March, 2023

• 19 March

  McDonald’s faces franchisees decrying ‘destructive path’

  

  BLOOMBERG McDonald’s Corp is facing rising unrest among certain US franchisees — a potential stumbling block as the burger chain plots aggressive expansion. Squeezed by higher costs and grumbling at new operating rules, franchisees invited to a meeting with the company’s board will press their case in person. The session will give US operators “an opportunity to share with the …

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• 19 March

  Midsize US banks ask FDIC to insure deposits for two years

  

  BLOOMBERG A coalition of midsize US banks asked federal regulators to extend FDIC insurance to all deposits for the next two years, arguing the guarantee is needed to avoid a wider run on the banks. “Doing so will immediately halt the exodus of deposits from smaller banks, stabilise the banking sector and greatly reduce chances of more bank failures,” the …

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• 19 March

  Deutsche Bank’s global head of FX sales resigns

  

  BLOOMBERG Deutsche Bank AG’s global head of foreign exchange sales Hans Ephraimson is leaving after more than three decades at the German lender. A successor will be announced shortly and Ephraimson will “facilitate a smooth transition” of his responsibilities, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. There was no mention of a reason behind Ephraimson’s exit. A Deutsche …

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• 19 March

  Credit Suisse’s First Boston plan in doubt amid crisis discussion

  

  BLOOMBERG Michael Klein, the CEO-designate of Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment-banking spin off, may struggle to realise his dream of building a new CS First Boston as the Swiss lender nears a forced sale to UBS Group AG. UBS is showing little appetite for Credit Suisse’s investment banking business as part of a government-brokered takeover, putting plans to legally and …

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• 19 March

  Google unveils AI features for cloud customers

  

  BLOOMBERG Google announced a raft of new artificial intelligence (AI) – powered features for customers of its cloud-computing business, as the technology giant jostles for dominance in the burgeoning field with rivals such as Microsoft Corp. and startup OpenAI. As Silicon Valley buzzes about so-called generative AI — software that can create images, text and video based on user prompts …

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• 19 March

  Audi CEO seeks to catch up in China in test of Germany’s grit

  

  BLOOMBERG Markus Duesmann, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Audi, flew to China last week to tackle a problem that’s indicative of the challenges facing Germany: how to compete with its biggest trading partner on new technology. The head of the German luxury brand went to visit Audi’s Chinese joint venture (JV) partners — China FAW Group Co. and SAIC …

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• 19 March

  Samsung joins South Korea’s $400bn bid to lead in key tech

  

  BLOOMBERG South Korea will join its largest companies including Samsung Electronics Co to pour some $422 billion into areas such as chips and electric vehicles in its most aggressive effort yet to win a heated global race for tech supremacy. The government will focus support on chips, batteries, robots, electric vehicles, displays and biotechnology in an investment plan through 2026, …

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• 19 March

  Hind Al Oud launches new retail concept at Bawabat Al Sharq Mall

  

  ABU DHABI / GULF TIME Hind Al-Oud always surprises its guests by making them an essential part of its vision and achievements, and it loves to share those moments of success in a unique way. In normal opening events key persons only are responsible for cutting the opening ribbon in the store. For that reason, Hind Al-Oud flipped the script …

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• 19 March

  “Woman of Universe” Grand Success – An extravaganza

  

  DUBAI / GULF TIME Dubai hosts the largest and most glorious beauty & fashion event this year at the Intercontinental Hotel, Festival City, Dubai from March 7 and the Grand Final Gala Dinner on March 11. The title of the ‘Woman of the Universe’ was given to Alyona Kononenko of Ukraine and the first runner up award was given to …

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• 17 March

  Abu Dhabi’s Presight offering receives AED94.9bn in orders

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM / AGENCIES Presight AI Holding PLC, a G42 company, and the region’s leader in big data analytics powered by artificial intelligence (AI), announced that its Initial Public Offering (IPO) is subscribed in full. The IPO received total gross demand amounting to AED 94.9 billion ($25.8 billion) and was 136 times oversubscribed in aggregate, excluding the commitment …

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