Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc will start working in split teams again in Hong Kong as the spread of the omicron variant threatens a fifth wave of infections in the Asian financial hub. In a memo to staff, the bank said it will resume a “hard-split A/B team arrangement” for “critical functions” to ensure business continuity. It urged employees to ...

  Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is taking a stealthier approach than its peers to winding back pandemic stimulus without rattling the markets. As the BOJ, Federal Reserve and others convene meetings this week, the Japanese are, on some fronts, already ahead of the pack after sharply cutting back purchases of exchange traded funds and trimming buying of corporate ...

  Bloomberg Danske Bank lowered forecasts for next year’s economic growth across the Nordics, as supply chain constraints and labour shortages could impede the region’s rebound. “The lack of supply of materials and equipment is a limitation for many Nordic businesses,” Danske said in its Nordic Outlook report. “We expect these constraints to ease as global demand swings back towards ...

  Bloomberg US equity-index futures witnessed volatile trading even as European stocks fall amid a spike in sovereign yields as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s indication of a more aggressive policy tightening. Contracts on the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index were down 0.4%, after a loss of as much as 0.9%. S&P 500 Index futures lost 0.2%, after a 0.5% drop ...

  Bloomberg Investors have enjoyed world-beating returns for years by owning shares of trillion-dollar technology companies, so it’s tempting to say it’s time to bail out now that bond yields are on the rise. Plenty of fund managers are resisting that temptation. Since the bull market kicked off amid the financial crisis of 2008-2009, combined value of Apple Inc, Microsoft ...

  New York / WAM The United States has condemned the Houthi militia’s hijacking of the UAE-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Hodeidah, which took place on January 2. “The Houthis’ flagrant transgression is a threat to the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and compromises international trade and regional security,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has discussed with Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, the strategic bilateral relations between the UAE and US. In a phone call, the two sides also reviewed a number of regional and international issues of common interest and the efforts ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced that it conducted 469,028 additional Covid-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment. In a statement, the ministry stressed its aim to continue expanding the scope of testing nationwide to facilitate the early detection of coronavirus cases and carry out the necessary treatment. ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), the overarching entity mandated to shape Abu Dhabi’s advanced technology R & D ecosystem, on Wednesday announced the launch of VentureOne, a new commercialisation arm to bring innovative research solutions to market at speed, and monetise all IP being generated at TII’s centres and beyond. Three specialised advanced ...

  Dubai / WAM Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) won two main international and regional awards in three                 sub-categories of Human Resources and Development in 2021. RTA won Gold Stevie International Award for Qiyadi Programme and Bronze Award for Future Leaders Programme. Additionally, RTA won the GCC Gov HR Awards – Organisation ...