James D.J. Brown SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS On May 6, 2016, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe travelled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. This was a bold move by the Japanese leader, as it was seen as breaking ranks with the G7’s policy of isolating Russia in response to the 2014 annexation of Crimea. U.S. President …

  The political context around Hillary Clinton has changed. Until now, complaints about her have pervaded public commentary, usually with a predictable refrain. In a May podcast, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart couldn’t find much good to say about the next leader of the Democratic Party. He imagined Hillary Clinton, he said, “to be a very bright woman without …

Mihir Sharma All too often, the stewards of India’s economy have been short of credibility. Politicians’ promises of economic reform are rarely fulfilled, bureaucrats’ assurances are widely disbelieved, and even India’s growth numbers have become objects of suspicion. Of late, one institution and its leader had proven exceptions to this rule: the Reserve Bank of India and its governor, Raghuram …

  Bloomberg The recovery in China’s housing market that helped underpin the economy in the first half is showing signs of tapering off. New-home prices excluding government-subsidized housing climbed in 60 cities in May, down from 65 in April, among the 70 tracked, the National Bureau of Statistics said. With less of a boost from a recovering property market likely …

  Bloomberg U.K. house prices continued to climb in June, with only the capital experiencing a decline ahead of this week’s referendum on European Union membership. Asking prices increased 0.8 percent to an average 310,471 pounds ($443,600), property website operator Rightmove said in report published on Monday. In London, they fell by 0.2 percent, hit by the effects of a …

  Bloomberg The Playboy Mansion is under contract for more than $100 million. The buyer: a 32-year-old son of a billionaire who already owns the property next door. Daren Metropoulos, principal at investment firm Metropoulos & Co. and co-owner of Hostess Brands, has agreed to buy the Holmby Hills, California, estate where Playboy founder Hugh Hefner will continue to live, …

  DUBAI / WAM Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs, and Felix Neugart, CEO of the German Emirati Joint Council for Industry and Commerce, reviewed means to strengthen UAE-German economic relations and to develop partnerships between the business communities in the two countries. During the meeting which was held in Dubai, …

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Central Bank announced that the Money Supply aggregate M1 decreased by 0.9 percent from AED 493.4 billion at the end of April, 2016, to AED 488.9 billion at the end of May, 2016. The Money Supply aggregate M2 decreased by 1.4 percent, from AED 1203.1 billion at the end of April, 2016 to AED …

  DUBAI / WAM Nasdaq Dubai welcomed the listing on Sunday of a US$400 million conventional bond by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). It was the second bond to be listed by ICBC on the Middle East’s international exchange, following a $500 million listing in May, 2015. The new listing underlines the continuing expansion of capital markets links …

  SHANGHAI / WAM Sharjah International Airport Authority (SIAA) participated for the first time in the Air Cargo China Exhibition and Conference 2016, which took place from June 14th to 16th at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. At the show, the SIAA demonstrated the latest improvements, services and facilities provided by Sharjah International Airport, as well as the many opportunities …