A 2013 report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) shows that 51 per cent of South Asia’s 1.6 billion people are directly engaged in agriculture and 42 per cent of South Asia’s landmass is under agricultural operation. The fact that only 20 per cent of South Asia’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated through ...

ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has increased by 2.64% to close at 4535.32 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has gained AED 18.9 billion attaining AED 735.69 bIllion. A total of 1.52 billion shares were traded with a total value of AED 1.95 billion during the trading session of 2016-03-06 through 16054 transactions. The number of companies which ...

Bloomberg Abu Dhabi stocks entered a bull market, leading Mideast gauges higher, as rising oil prices added to growing bullish sentiment across global equities. The ADX General Index climbed 3.1 percent at the close, extending the longest winning streak this year and taking gains since a Jan. 21 low to 22 percent. Dubai’s DFM General Index, which entered a bull ...

Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will almost certainly announce new stimulus measures at its policy meeting next week, analysts said, as eurozone inflation turned negative and the economic outlook continues to cloud over. After disappointing financial markets with what were widely to perceived as half-hearted measures in December, ECB chief Mario Draghi will announce bolder policy moves this time ...

Yangon / AFP Four more foreign banks have been given preliminary approval to operate in Myanmar, state media reported on Sunday, the latest government attempt to attract overseas investment to the emergent nation. Myanmar’s banking system was closed for decades to outside competition under junta rule, leaving the country laden with a creaking financial infrastructure and a populace deeply suspicious ...

Bloomberg Negative interest-rate policies currently in use by central banks around the world have worked through their respective systems in much the same way as positive rates, though it’s not known how far below zero that would continue to be the case, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said. In its quarterly report published on Sunday, the Basel-based “central bank ...

BLOOMBERG Banks that finance their operations abroad with wholesale, cross-border or cross-currency funding are amplifying credit crunches, while those relying on local deposits remain a more stable provider of loans, economists at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said. Those banks whose foreign subsidiaries lent money raised from local savers and companies shrank their balance sheets less than those relying ...

Bloomberg Wall Street giants such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. would face new limits on credit exposure to other large financial firms under a Federal Reserve plan aimed at ensuring banks won’t take others with them if they fail. The proposal, which would limit such exposures to 15 percent of a lender’s Tier ...

New York / AFP Mid-sized and regional airlines in the US are suffering from a pilot shortage that could threaten the health of the broader US aviation industry. The labour shortfall has led to cancelled flights at carriers like Mesa Airlines and Silver Airways. That has hit smaller airports, such as in Redding, California, or Erie, Pennsylvania, according to figures ...

Brasilia / BLOOMBERG Embraer SA reported fourth-quarter profit that fell short of analysts’ estimates as the company made a 390.6 million-real ($100.3 million) provision related to Republic Airways Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy filing. The Brazilian planemaker said net income attributable to controlling shareholders rose 76 percent to 425.8 million reais, trailing the 527.5 million-real average estimate for adjusted earnings of seven ...