BLOOMBERG Volkswagen AG boosted its five-year investment plan to €180 billion ($193 billion) as Europe’s biggest carmaker intensifies a push to challenge Tesla Inc’s leadership on electric vehicles (EV).  More than two-thirds of the total — €122 billion — will go to software and electric vehicles, the company said. The previous update of VW’s rolling investment saw the carmaker invest …

BLOOMBERG Novartis AG is kicking off the sale of some ophthalmology assets, people with knowledge of the matter said, as it seeks to prune its portfolio and focus on growth areas. The Swiss pharmaceuticals group is working with an adviser to gauge interest in the so-called front-of-eye treatments, the people said. The portfolio includes Xiidra, a drug used to treat …

BLOOMBERG Wheat fluctuated as Russia and Ukraine gave conflicting signals on whether a key grain-export deal had been extended. Wheat futures traded in Chicago fell 0.8%, after earlier gaining as much as 0.6%. Traders are watching to see whether the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows Ukraine to export crops from three ports, will be renewed when it expires. A …

BLOOMBERG The UK labour market showed some signs of cooling as wage growth slowed for the first time in more than a year. Average earnings growth excluding bonuses fell to 6.5% from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That’s down from a record outside the pandemic of 6.7% in the previous three-month period. Job vacancies fell …

BLOOMBERG A selloff in the global financial stocks has paused on Tuesday after a two-day, $465 billion wipeout. A gauge of European bank shares fluctuated between gains and losses and US lenders rebounded in premarket trading, led by a 22% surge in First Republic Bank. Losses widened in Asia, sending an MSCI index of regional financial stocks down 3%. Mitsubishi …

BLOOMBERG Bitcoin surged 13%, the biggest one-day increase since the wild price swings seen during November’s market turmoil, and shares of crypto companies rallied following moves by US authorities to stem the spread of concern about the health of the nation’s financial system. The rally helped to extend the largest cryptocurrency’s recovery from its worst week in about four months, …

ABU DHABI / GULF TIME Q Holding announces a contract with National Project Construction (NPC), a subsidiary of Trojan Construction Group, worth AED470 million, has been signed for the infrastructure and road development of Reem Hills Phase 1 on Al Reem Island. NPC will manage the efficient, world-class implementation and delivery of the power, water, sewerage, telecommunication and gas networks …

DUBAI / GULF TIME When considering having a baby, most of us will unthinkingly assume that we can, however for many women it can prove more difficult to conceive and for some, seemingly impossible. This is a heart-breaking prospect and one that can become all-consuming. Orchid Fertility Clinic in Dubai have helped numerous couples achieve their dream of parenthood thanks …

ABU DHABI / WAM etisalat by e& UAE on Monday announced the successful trial of 5G network capability covering multiple locations for an oil & gas corporation with the highest standard of data security and digitalisation over a mobile network capable of delivering large amounts of data reliably. The trial aimed at addressing a requirement of the oil & gas …

ABU DHABI / WAM Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, has joined the UAE Ministry of Economy’s NextGenFDI Programme, which aims to attract digitally enabled businesses from all over the world and provide them with the necessary market entry fundamentals to launch and scale their operations within the UAE. The news follows the recent announcement in February that …