AMMAN / WAM The Palestinian cause is still an issue that is central to the UAE’s foreign policy, said Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC). Ghobash made the remarks while addressing the 30th extraordinary meeting of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (APU), in the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday to discuss means of supporting the Palestinian brethren in …

Bloomberg An attacker using military-style weapons killed at least 17 people in Thailand and appeared to livestream the assault on Facebook. Many others were injured in the incident on Saturday and the assailant remains at large. The shooting took place in Korat in Nakhon Ratchasima province of Bangkok. The attacker targeted Korat’s city center, including the Terminal 21 shopping mall, …

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve Board said that the coronavirus outbreak presented a “new risk” to the economic outlook for the US and warned of disruptions in global markets. “Because of the size of the Chinese economy, significant distress in China could spill over to US and global markets through a retrenchment of risk appetite, US dollar appreciation, and declines in …

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) top deputy, David Lipton, will depart after nine years, handing President Donald Trump a chance to install an ally at the head of the institution. Lipton and another senior official are leaving in the first significant shakeup of the leadership team by Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who took office in October. Lipton, the IMF’s …

Bloomberg Two former managers of a German bank were arrested in a money-laundering probe linked to Denmark’s $2 billion Cum-Ex tax scandal. The two North Channel Bank managers were taken into custody on February 4, prosecutors in the German city of Koblenz said in a statement. It’s part of a probe into the actions of the pair and five other …

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) awarded Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan $26.5 million for 2019, unchanged from a record amount a year earlier. Moynihan, 60, received $25 million in stock grants and a $1.5 million salary, the bank said in a filing. While he hasn’t received a cash bonus since 2007, part of his stock award will settle in …

Bloomberg Australia’s central bank chief Philip Lowe signalled his board is firmly on hold for now, saying further cuts to the nation’s already historically-low interest rate risk doing more long-term damage to the economy than the short-term benefit they would create. “While it’s plausible that we can move towards our goals, at least right at the moment the risks have …

Bloomberg Philippine central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno said he anticipates the next interest-rate cut will probably come around the middle of this year. The bank will remain “data-dependent,” but still has monetary policy space to ease after it lowered interest rates for the fourth time in a year, Diokno said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Haidi Lun. Bangko Sentral …

Even in its worst days, Cadillac could count on its big, swanky Escalade to deliver profits. It still does, but with Ford Motor Co’s Lincoln Navigator and a handful of European competitors taking a bite out of the large luxury SUV market, General Motors (GM) Co is making a push to turn the fifth-generation Escalade into a high-tech showcase. When …

Bloomberg Ericsson AB withdrew from the telecommunications industry’s biggest annual event to protect its staff and visitors from the coronavirus outbreak. The Swedish maker of mobile networks said it had pulled out of MWC Barcelona, due to be held on February 24 to February 27. As one of the largest exhibitors, with thousands of visitors in its hall each day, …