On Wednesday, the Philippine government said that it had created a new task force to coordinate its policy on the South China Sea – which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea – amid rising tensions with China and ahead of a verdict on a case which it has filed against Beijing. According to a document issued by the presidential office ...

Travellers love Virgin America, the hip, mood-lit airline backed by Richard Branson. And why not? The self-described “low-fare, upscale” carrier promises passengers that they don’t need to accept the dismal nickel-and-dime, fee- for-everything flying experience offered by the competition. Instead, fly Virgin and you can have it all — legroom and the cheap ticket. Unfortunately, telling customers they can have ...

Jean-Michel Paul There was a time when Belgium was at Europe’s vanguard. It was the second country in the world to industrialize, the founder of art deco and surrealism, and a producer of Nobel scientists who discovered — among other things — the God particle. I was born and bred in this country, but I fear we are now trailblazing ...

The leading academic theory of asset bubbles is that they don’t really exist. When asset prices skyrocket, say mainstream theorists, it might mean that some piece of news makes rational investors realize that fundamental values like corporate earnings are going to be a lot higher than anyone had expected. Or perhaps some condition in the economy might make investors suddenly ...

BLOOMBERG Saudi stocks led Middle Eastern markets lower as oil languished near $40 a barrel and the Easter weekend holiday in Europe sapped volumes. Equities in Dubai extended the longest losing streak in more than two months. The Tadawul All Share Index sank for a fourth day, losing 1.7 percent to 6,244.60 as of 3:17 p.m. in Riyadh. Jabal Omar ...

ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has decreased by -0.73% to close at 4418.03 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has lost AED 5.29 billion attaining AED 716.66 billion. A total of 313 Million Shares were traded with a total value of AED 356.37 million during the trading session of 26-04-2016 through 4475 transactions. The number of companies which ...

BLOOMBERG As starts go for Japan’s initial public offering market, this year’s has been pretty bad. When Willplus Holdings Co., a car dealer, opened below its offer price on its debut last week, it became the sixth of 21 IPOs to do so this year. In the rush of initial share sales in 2015 that saw 98 companies go public, ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Saadiyat Development and Investment Company (SDIC) awards the landscaping contract of Hidd Al Saadiyat to Gulf Contracting Company (GCC). Hardscaping of the neighborhoods, kicking off in 2016, will include pavement of driveways, pathways and road signage, benches, light poles, and bollards. Furthermore, underground work activities including irrigation, electrical, manholes and concrete bases for signage will ...

Bloomberg Macy’s Inc. named Four Corners Property Trust Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bill Lenehan to its board, enlisting a real estate expert to help the chain figure out what to do with its properties. The 39-year-old will join the board on April 1, the Cincinnati-based company said in a statement. Lenehan, who became CEO of Four Corners last year, has ...

Bloomberg The property market is an animal almost every central banker is worried about and hardly anyone can control. As the Federal Reserve downshifts into go-slow mode while the European Central Bank and other monetary authorities ease, expect to hear a lot of concern about property prices. Here’s the dilemma: How do you cut rates to goose too-low inflation and ...