Bloomberg South Africa’s proposals to stabilize the labor market by introducing a national minimum wage and curtailing strike action have received mixed reviews, just days before ratings companies are scheduled to decide whether to downgrade the nation’s credit rating. The country’s biggest labor union has dismissed the recommended minimum wage of 3,500 rand ($246) a month announced by Deputy ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Iran has sent some ‘surplus’ heavy water to Oman, an Iranian nuclear spokesman was quoted as saying, after a UN atomic watchdog said Tehran was over a soft limit set under its nuclear deal with major powers. “In view of the progress of talks with several foreign firms and countries to purchase heavy water, some quantities ...

  CAIRO / Emirates Business Egypt remains the star performer among its peers in the region rising 5 percent over last week and breaking the 11,000 level for the first time since 2008. The rise is backed by positive investor sentiment regarding the IMF support of much needed funding. Stocks continue to rise after the currency declined by more than ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Iraq’s oil minister Jabar Ali Al Luaibi will make suggestions at a meeting of OPEC oil ministers at the end of the month to implement an agreement to restrain crude supply in order to push up prices, according to a statement from his ministry on Monday. The statement didn’t indicate what these suggestions are but hinted ...

Riyadh / Reuters Embattled Saudi construction firm Mohammad Al Mojil Group (MMG) said it has written directly to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman explaining that it may not be able to continue operating. It was unclear if the privately owned company was seeking financial or other assistance from the government. In a short statement via the stock exchange on ...

  Riyadh / Emirates Business Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) announced the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott Riyadh Olaya located in the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The contemporary new Courtyard by Marriott Riyadh Olaya rises proudly along the popular Olaya district in Riyadh and provides a new level of functionality and comfort to travelers within the Kingdom. ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has announced the opening of InterContinental Doha Residences under a management agreement with Gulf Hotels Company WLL. Located on Doha’s longest natural private beach, each spacious residence offers tranquil living in distinctive surroundings. With a design that merges Arabian and European sophistication, InterContinental Doha ...

  Angela Merkel’s announcement on Sunday that she will run for a fourth term as chancellor was hardly unexpected, given her role as the world’s foremost centrist, one of Europe’s last bulwarks against the hard right and a leader who doesn’t really have a credible rival in Germany. Yet she will probably face the toughest election of her career; victory ...

  Talk of war is in the air — trade war! President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to label China a currency manipulator, and has floated the idea of imposing large tariffs on Chinese imports. This sort of policy is considered beyond the pale in mainstream economics and media circles. It is subjected to epithets like “protectionism” and “mercantilism.” Almost everyone ...

  Come Jan. 20, President-elect Donald J. Trump will start carrying out his agenda. How does he expect to turn his promises into policy? Do his plans make sense? If not, what should he do? Finally, given the political realities of Washington, what’s most likely to happen? What he says he’ll do: Trump promises to pull the U.S. from last ...