Bloomberg Hennes & Mauritz AB appointed Helena Helmersson as the first female chief executive officer of the fast-fashion pioneer, taking over from founding family scion Karl-Johan Persson, who struggled to contain competition from cheaper rivals and online platforms that revolutionised shopping. Helmersson was previously head of operations, and Persson moves to the supervisory board after more than a decade, where ...

Bloomberg Swatch Group fell to the lowest in a decade as Switzerland’s largest watchmaker faces a triple whammy from Hong Kong protests, competition with smartwatches and viral outbreak in China. Operating profit fell for the first time in three years, dropping 11% to $1.1 billion. Analysts expected 1.09 billion francs. The shares fell as much as 4.1% on January 30. ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co. closed the financial books on a tragic and tumultuous 2019 by revealing that total costs for its grounded 737 Max will surpass $18 billion when the tab for restarting production later this year is included. The planemaker is taking a $2.6 billion pretax writedown to compensate airlines for ballooning losses from a global flying ban that’s expected ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE trade in aluminum amounted to around AED 8 billion during the first three months of 2019, according to statistics revealed by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority. The Emirates’ trade in the metal hit a record of AED 6.5 bn during the reference period, a growth of 23 percent over the corresponding period in ...

AJMAN / WAM The non-oil GDP in Ajman achieved a 3.6 percent growth in 2018, according to the emirate’s annual economic report 2019 issued by the Department of Economic Development covering the emirate’s economic outcomes until the end of 2018. The report showed that the average annual growth for the 2014-2018 period was some 3.8 percent, a clear indication of ...

RAS AL KHAIMAH / WAM Valleys, dams and mountains and a green carpet covering the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah have turned the region into a beautiful oasis, which celebrates nature and strengthens environment sustainability. Starting at Wadi Shawka or Shawka valley, where you can feel a cold breeze, you walk past fragrant palm trees, flowers and plants, and move ...

BEIRUT / WAM The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) announced that it is continuing its winter aid campaign for refugees in Lebanon to help ease the effects of the cold weather, which included winter essentials, such as heaters, blankets, clothes, children’s supplies and food parcels. Through the Humanitarian and Development Affairs Attaché at the UAE Embassy, the authority implemented the third ...

DUBAI / WAM The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD) announced that 2,109 tonnes of used clothes worth AED9.6 million were donated as part of the Clothing Bank initiative in 2019. The IACAD aims to allocate all proceeds to support various charitable and humanitarian projects within and outside UAE. Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Emirates Policy Centre (EPC) ranked 6th in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region in the annual Global Go To Think Tank Index Report released by the University of Pennsylvania in January 2020, while the centre’s annual conference, “Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate”, also ranked 10th among the top best think-tank conferences worldwide. EPC President, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE entered the Guinness Book of World Records for holding world’s longest handshake on Wednesday. A human chain of 1,817 helped break the record during an event, titled “One World One Message” at Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi. The initiative was launched by the Abu Dhabi Police’s Youth Council marking the first anniversary ...