DUBAI / Emirates Business Travelport, a leading Travel Commerce Platform, has signed an extended agreement with Al Tayyar Travel Group, the largest travel and tourism company in Saudi Arabia. The extended deal enhances the strategic co-operation between both companies and reaffirms Al Tayyar Travel Group’s commitment to expand their online business. To achieve this, Al Tayyar Travel Group will …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2016 is experiencing healthy visitor growth, with a 4 percent increase in the number of visitors through the doors over days one and two, compared to 2015. The trade event, which is taking place from April 25-28 at Dubai World Trade Centre, is well on track to welcome more 26,000 visitors …

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Turkey has strengthened its status as a top holiday destination for the Middle East’s residents, over the course of 2015, visitor numbers from the region climbed tonearly three million, marking a significant increase from 2014. Visitor numbers from the UAE scaled up to 51,600 visitors – a near 19 percent increase from the 43,469 visitors …

  Bloomberg The U.K. economy lost momentum in the first quarter as services posted their weakest performance for almost a year and industrial production continued to decline. Economic growth slowed to 0.4 percent from 0.6 percent in the final three months of 2015, as forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The estimate, published by the Office for National Statistics …

  Bloomberg The pound rose for a fourth day versus the dollar as data showed that U.K. economic growth slowed in the first quarter, further evidence that the currency’s direction is being driven by investors’ view on the nation’s June referendum on its membership of the European Union. Sterling touched the highest level versus the U.S. currency since February on …

  Bloomberg The 1 percent may not be popular among protest marchers, but in the U.K. they’re now paying more than a quarter of all income tax. A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies published on Wednesday found that the proportion of total income tax paid by the top centile rose to 27.5 percent in the 2015-16 tax year …

  Bloomberg Adidas AG raised its full-year profit forecast for the second time in less than three months after first-quarter results beat its own expectations and as consumers spend more ahead of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament. Net income from continuing operations will rise 15 percent to 18 percent this year, more than a prior range of 10 percent to …

  Bloomberg The outlook for Russia’s earnings from oil exports is improving as the price of a barrel of crude in ruble terms rose to the highest in more than five months. The currency’s 2.8 percent advance this month has lagged a gain of 18 percent in Brent crude, which is used to price Russia’s main export blend. The exchange …

  Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government reached a deal with automakers to jointly spend 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) on incentives to boost sluggish electric-car sales. Buyers will be able to receive as much as €4,000 in rebates to help offset the higher price of an electric vehicle, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said at a press conference in Berlin. …

  BLOOMBERG Treasuries rose, sending 10-year yields lower for the first time in eight days, and the dollar weakened, as markets signaled caution before the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision. The Nasdaq 100 Index slumped as Apple Inc. tumbled after posting its first quarterly-revenue drop in more than a decade. Benchmark 10-year note yields retreated from the highest level …