Bloomberg Ikea’s annual retail sales exceeded $44 billion for the first time as the Swedish home-furnishings giant opened new stores and rolled out e-commerce in more markets. Sales of products and services to Ikea customers rose 6.5 percent in the year through August to 41.3 billion euros, according to a statement. It was the fastest growth since 2016. “We passed ...

Bloomberg British Airways owner IAG SA warned that challenges facing the European airline industry are set to continue into 2020 after cutting profit guidance for this year. IAG lowered capacity growth in the final quarter and will provide details in November of a decrease next year, Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said on a call with analysts. Earnings for this ...

Bloomberg TUI AG is taking steps to expand its winter jetliner fleet to meet increasing demand for package holidays following the collapse of UK rival Thomas Cook Group Plc. The world’s biggest tour operator is working to retain leased aircraft it has been operating through the summer in preparation for an anticipated surge in bookings, Chief Executive Officer Fritz Joussen ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is recovering faster than expected from the biggest attacks ever on its oil industry, beating its own target for restoring capacity by about a week. State oil producer Saudi Aramco has boosted total production capacity to more than 11 million barrels a day, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The news helped to push crude ...

DUBAI / WAM The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), announced the successful launch of the space mission carrying the first Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansoori, aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz MS-15, at 5:57 pm UAE time. This is the UAE’s first mission to the International Space Station (ISS), from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Al Mansoori is accompanied on the ...

Dubai / WAM Emirates NBD on Wednesday announced that it has created E20., the UAE’s first digital business bank for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), businesses. In a press release issued by Emirates NBD on Wednesday, E20. will enable start-ups, sole proprietors, freelancers, gig economy workers, fintechs and insurtechs and small-to-medium sized companies to open a bank account ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is weighing an aggressive new approach to its trade dispute with the US, signaling a willingness to engage in the combative tactics embraced by President Donald Trump and risking a further deterioration in transatlantic relations. The EU is considering imposing tariffs on more than $4 billion of US exports, citing as justification a 22-year-old World ...

Dubai / WAM His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, on Wednesday visited the Cityscape Global 2019 – the 19th annual edition of the gateway event for regional real estate investment – at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). HH Sheikh Ahmed was joined ...

Dubai / WAM To commemorate UAE’s first manned mission to space, Montegrappa, an Italian company of luxury products, launched a unique fountain pen commissioned for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), celebrating Hazza Al Mansoori, the first Emirati astronaut in space. MBRSC is also responsible for the development of various projects including the UAE Astronaut Programme and the development ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), met Sardor Umurzakov, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan, to discuss the strengthening of relations between the UAE and Uzbekistan across various fields of mutual interest. The meeting also examined ways of bolstering investment and economic cooperation between the Fund and Government of ...