ABU DHABI / WAM The manufacturing sector’s contribution to the UAE’s non-oil gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.5 percent to AED122 billion ($33.21 billion) in real prices in 2018 from AED119.7 billion in 2017, according to figures revealed by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority. Being a mainstay to a diversified economy, the sector has maintained its steady growth over …

Bloomberg President Donald Trump sought to prod China into doing a trade deal before US presidential election in November 2020, or face even more difficult negotiations during his potential second term. “Think what happens to China when I win,” Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday. “Deal would get MUCH TOUGHER!” Trump said in his tweet that the US is …

Bloomberg Natural gas prices in Europe are set to fall further below their lowest in a decade as suppliers show few signs of scaling back abundant deliveries. Inventories are near capacity weeks earlier than usual and are being flooded with more fuel coming both from tankers and pipelines. While producers have reduced some flows with repairs and maintenance at gas …

Bloomberg Copper skidded to the lowest since mid-2017 as investors faced fresh evidence of a global slowdown and fading prospects for a deescalation in the US-China trade war. Long known as a canary in coal mine for the economy, copper has slumped 16% since mid-April on the back of a sharp downturn in factory output and warnings that major economies …

Bloomberg Want a glimpse into how vulnerable Ireland is to a messy Brexit? Look at its banks. Amid Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson’s rise to British prime minister, Bank of Ireland Group Plc is down 25 percent. AIB Group Plc has slumped 37 percent, making it the worst performer in the Euro Stoxx Banks Index since the end of June, as …

Bloomberg Investors knocked down shares of India’s large state-run banks after the government unveiled its plan to merge several of the lenders, amid concerns that the integration process might delay a bad-loan cleanup and slow lending approvals. The four key large lenders at the center of the merged groups — Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India and …

Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc is snapping up Tesco Plc’s mortgage portfolio for about 3.8 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) as the British bank bets the UK economy will hold up despite the prospects of a disorderly Brexit. The country’s biggest mortgage lender is tightening its grip, acquiring over 23,000 mortgage customers as part of the deal, according to statements from …

Bloomberg Seven providers of mobile payment services owned in large part by banks are building a pan-European network, as traditional lenders seek to counter the growing competition from fintechs and global technology giants like Apple Inc. Danske Bank A/S’s MobilePay, which operates in Denmark and Finland, said the association is designed to pave the way for cross-border transactions for as …

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank’s introduction of negative interest rates didn’t lead to a “substantial change” in the public’s demand for cash, according to President Thomas Jordan. Jordan spoke in Bern on Tuesday, just over a week before European Central Bank (ECB) policy makers are expected to boost monetary stimulus, which could add to pressure on the Swiss franc and …

Bloomberg Pockets of job growth are offsetting some of the dramatic cuts at the world’s largest lenders. Bank of America Corp (Bofa), Wells Fargo & Co, HSBC Holdings Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG added some 12,000 jobs in the first half of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, meaning aggregate staff levels at 16 of the largest …