Having been upstaged again last week by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank will join its US counterpart in global economic spotlight when the Governing Council meets on Thur- sday in Frankfurt and, like Fed, signals further monetary stimulus ahead. But ECB is facing a much more difficult script than the Fed. Lacking a more substantial role, the council’s ...

This week, Spain may finally get a government based on the results of its April parliamentary election. If it doesn’t, there’s likely to be a fourth election in as many years. Spain joins the growing ranks of countries run for extended periods by technocrats rather than politicians, and it appears to be doing fine — like most of the others ...

BEIJING / WAM Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the significance of peace and stability in the Gulf region for the Middle East as well as for the whole world, saying the region should be an “oasis of security” rather than a new “source of turmoil.” “China backs the UAE’s commitment to regional peace and stability,” Xi said, calling on ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The strategic ties between the UAE and China in the past five years have led to close cooperation on all fronts, with the UAE becoming China’s main commercial partner in the region, reflecting the vision and the mutual coordination of the leadership of the two friendly countries. During the past five years, the UAE and China ...

Bloomberg The US has sanctioned a Chinese state oil trader for violating restrictions on Iranian crude, an attempt to tighten restrictions on the Islamic Republic and cut off one of its biggest buyers. Zhuhai Zhenrong Co., the secretive company with links to the Chinese military, has a history of taking Iranian crude and fuel, at times as part of barter ...

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund further reduced its global growth outlook, already the lowest since the financial crisis, and suggested that policy “missteps” on trade and Brexit could derail a projected rebound. The world economy will expand 3.2 percent this year and 3.5 percent next year, both down 0.1 percentage point from April projections, the fund said in its latest ...

DUBAI / WAM The UAE is the most advanced e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, according to a joint study by Dubai Economy and digital payment solutions leader, Visa, titled the “UAE eCommerce Landscape”. The study also estimates that e-commerce transactions in the country will hit $16 billion (AED59 billion) in 2019 and grow 23 ...

DUBAI / WAM DP World PLC handled 35.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), across its global portfolio of container terminals in the first half of 2019, with gross container volumes growing by 0.5 percent year-on-year on a reported basis and 0.5 percent on a like-for-like basis. Its strong performance across Asia Pacific, the Indian Subcontinent and Africa drove growth in ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Hub71 and Techstars announced the launch of the Techstars Hub71 Accelerator Programme in Abu Dhabi, where 10 start-ups will undergo an intensive 13-week programme that will conclude with an investor Demo Day and the opportunity to receive funding to grow their businesses. The programme serves as an opportunity for start-ups to accelerate their business model and ...

BEIJING / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Wang Qishan, Vice President of China, on Tuesday attended a reception organised by the UAE Embassy in Beijing to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral relations between the UAE and ...