March, 2016

• 7 March

  Banca Popolare di Vicenza owners back public offering

  

  Bloomberg Banca Popolare di Vicenza SCpA’s owners approved a plan to raise as much as 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in an initial public offering and transform the cooperative lender into a joint-stock firm, a crucial step toward ensuring its survival. The proposals passed at a meeting in Vicenza, Italy, after the European Central Bank (ECB) warned that without a ...

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• 7 March

  Turbulent markets part of ‘gathering storm’, key bank warns

  

  Zurich / AFP A fragile calm in global financial markets has given way to all-out turbulence, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) said, warning of a ‘gathering storm’ which has long been brewing. In its previous quarterly report, watched closely by investors, the BIS — which is known as the central bank of central banks — warned of an ‘uneasy ...

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• 7 March

  Hong Kong home sales tumble 70% as slowdown intensifies

  

  HONG KONG / Bloomberg Hong Kong residential home sales plunged 70 percent in February from a year earlier to a 25-year low, as falling prices and economic uncertainty deterred buyers. Last month, 1,807 homes were sold in Hong Kong, compared with 6,027 a year earlier, according to government statistics. Home sales fell from 2,045 in January, the data show. “The ...

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• 7 March

  Shanghai property market is ‘overheated,’ top city official says

  

  BEIJING / Bloomberg Shanghai’s most-senior official said the city’s property market has “overheated” and should be more tightly controlled after a recent surge in residential housing prices. “An irrational and overheated sentiment have emerged in the Shanghai real estate market, and these sentiments have raised home prices,” Han Zheng, the city’s Communist Party chief, said at briefing during annual legislative ...

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• 7 March

  5 health centres to be set up in Qatar’s western region

  

  Doha / EMIRATES BUSINESS With a rapid increase in the number of people using primary healthcare services, a major expansion in the facilities is on the anvil in the Western region of the country that comprises a large geographical area. The new appointment system through the Wayyak telephone service has helped organise the functioning of health centres and improve performance. ...

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• 7 March

  Trump tower funded by rich Chinese who invest cash for visas

  

  Bloomberg Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has attacked China and warned about the dangers of deficient immigrant screening. “They’ve taken our jobs, they’ve taken our money, they’ve taken everything,” he said of China in a speech late last month. He has called for a revamping, even a freezing, of the immigration system, but says he would make an exception ...

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• 7 March

  Boeing, Paramount to join hands on multi-role aircraft

  

  ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS Boeing and the Paramount Group, the South African based global defence and aerospace business, have expanded their 2014 agreement to cooperate on an advanced mission system for a variant of the Advanced, High Performance, Reconnaissance, Light Aircraft (AHRLAC). A high-wing, two-seat aircraft, AHRLAC is designed to incorporate advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and weapons ...

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• 7 March

  United’s Munoz returns as CEO after five months

  

  BLOOMBERG United Continental Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz, who underwent a heart transplant after falling ill five months ago, will return to full-time duty next week. Munoz, 57, had been participating in all major corporate decisions during his recovery and has been meeting with employees and shareholders, the airline said in a statement. He joined in on a ...

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• 7 March

  American Airlines Group pilots union blast return of ‘toxic culture’

  

  Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc.’s pilots union, an early backer of the carrier’s merger with US Airways, blasted the return of “toxic” labour relations, a substandard product and violations of their contract. American executives can no longer rely on the excuse that they need more time to bring everything into order since the two companies merged in December 2013, the ...

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• 7 March

  RWE subsidiary Npower to axe 2,500 British jobs

  

  London / AFP British energy provider Npower, a subsidiary of German giant RWE, will announce this week that it is cutting nearly 2,500 jobs, according to the latest media reports. This means losing more than a fifth of the 11,500 jobs which Npower’s operations support in Britain, according to Sky News. The announcement is expected on Tuesday, when RWE releases ...

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