August, 2021

• 25 August

  Sheikh Zayed Book Award receives 1,000 entries for 16th edition

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM As many as 1,000 entries across nine categories have already been received for the 16th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), has revealed. With the submission process beginning in June and running until October ...

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• 25 August

  No, press hasn’t turned hawkish on Afghanistan

  

  President Joe Biden’s handling of crisis in Afghanistan has few vocal defenders. What they lack in numbers, though, they make up for in unity of message: The press is being too hard on Biden. The president is a victim of “a press corps desperate to show they do not have a liberal bias.” It’s the “overt editorialising” from the press ...

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• 25 August

  For Best Buy, hard part comes now

  

  Best Buy Co has deftly navigated its business through the pandemic. The hardest part may come now. The consumer-electronics retailer’s range of products put it in a good position to take advantage of the surge in demand for gadgets, PCs and other devices people could use at home during lockdowns. And by beefing up its online sales and curbside pickup ...

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• 25 August

  Walmart confronts reshaped Covid world

  American shoppers are learning to live in a world where Covid-19 is ever-present. They may not like it, but they’re adjusting. It won’t be as easy for retailers such as Walmart Inc and Home Depot Inc to figure out, though. Walmart reported strong quarterly results, including an extra $4 billion of sales above what analysts had been projecting. Still, laced ...

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• 25 August

  Powell’s Jackson Hole speech came too early

  At times, history has been made at Jackson Hole, as the world’s central bankers gaze at the snow-dusted Tetons, coffee cups in hand, to discuss the most pressing economic issues of the day. It’s where Alan Greenspan gave his famous speech explaining why monetary policy shouldn’t be used to prick stock market bubbles, and where, about a decade later, Ben ...

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• 25 August

  JD.com surges after sales beat allays tech crackdown fears

  

  Bloomberg JD.com Inc’s shares soared as much as 10.5% after the e-commerce giant reported revenue that beat estimates, defying a crackdown on the Chinese internet sector that has depressed growth across the industry. The e-commerce giant’s shares gained by the most in almost a month in Hong Kong after it posted a better-than-expected 26% rise in revenue to 253.8 billion ...

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• 25 August

  Jindal Steel plans $2.4bn spend to double output

  

  Bloomberg Jindal Steel & Power Ltd plans to spend $2.4 billion over the next six years to ramp up capacity, joining its peers in announcing massive expansions as a recovery from the pandemic boosts demand. The steelmaker plans to raise total crude steel capacity to 15.9 million tons by March 2025 from 8.6 million tons, the New Delhi-based company said ...

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• 25 August

  Malaysia leads SE Asia GDP downgrades amid Delta grip

  Bloomberg Malaysia leads growth downgrades by economists across Southeast Asia as the delta variant forces countries to reimpose pandemic restrictions. Malaysia’s growth outlook for this year was downgraded the most, a swing of 1.4 percentage points to a 4.3% expansion, according to the latest economist survey results compiled by Bloomberg. Thailand, downgraded to 1.2% from 2.4% in May’s survey, is ...

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• 25 August

  India bookkeeping app raises $100m from Tribe, Moore

  

  Bloomberg Indian fintech startup Khatabook raised $100 million, seeking to expand its offerings beyond bookkeeping for merchants as smartphones win over users in the world’s second-most populous country. The round led by US venture capital firms Moore Strategic Ventures and Tribe Capital valued Khatabook at close to $600 million, the company said in an emailed statement. Alkeon Capital, Tencent Holdings ...

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• 25 August

  India’s Delhivery plans $1b IPO filing

  Bloomberg Delhivery Pvt, an Indian logistics and supply chain startup, plans to file a draft prospectus as soon as October for its initial public offering that could raise about $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company, backed by SoftBank Vision Fund and Carlyle Group Inc, is targeting a Mumbai listing before March next year, said ...

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