Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business With acquisitions in the GCC healthcare sector expected to accelerate this year, the region’s larger hospital groups have been told to prepare for serious challenges which could undermine profits from mergers with physician practices. PA Consulting Group warns that while consolidation in healthcare can bring high returns, the bigger hospital groups must guard against the ...

Bahrain / Emirates Business GFH Financial Group (GFH) on Saturday announced its full year financial results for 2015 with a consolidated profit of US$ 29 million before provisions of US$17 million, and a net profit of US$ 12.0 million, signaling sustained profitability for the Group. The consolidated net profit for 2015 was US$ 12 million compared to net profit of ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), a research and educational institution specialized in public policy in the Arab world, reviewed the results of an online brainstorming campaign launched by the School, to identify innovative ideas and suggestions to further develop programs and curricula in preparing future government leaders. Mohamed ...

NEW YORK / Bloomberg Treasuries fell after a line-up of above-forecast economic data prompted traders to re-evaluate their views on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rates path. Yields on two-year notes, seen as the most sensitive to Fed policy expectations, surged by the most since December as traders ratcheted up bets on the pace of rate increases. That helped push the gap ...

Rio De Janeiro /Bloomberg A compensation package for the Samarco tailings dam spill in Brazil is scheduled to be signed on Monday as authorities and the mine owners hammer out final details, said a person with direct knowledge of the talks. The agreement would end weeks of negotiations and be a key step in the joint venture — owned by ...

MEXICO CITY / Bloomberg A 90-minute interruption in Mexican stock trading during the peak of earnings season drew fire from traders. “It’s very hard when things like this happen,” said Rogelio Ramos, an equity sales trader at Interacciones Casa de Bolsa SA in Mexico City. “From the time you come in, people, companies, foreign clients, everyone is asking us: ‘Hey, ...

Rio De Janeiro / Bloomberg Transmissora Alianca de Energia Eletrica SA (Taesa) , a state-owned operator of power lines in Brazil, is considering the acquisition of Abengoa SA’s transmission assets in the country as the Spanish company teeters on the edge of insolvency. “We are interested in the assets,” Chief Executive Officer Jose Aloice Rogone Filho said in an interview. ...

Caracas / Bloomberg Venezuela is planning to move fast with a new mining joint venture announced this week with Spokane, Washington-based Gold Reserve Inc. and will start extracting the precious metal within six months, according to central bank President Nelson Merentes. The government will have a 55 percent to 60 percent stake in the new venture, while Gold Reserve and ...

AFP Bendable mobile phones, quick-charge batteries and unbreakable touch screens — technology firms are racing to harness the potential of graphene, a wonder material which scientists say could transform consumer electronics. A fine sheet of pure carbon, graphene is as thin as an atom, making it the skinniest material known. At the same time though, it is 100 times stronger ...

DPA An enterprising music-lover is producing what look like simple wooden boxes, but are in fact cajons, a fast-rising musical instrument which all the hippest bands now want to play. “The first time I saw a cuboid like this was at a concert. I was thrilled,” Markus Meyer recalls. The German, who had been fascinated by musical instruments since childhood, ...