AFP The Central Bank of Iceland on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 5.25 percent, saying inflation remained low despite rising wages and strong growth. “Inflation has remained below target for two-and-a-half years. In July it measured 1.1 percent, the lowest inflation rate since the beginning of 2015,” the bank said. “The krona ...

  AFP The European Central Bank (ECB) may be forced to bolster its monetary stimulus programmes if governments fail to act to boost their economies, board member Benoit Coeure said on Tuesday. “If there is not much taking place on the structural reform front, if there’s not much taking place on the fiscal policy front… then the ECB will do ...

  AFP World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim will seek a second term of office, the global development lender said as it announced the start of a selection process for the presidency. Kim’s bid to remain as president comes in the face a rare public rebuke from the Bank’s rank-and-file, who earlier this month declared that the institution faced a ...

  Essen / DPA When the victors of World War II announced the creation of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NTW) – by merging two former Prussian states – in 1946 in London, most of its inhabitants were going hungry. And as the bitter winter of 1946-47 got underway they began to freeze too. But the state, which ...

  Emirates Business OMEGA, the iconic Swiss watchmaker, has launched its very first collection of sunglasses for both men and women. In partnership with Marcolin Eyewear in Italy, the products represent the next expansion of the OMEGA universe, where watches and jewellery are already known for exquisite quality and craftsmanship. The first summer collection will be available exclusively in OMEGA ...

  ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Booz Allen Hamilton, the global consulting and technology firm, has highlighted the most significant threats to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) in 2016 and 2017, and the most effective measures to counter them, in a recent report titled Industrial Cybersecurity Threat Briefing. These systems control and automate significant portions of our connected lives today, and ...

  Sharjah / Emirates Business The second annual Sharjah FDI Forum will take place on September 28 and 29 at Sheraton Sharjah Hotel, under the slogan “Sharjah FDI: The Gateway to the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia”, hosting more than 300 elite decision makers, business leaders and economic experts, who will gather to exchange their knowledge and expertise ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UAE-based Health magazine to support and promote the ‘Annual Health Awards,’ the first edition of which will be held in Dubai in January 2017. DED is extending its support to the awards as part of its strategic goal of ...

  Emirates Business Bloom Properties, a Bloom Holding subsidiary specialized in the development of integrated and sustainable communities, is set to deliver Phase 3 of its Bloom Gardens master development prior to the scheduled hand-over in Q1, 2017. Consequently, home owners and investors will begin to move into the 147 housing units as early as December, 2016. Bloom Gardens Phase ...

  Reuters Iraq’s prime minister said the country has not yet reached its full oil market share, suggesting his government would not restrain crude output as part of any possible OPEC agreement to lift prices. “And the capping, we are not open to that because Iraq is still below what it should produce,” Haider al-Abadi told reporters, responding to a ...