Bloomberg Finland’s national carrier Finnair Oyj will slash 90% of its flight capacity in response to a decline in demand caused by the global new coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a substantial operating loss this year. The airline also withdrew its dividend proposal and plans to cut costs, according to a statement on Monday. In addition, it is implementing a funding ...

Bloomberg Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) and Primark are bracing for an unprecedented slump in European sales as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak shifts from China. Primark has closed shops that generate 30% of its total revenue as governments ordered shutdowns. H&M is shutting stores in 13 European countries, including Italy, which has more than 24,000 cases of Covid-19. The ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) has played a key role in boosting Dubai’s economic growth, with a 12 percent contribution to the emirate’s foreign trade in 2019, compared to 11.2 percent in 2018, out of a total trade value of AED1.37 trillion recorded last year. This came as a direct result of the incentives and business facilitation ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial Markets (DFM) announced the prohibition period for insider trading at public shareholding companies listed in the UAE capital markets, which will take effect on Tuesday, March 17, in compliance with the applicable regulations and rules. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and DFM called on listed shareholding companies and brokerage companies to implement ...

GENEVA / WAM All World Trade Organisation (WTO), meetings are suspended until the end of April and Secretariat staff have been requested to work from home until the end of March. Director-General Roberto Azevedo has informed WTO members and staff that access to the organisation’s premises will be restricted as of March 16. “In light of developments related to the ...

Bloomberg Europeans were faced with increasingly draconian restrictions on public life on Sunday, as governments from Spain to Scandinavia and the Baltic tried to check the spread of the coronavirus and limit the damage to continent’s fragile economies. With Europe now the epicenter of outbreak, Austria banned gatherings of more than five people, urged citizens to self-isolate and said it ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has expanded its geographical outreach with the launch of its first educational programme in broader Central Asia. The AED5,510,250 ($1.5 million) programme, being implemented in partnership with Mercy Corps, is set to tackle widespread youth unemployment in Tajikistan over a period of three years. The programme ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Airways has announced temporary changes to its route network on Sunday. In a statement, the UAE airline said, “Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, and its continuing impact on air travel services globally, Etihad Airways continues to follow UAE and international government and regulatory authority directives and has implemented a series of ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial Markets announced the prohibition period for insider trading at public shareholding companies listed in the UAE capital markets, which will take effect on Tuesday, March 17 2020, in compliance with the applicable regulations and rules. ADX and DFM called on listed shareholding companies and brokerage companies to implement the ban until ...

DUBAI / WAM After making history last year by sending the first Emirati Astronaut, Hazaa Al Mansoori to the International Space Station, the United Arab Emirates Space programme is now fixing its focus on Mars with the Hope Mars Mission. Omran Sharaf, Project Manager of Emirates Mars Mission and Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, ...