Bloomberg On the Greek island of Mykonos, Mayor Kostas Koukas is desperately trying to revive the tourism that is the life blood of the local economy. Koukas, and his counterparts in towns and cities across Europe, are looking to salvage something from the summer season after the coronavirus pandemic brought travel to a standstill. With the disease largely under control ...
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Video-game addiction poised to spread
Bloomberg With much of the US and Europe in lockdown, video-game use has exploded. It’s become a way for millions of quarantined people to pass the time and stay connected to others without spreading coronavirus — and health officials have applauded the idea. But for some percentage of users, the binge comes with a dark side: internet and gaming addiction. ...
Read More »TSMC plans $12 billion US chip plant
Bloomberg Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to spend $12 billion building a chip plant in Arizona, a decision designed to allay US national security concerns and shift more high-tech manufacturing to America. TSMC said it will start construction of its next major fabrication facility in 2021, to be completed by 2024. While the investment falls short of its previous expenditure ...
Read More »Voodoo backers consider stake sale in mobile game
Bloomberg Voodoo SAS’s backers are exploring the sale of a stake in the French mobile game developer, people with knowledge of the matter said. Shareholders of Voodoo are working with an adviser as they consider selling part or all of their holdings in the company, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. ...
Read More »Facebook buys animated image library Giphy for $400 million
Bloomberg Facebook Inc. acquired Giphy, a library of video clips and animated images known as GIFs that can be attached to messages to express emotion, adding features that could encourage users to communicate through its apps. Giphy will join the Instagram group within Facebook, according to a blog post, and the social-media giant has extended offers to more than 100 ...
Read More »Fiat seeks state-backed loan of $6.8b amid virus
Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is in talks to obtain a state-backed credit line of about 6.3 billion euros ($6.8 billion) to buttress the carmaker’s finances against the steep downturn caused by the coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter. Fiat’s local unit is discussing the facility with lead lender Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, the people said, asking not to ...
Read More »Ubisoft Sues Apple, Google Over Alibaba’s Rainbow Six “Ripoffâ€
Bloomberg Ubisoft Entertainment SA sued Apple Inc. and Google LLC, accusing the companies of selling a ripoff of its popular video game “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege.†“Area F2,†created by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.’s Ejoy.com, is a “near carbon copy†of Rainbow Six: Siege, and that can’t be “seriously be disputed,†Ubisoft said in a complaint filed Friday in ...
Read More »Abu Dhabi’s external foodstuff trade hits AED4.7 billion in Q1
Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi external foodstuff trade amounted to over AED 4.663 billion during the first quarter of the current year 2020, while the overall weight of the Emirate’s foodstuff trade in the same period reached more than 1.18 million tonnes through 41,430 transactions. Abu Dhabi’s foreign trade distributed from foodstuff to imports at a value of over ...
Read More »IEA sees oil market improving amid sharp drop in output
Bloomberg The outlook for global oil markets has “improved somewhat,†with demand a little stronger than expected and supply reined in by a brutal price crash, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. World oil production is on track for a “historic decline†this month to the lowest level in nine years, the IEA said in a monthly report. Opec and ...
Read More »Abu Dhabi banks income hit AED9.6bn in 3 months
ABU DHABI / WAM Commercial and Islamic banks operating in Abu Dhabi recorded a total net income of around AED9.6 billion in the first quarter of 2020, according to data issued on Thursday by the Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi. The net income of traditional banks in Abu Dhabi from interests and investments totalled AED8.5 billion, accounting for 88.5 percent of the ...
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