Bloomberg A closely watched researcher has cut its estimate of Amazon.com Inc’s share of the US e-commerce market after incorporating new figures from the company. EMarketer Inc, among the most widely cited sources for estimates of US online retail sales, says it now expects Amazon to account for 37.7 percent of online commerce this year, down from a prior estimate ...

Bloomberg Shake Shack is staying away from vegan burgers, at least for now. The fast-food chain, known for its Pat LaFrieda beef and fries, is watching the vegan-burger trend that’s been turbocharged by Beyond Meat Inc’s massive post-IPO stock rally. But Shake Shack isn’t ready to get on board, according to CEO Randy Garutti. First, the chain, which made its name ...

Bloomberg Maybe American kids will only have to live through one Christmas without Toys ‘R’ Us. About a year after shuttering US operations, the remnant of the defunct toy chain is set to return this holiday season by opening about a half dozen US stores and an e-commerce site, according to people familiar with the matter. Richard Barry, a former ...

GENEVA / WAM The number of people fleeing war, persecution, and conflict exceeded 70 million in 2018. This is the highest level that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has seen in its almost 70 years. Data from UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, released on Wednesday, shows almost 70.8 million people are now forcibly displaced. To put this in perspective, this ...

Bloomberg Global oil demand growth is slowing. That is the view of all three major oil forecasting organisations, who have cut their assessments for what they expect in terms of an increase in crude consumption this year. The latest outlooks from the International Energy Agency, the US Energy Information Administration and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) all show ...

DUBAI / WAM Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director-General, said that the launch of Microsoft cloud services in the UAE confirms the country’s leading role in the ICT sector and as one of the world’s leading hubs of digital transformation in all sectors. In a statement, on the launch of Microsoft cloud services in UAE, Al Mansoori said that the ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Landmark Group and HSBC have completed a first-of-its-kind transaction that connected two independently- built blockchain platforms, proving their interoperability and showing how collaborative technologies can further accelerate international trade in the future. It also marks a major step forward in the Middle East’s retail industry adopting blockchain. The transaction involved a shipment from Bee Dee Industries ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Homegrown UAE company Zbooni has announced it has just closed its latest funding round of $1.1 million from Chalhoub Group and B&Y Venture Partners to continue to grow the business. With a strong growth record over two years, it is handling millions of dirhams of sale transactions per month through its connected chat commerce app. The ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Khalifa University of Science and Technology announced that it has become the first university in the UAE to be ranked among the top 300 academic institutions globally by the Quacquarelli Symonds, QS, World University Rankings 2020. Ranked 268th overall with a jump of 47 slots, Khalifa University thus remains among the top 27 percent of ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), on Wednesday announced that its leasing division DAE Capital and Moscow based, Volga Dnepr owned cargo airline AirBridgeCargo have entered into a purchase and leaseback agreement with PDP financing for three factories new Boeing 777 freighter aircraft. The three aircraft will be the first of this type to enter AirBridgeCargo’s fleet in 2020. ...