April, 2016

• 9 April

  Maldives launches $800 million airport expansion

  Male / AFP The Maldives government has kicked off a controversial $800-million expansion of the country’s main airport by a Chinese company, a move likely to irritate giant neighbour India. President Abdulla Yameen inaugurated construction work in a ceremony this week in the capital city Male. The expansion means the Airbus A380 will be able to land at the airport ...

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• 9 April

  Air New Zealand says no Vanuatu flights until runway fixed

  

  WELLINGTON / AFP Air New Zealand said it would not resume flights to Vanuatu until the runway of the Pacific nation’s international airport is properly fixed. The Kiwi flag carrier, along with Virgin Australia, suspended services to Port Vila in January, citing safety concerns over the deteriorating runway at Bauerfield International Airport. Qantas also suspended a code-share agreement with Air ...

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• 9 April

  Weaker banks pay up to regain debt market

  

  Bloomberg The market for the riskiest bank debt is starting to open for Europe’s weaker lenders — provided they are willing to pay up. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) SA sold 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of so-called additional Tier 1 bonds, with a coupon of 8.875 percent, according to data. That’s about two percentage points more than the Spanish ...

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• 9 April

  ECB’s Mersch warns of returns’ dip in Central Bank Action

  BLOOMBERG Central banks’ extraordinary measures to spur growth may eventually show diminishing returns while a key part of the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme carries a “certain risk” that has been mitigated, ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said. Mersch, in a speech to the Ambrosetti Workshop in Cernobbio Italy, on Saturday, reviewed the various policy instruments that the ...

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• 9 April

  Wells Fargo doles out $1.2bn to settle crisis-era mortgage claims

  

  New York / AFP Wells Fargo, an American multinational banking company, will pay $1.2 billion to refund US agencies for wrongly certifying bad loans for federal home insurance ahead of the 2008 housing bust, the Department of Justice announced. The settlement resolves charges that Wells Fargo, a giant in the US mortgage lending, employed shoddy underwriting practices to drive up ...

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• 9 April

  Goldman Sachs pays CEO Blankfein $22.6mn for 2015

  

  Reuters Goldman Sachs Group Inc paid Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein $22.6 million for 2015, according to a regulatory filing, marking his first pay decline in the last four years. Blankfein received $24 million for 2014. On top of his salary and other awards, Blankfein will be eligible to receive a total of $7 million based on his and the bank’s ...

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• 9 April

  Dimon’s call for truce with small banks gets a ‘no thanks’

  

  Bloomberg Thanks, but no thanks. That was the response of small banks after Jamie Dimon called for a truce this week between large and small lenders. The JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer said the industry needs to work together, particularly in Washington, to achieve its policy goals with Congress and regulators. “Just because Jamie Dimon says ‘let’s sing ...

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• 9 April

  This Spanish port is a ‘smart city’ lab

  

  Santander, Spain / AFP In Spain’s historic port of Santander, parking is no longer a headache, rubbish bins never overflow and grass is watered only when needed since this northern resort became a testing ground for “smart cities” around the world. Thousands of sensors have transformed the metropolis, known for the grand hotels and high-end casinos lining its beach on ...

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• 9 April

  Happy Birthday, Joseph Pulitzer!

  

  Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business It’s a day of celebration for us – the journalists, especially the ones who are so by passion. Today, in the year 1847, a boy was born in Hungary, who changed the very meaning of journalism. Defying all odds — from being rejected for US army due to health issues to learning a language he ...

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• 9 April

  Microsoft BUILD: There is much to chat about

  

  Relaxnews Beyond the razzle-dazzle of the company’s new Hololens, the biggest takeaway for consumers following the conclusion of this year’s Microsoft BUILD developers’ conference is the importance that the company is putting on ‘chat’ as a platform. As consumers’ primary screens get smaller — no matter how big phablets become, they’re still less cumbersome and more portable than the average ...

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