Sharjah / WAM The Ministry of Economy (MoE) and the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) have signed an agreement mandating the Sharjah department to represent the federal ministry to process applications for setting up branches for partnership businesses, limited liability companies and simple commandite companies and collect relevant fees. The agreement, which seeks to promote co-operation and sharing experiences and knowledge, was …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business ADNOC Distribution, in collaboration with Al Masaood, launched an Autoserv Centre at its Rabdan service station in Abu Dhabi’s Mushrif area. Managed by Al Masaood, vehicle owners in Mushrif visiting the Autoserv Centre can benefit from the expertise of highly skilled technicians who ensure the delivery of best-in-class, reliable services. Vehicle repair services offered …

  Dubai / WAM Dubai Holding, the global investment holding company, has launched its ‘Books for All’ programme, an initiative that aims to provide greater access to books for residents across the UAE. Launched in collaboration with Amal Education, the programme is aligned with the Reading Nation campaign, which was launched earlier this year as part of the Mohammed bin Rashid …

  It is axiomatic that if someone is sufficiently eager to disbelieve something, there is no Everest of evidence too large to be ignored. This explains today’s revival of protectionism, which is a plan to make America great again by making it 1953 again. This was when manufacturing’s postwar share of the labor force peaked at about 30 percent. The …

  If you applied for a mortgage in the past few years, you probably noticed that the record-low rates during much of that period were only available to a lucky few. Lending standards tightened a lot after the subprime fiasco. The torturous process — supplying the lender with triplicate tax returns, W-2s, character references and so on — was a …

  Risk is back on, so who needs chocolate? Nestle SA needs to roll with the times, and investors have a lot of optimism that its brand-new Chief Executive Officer, Ulf Mark Schneider, can produce a quick change of gear. He’s certainly got the right background, but the tactics Nestle needs aren’t in his DNA. Investors should tread cautiously. The …

  A high-ranking defector of North Korean has said that president Kim Jong-Un is planning a ‘prime time’ nuclear weapons push in 2017. The development comes as Pyongyang wants to take advantage of leadership transitions in South Korea and the United States. As per the revelation made by Thae Yong-Ho, who fled his post as North Korea’s deputy ambassador to …

  Bloomberg Singapore’s commodities-related defaults could turn out to be the canary in the mine. Despite a modest rebound in resource prices, restructuring specialists including KPMG and Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee see more Asia-Pacific commodities and shipping companies being pushed into delinquency. Law firm DLA Piper said there could be choppy waters ahead on rising interest rates and President-elect …

  DUBAI / Reuters Banking shares boosted Saudi Arabia’s stock index to its highest level this year, while other Gulf markets moved little in quiet trade with some foreign investors absent for New Year holidays. The Saudi index closed up 1.3 percent at 7,257 points in its highest trading volume for two weeks, rising above technical resistance at this year’s …

  DUBAI / Reuters National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Gulf Arab state’s largest commercial lender, and investment firm KAMCO said they had been invited by the public debt office at the Kuwaiti ministry of finance to participate in a bond issue by the government. A request for proposals has been sent to NBK’s subsidiary NBK Capital to help arrange …