VATICAN / WAM His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church praised the UAE’s approach that enhances the pillars of tolerance, coexistence and peace. While receiving a UAE delegation that included members of the Emirati Embassy in Madrid and the Tolerance and Coexistence Training Programme of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), Pope Francis said that …

Dubai / WAM The global economy is not likely to witness another Great Recession-style collapse, despite several indicators to the contrary in recent months, according to a newly-published report by the Arab Strategy Forum in partnership with Good Judgement Inc., the world’s leading geopolitical and economic forecasting institution. Titled ‘11 Questions for the Next Decade’, the wide-ranging and far-reaching findings …

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for economic development aid, commended the opening of a major infrastructure project – Maafaru International Airport, located on one of the islands of the Noonu Atoll in the Maldives. To support the strategic objectives of the Government of the Maldives, ADFD contributed AED191 million ($52 million) …

Bloomberg President Donald Trump added to the criticism of the World Bank’s plan for low-interest loans to China. “Why is the World Bank loaning money to China?” Trump said in a Twitter post. “Can this be possible? China has plenty of money, and if they don’t, they create it. STOP!” His tweet came a day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, …

Bloomberg Oil in New York posted the biggest weekly gain since June after Saudi Arabia surprised the market with a significant supply cut beyond what was agreed to with fellow Opec+ members. WTI settled 1.3% higher after Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the country would continue its voluntary cut of 400,000 barrels a day. That brings …

Bloomberg India’s real estate, construction and infrastructure industries are in “deep trouble,” and non-bank finance companies which lend to these sectors should have their asset quality reviewed, former central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said. There is also “significant distress in rural areas,” Rajan wrote in an opinion piece in India Today magazine. He said India is in a growth recession, …

Bloomberg China will announce the creation of its long-planned national oil and gas pipeline company on December 9, according to people familiar with the matter, as it seals one of its biggest reforms aimed at helping energy supply keep pace with swelling demand. A ceremony to launch the company has been set for 10 am on Monday in Beijing, said …

Bloomberg PG&E Corp has reached a $13.5 billion settlement with victims of wildfires ignited by its power lines, a major step towards resolving the biggest utility bankruptcy in US history. The settlement will cover claims stemming from some of the worst fires to hit Northern California, including the 2017 wine country fires and the 2018 Camp Fire, the company said …

If you want to know how Alphabet Inc’s new Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai will run the company you don’t need to look very far — he’s essentially been doing it for several years already. Pichai, a 47-year-old engineer, grew up in India and immigrated to the US to attend graduate school. His resume reads like the typical Silicon Valley …

Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Co will spend 20 trillion won ($17 billion) over the next six years on new technology to help make the switch to electric and autonomous vehicles. Announcing its strategic plan to 2025, the South Korean company pledged to spend almost half the new money on electrification. Autonomous driving will soak up 1.6 trillion won of the total, …