March, 2016

• 17 March

  No change in Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf’s $19.3 million pay

  

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co., the most valuable US bank, left Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf’s compensation for 2015 unchanged at $19.3 million. Stumpf, 62, received $2.8 million in salary, a $4 million bonus and $12.5 million in long-term equity incentive awards, the San Francisco-based bank said Wednesday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s the ...

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• 17 March

  Swiss keep intervention threat alive as rates left on hold

  BLOOMBERG Switzerland’s central bank held interest rates at a record low and repeated its pledge to intervene in currency markets, a threat President Thomas Jordan has used to keep the franc from strengthening. Describing the nation’s currency as “significantly overvalued,” the Swiss National Bank kept its deposit rate at minus 0.75 percent on Thursday, as expected by all economists in ...

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• 17 March

  New Russian hacker cell hit 13 banks since Aug

  BLOOMBERG A newly discovered Russian-language hacker group known as Buhtrap has attacked 13 Russian banks since August using malware that infiltrates their gateway to the central bank, according to Moscow-based cybersecurity company Group-IB. The hackers spread the malware using infected e-mails that mimickedcorrespondence from the central bank and Gazprombank JSC, Group-IB said in a report Thursday. The program then targeted ...

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• 17 March

  61% of UAE’s HNWI set to invest in global realty in ’16

  

  Dubai / EMIRATES BUSINESS Despite global economic volatility over the past year, which contributed to multiple downward revisions for growth forecasts, investment appetite among UAE High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) does not appear to be dented, with 61% confirming that they would most likely invest in their top target city during 2016, according to leading international real estate consultancy, Cluttons. ...

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• 17 March

  Qatar’s Barwa realty plans to develop new projects

  

  Doha / EMIRATES BUSINESS Barwa Real Estate Company plans to develop several new projects in 2016. Company’s Annual General Assembly meeting held on March 16 endorsed recommendation of Board of Directors to distribute cash dividends of 22 percent, equivalent to QR2.20 per share. Addressing the shareholders, H E Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali, Chairman of the Board, Barwa Real Estate ...

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• 17 March

  Loans get scarcer for US developers trying to finish projects

  

  Bloomberg Lenders are getting stingier when it comes to funding risky U.S. real estate developments, putting pressure on landlords in need of fresh funding to keep their projects afloat. Banks are proceeding with caution as the specter of slowing economic growth rattles financial markets and shakes investor confidence in a six-year recovery that’s helped lift property values to records. Lenders ...

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• 17 March

  Qatar Air keen on IndiGo Holding, wants Meridiana to downsize staff

  

  Bloomberg Qatar Airways remains on the hunt for a stake in discount carrier IndiGo to add to its portfolio of holdings after failing to buy shares of India’s largest airline at the time of last year’s initial public offering. “I cannot force the owners to sell a stake to me,” Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said. “But if they ...

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• 17 March

  Bad times for watch biz as Basel trade fair opens

  BASEL / AFP The world’s biggest watch fair opened in the Swiss city of Basel on Thursday as a slumping luxury market and the soaring popularity of connected timepieces cast gloom over the industry. Baselworld is the highlight of the year for watch and jewellery makers, with retailers flooding in to snap up the latest eye-candy for their showcases. The ...

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• 17 March

  Fastjet chief’s exit shows Africa left behind by aviation boom

  

  Bloomberg When a Fastjet Plc plane flew from Tanzanian business hub Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on Lake Victoria on Nov. 29, 2012, Chief Executive Officer Ed Winter lauded the service as heralding the start of low-cost travel in Africa. Barely three years on and Winter quit this week after a spat with backer and EasyJet Plc founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou ...

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• 17 March

  Lufthansa starts payments as profits take flight in 2015

  

  Frankfurt / AFP German airline Lufthansa said on Thursday it will resume dividend payments to shareholders after profits soared in 2015, helped by low oil prices, and are set to increase again this year. Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said that despite an “emotionally challenging year” due to the Germanwings air crash and the burden of repeated strike action by ...

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