Bloomberg Debenhams Plc tumbled after the UK department-store operator said its chief financial officer is leaving to join a rival, and profit will be at the lower end of an already-reduced forecast range. Following a holiday season in which UK consumers shifted to e-commerce merchants such as Amazon.com Inc. and hunted for bargains, full-year pretax profit will be at the ...

Bloomberg Procter & Gamble Co. agreed to buy Merck KGaA’s consumer-health business for 3.4 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to bolster growth, betting that vitamins and decongestants can hasten its comeback. The deal gives the maker of Crest toothpaste a stable of products with sales growth of 6 percent in the past two years, double the pace of traditional consumer goods ...

Bloomberg There are many depictions of a future in which we’ve mastered the art of manipulating the opacity of glass. Even in real life, sunglasses can adapt to the intensity of sunlight. So why, one might ask, can’t we have that in our homes, or at work? The wait may soon be over. The tinted world of tomorrow is coming, ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Investments has announced the decision to distribute 12 percent cash dividend to its shareholders for the financial year ending on December 31, 2017. A proposal to this effect was approved by the shareholders at the company’s 22nd Annual General Meeting on Wednesday. The company presented its 2017 financial results, which revealed a net profit of AED1,001.6 ...

Emirates Business Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, on Wednesday announced the launch of the company’s first hotel and residences project in Ras Al Khaimah, at the Arabian Hospitality Investment Conference 2018. Located in the Views island of Al Marjan Island, a four-island mega-development, Address Al Marjan Island hotel and residences will be managed by Emaar Hospitality Group’s premium lifestyle ...

ABU DHABI / AGENCIES Aldar Properties has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT), the innovative transportation and technology company, that will allow for the creation of a new HyperloopTT centre including a full scale commercial Hyperloop system, an Hyperloop R&D Advanced Mobility Centre, a Demonstration and Visitor Centre, and an Innovation Hub. The construction site ...

DUBAI / WAM Emirates Islamic Bank has announced a net profit of AED209 million during its Q1 2018 supported by growth in core income, efficient cost management, and an improved cost of risk. The bank’s balance sheet remains strong with improvements in credit quality and liquidity. The net profit was up 2 percent quarter on quarter (q-o-q), and declined by ...

Kuala Lumpur / WAM The Emirates Defence Companies Council (EDCC) discussed prospects of joint cooperation and exchange of knowledge with the Korea Defence Industry Association (KDIA) on the sidelines of its participation in the Defence Services Asia (DSA) Exhibition 2018, in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. A KDIA delegation, headed by Yung Ho Kim, Vice Chairman of the KDIA, visited ...

Bloomberg OPEC and Russia will meet in Saudi Arabia this week after all but banishing a global oil glut. While looming political crises threaten to tighten supplies further, the group seems determined to keep its cuts in place. Almost 16 months of output curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners have seen crude rally to a ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, also known as Taqa, raised $1.75 billion in a two-tranche dollar denominated bond issue that was 4.7 times oversubscribed. The two tranches consisted of bonds with maturities of seven years with a coupon of 4.375 percent, and bonds with maturities of 12 years with a coupon of 4.875 percent. The issue ...