AFP European stock markets rallied on Thursday, after solid gains in Asia, as the US Federal Reserve opted against lifting interest rates — but signalled action later this year. The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the sixth straight meeting, saying it needs to see a bit more sign of strength in the US economy. However, Fed ...

  Emirates Business Acer unveiled and showcased its latest range of products at a highly-anticipated annual Middle East press conference at Dubai’s Westin Mina Siyahi recently. The event also hosted a number of key speakers, including Daniel Trachino, General Manager of Acer Middle East & Africa, John Miedema, Director of Product Management for Acer EMEA and Joumana Karam, Product Business ...

  Emirates Business At IFA 2016, Huawei Consumer Business Group debuted the Huawei nova and the Huawei nova plus, the first smartphones in the new series designed to meet the needs of today’s most dynamic consumers. The new nova series features stunning multi-curve design features, camera advances for more vivid photography and performance updates for enhanced usability. Every feature of ...

  Bloomberg Coming off its best Christmas in years, the US toy industry is wagering that the Pokemon Go craze will command a lot of space on kids’ wish lists. Pokemon-branded video games from Nintendo Co. and a plush Pikachu character that wiggles its ears from Tomy Co. highlight the Toy Insider’s Hot 20 list, an industry publication’s best guess ...

  Bloomberg More than 1.1 million US workers would lose their jobs because of tougher fuel-economy regulations coming next decade if prices at the gasoline pump remain low in America, a new study found. With low fuel prices, consumers won’t get the payback they are expecting from expensive fuel-saving technology as automakers strive to reach a US mandate to achieve ...

  London / AFP Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are pledging to spend more than $3 billion over the next decade to work on curing diseases. “Can we work together to cure, prevent or manage all disease within our children’s lifetime?” Chan said Wednesday onstage at an event in San Francisco for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. “Mark and ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG offered no hint of concessions after a meeting with European Union regulators over demands the company provide compensation to the bloc’s consumers hit by the diesel emissions scandal. VW will carry out an “EU-wide action plan” to inform customers and repair the vehicles, EU Justice and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Vera Jourova said after meeting with Francisco ...

  Bloomberg The largest US gasoline pipeline returned to service by the end of the day Wednesday, easing almost two weeks of curtailed shipments that drove up pump prices and caused hundreds of stations to run out of fuel in the East and Southeast. Once Colonial Pipeline Co. restarts its main line, many shipments will be rerouted to southern locations ...

  Bloomberg For the second time this year, Egypt changed and then quickly reversed its import standards for wheat, leaving traders skeptical about doing business with the world’s largest buyer. Egypt canceled its zero-tolerance policy on a common type of fungus known as ergot on Wednesday, less than a month after reinstating the ban and rejecting cargoes from Romania to ...

  Bloomberg OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose rivalry derailed an oil supply accord earlier this year, met in Vienna a week before the organization holds talks in Algeria. The two oil producers, along with fellow OPEC member Qatar, met at the headquarters of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna, according to three people familiar with the ...