prudence is giving way to jumbo dealmaking in Europe for deep-pocketed private equity houses. Buyout firms have announced $29 billion of takeovers involving European companies this year, up 60% year-on-year and the most for this period on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s after months in which many large buyers, including Blackstone Group ...

Bloomberg Stocks rise as the vaccine rollout and slowing virus outbreaks spurred bets on a global recovery. West Texas Intermediate crude topped $60 a barrel amid an arctic freeze in parts of the US. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index climbed, led by banks and commodity shares. South Korean and Japanese shares led Asia higher. US markets are shut for Presidents’ Day, ...

Bloomberg Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average topped 30,000 yen for the first time since August 1990, as it continued its charge back up through levels not seen since the collapse of the bubble economy. The gauge rises 1.9% to close at 30,084.15 on Monday, amid signs an economic recovery is intact at home and hopes of progress in US stimulus ...

DUBAI / WAM The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) team announced that the Hope Probe, which successfully entered the orbit of Mars last Tuesday, has sent the first image of the Red planet on Sunday. Having travelled more than 493 million kilometers over the past seven months, millions in the UAE, the Arab region and around the world have eagerly awaited ...

DUBAI / WAM The implementation of Brexit and the following consequences on trade, travel and security were the main highlights of the meeting that took place between Dubai Customs and its British counterpart. During the online meeting, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director-General of Dubai Customs, confirmed to Bill Williamson, Director of British Customs, that Dubai Customs will provide all what is ...

ABU DHABI / WAM First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) announced it has obtained a custody license in Egypt from the Financial Regulatory Authority, Egypt’s Capital Market regulator. The license will facilitate membership of the country’s central securities depositary, Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR), providing the integral function of settlement and clearing of trades executed on The Egyptian ...

ABU DHABi / WAM President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to Mario Draghi on the occasion of his swearing-in as prime minister of Italy. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince ...

DUBAI / WAM EZDubai, Dubai South’s dedicated e-commerce zone, has announced its participation in the virtual ‘Dubai Week in Africa-Kenya’ event, which will focus on developing resilient trade relations between the UAE and evolving African countries. The event, which is hosted by UAE Trade Centre, takes place from February 15-18 and will host a consortium of top-ranking government officials and ...