DUBAI / WAM The Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP) has approved a list of 614 eligible beneficiaries of housing aid at a total cost of AED 309 million. A breakdown showed that 513 recipients will get loans and 83 others will receive housing grants. The housing aid was approved during a meeting of the SZHP board chaired by Dr. Abdullah ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Growth of the UAE’s non-oil private sector gathered speed in February. According to the latest Emirates NBD UAE PMI survey report, the overall improvement in business conditions was helped by expansions in output, new orders and employment. The survey, sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by Markit, contains original data collected from a monthly survey of ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Zayed University and Marsh, a global leader in insurance broking and risk management, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Zayed University in Dubai campus in the presence of Robert M. Makhoul, Executive Chairman of Marsh Middle East and North Africa and Professor Reyadh AlMehaideb, Vice President of Zayed University. Zayed University and Marsh will ...

China’s new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has been the source of considerable debate. While its supporters believe the bank will fill a much needed investment gap in Asia’s economic development, its naysayers worry that China will use it to further its own economic and strategic goals in the region. They say the very structure of the AIIB allows China ...

EU President Donald Tusk’s stark warning to economic migrants not to come to Europe because it will not welcome them anymore, reflects the deepening refugee crisis in Europe, where some states have been restricting their borders to stem the influx of refugees. “I want to appeal to all potential illegal economic migrants wherever you are from: Do not come to ...

A commentary by Vasily Kashin, published by Russian news agency Sputnik on March 1, straightforwardly wrote that China has overestimated the effect of its “economic diplomacy,” and has underestimated the influence of factors like politics, ideology, and military relations. Kashin argues that China has upheld a rather naive belief that as long as it increases trade and investment, it will ...

Adam Minter Airline passengers are being packed into planes “like sardines,” says U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. So he wants the Federal Aviation Administration to set minimum seat-size guidelines. The point, Schumer suggested, is to right an injustice: “It’s just plain unfair that a person gets charged for extra inches that were once standard.” In other words: Everyone could soon get ...

ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has increased by 1.18% to close at 4418.81 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has gained AED 8.38 billion attaining AED 716.79 billion. A total of 0.88 billion Shares were traded with a total value of AED 1.28 billion during the trading session of 03-03-2016 through 12114 transactions. The number of companies which ...

Bloomberg Asian shares and currencies rose along with industrial metals as improving U.S. economic data coupled with prospects for stimulus in China spurred risk-taking. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was set for its biggest three-day rally since August, led by banks and raw-materials producers. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index snapped a five-day winning streak. South Korea’s won and Malaysia’s ringgit ...

Bloomberg Investors in European companies reliant on developing nations for revenue are proving less bullish in the prospects for a rebound in emerging markets than firms including Citigroup Inc. and Fidelity Investment Management. The region’s shares with the highest exposure to developing countries trade near record lows relative to those reliant on Europe and the U.S., according to Morgan Stanley ...