February, 2021

• 24 February

  Covid-19: UAE sees 3,515 new recoveries

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced that it conducted 175,284 additional Covid-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment. In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry stressed its aim to continue expanding the scope of testing nationwide to facilitate the early detection of coronavirus cases and carry out the necessary ...

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• 24 February

  Reliance to spin off oil-to-chemicals with $25b loan

  

  Bloomberg Reliance Industries Ltd has started carving out its new oil-to-chemicals operation into an independent unit with a $25 billion loan from the parent, as billionaire Mukesh Ambani steps up efforts to unlock the value of his businesses. The wholly owned unit’s assets will be funded by the interest-bearing loan, which will be an “efficient mechanism to upstream cash, including ...

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• 24 February

  China’s overseas energy lending tumbles

  

  Bloomberg China’s overseas energy financing dropped to the lowest level since 2008 after the pandemic hampered deal-making in developing nations. Financing for foreign energy projects, including power plants and mines, fell by 43% to $4.6 billion, according to Boston University’s Global Energy Finance Database, which tracks data from two state-owned development banks. More than half of lending was for a ...

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• 24 February

  Plane parts falling from the sky. Is Boeing to blame?

  

  It’s never helpful for the aviation community when fiery debris falls from the sky onto a large US city. But some perspective is warranted on this weekend’s incident involving a United Airlines Holdings Inc-operated Boeing Co 777 jet. This isn’t on par with the crisis that engulfed another Boeing plane, the 737 Max, after two fatal crashes led to its ...

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• 24 February

  Do Kohl’s activists have a point?

  

  Many investors have left department stores for dead. But a coalition of activists sees potential in one such retailer — Kohl’s Corp. — as it overhauls its board. A group consisting of Macellum, Ancora, Legion Partners and 4010 Capital said that it aims to install a slate of nine new directors at the struggling retailer, attributing years of weak sales ...

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• 24 February

  EU leaders’ Covid-19 vaccine diplomacy fails

  It was encouraging to see G7 leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Angela Merkel and the UK’s Boris Johnson all on the same page when it came to Covid-19 vaccines last week. With the US back in the fold of global health cooperation as a member of the 92-country Covax initiative, they all agreed to help distribute doses around the ...

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• 24 February

  Top court puts Trump’s tax returns in play

  Donald Trump and his lawyers have routinely argued that the former president would be subjected to “irreparable harm” if his tax returns landed in unfriendly hands. The Supreme Court disagreed, and refused to block a subpoena that local prosecutors in New York had issued for the records. This doesn’t mean Trump’s returns will suddenly appear online. They’re going to a ...

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• 24 February

  Biden-Trudeau talks seek to ease strained relations

  

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden seeks to repair relations with Canada that have been strained by disputes over trade and an oil pipeline as he meets virtually with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The two leaders plan to unveil a road map on how to improve cooperation on a range of topics, from global alliances to the coronavirus, according to a senior ...

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• 24 February

  Xi may attend Brics summit in India amid tensions, reports Times

  

  Bloomberg China’s President Xi Jinping may visit India in the second half of 2021 amid ongoing border tensions, to attend a meeting of the BRICS group, the Times of India reported without saying where it got the information. China has supported India’s hosting the meeting of heads of state of the grouping which also includes Brazil, South Africa and Russia, ...

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• 24 February

  S Africa postpones former president’s trial to May 17

  

  Bloomberg Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s trial on corruption, money laundering and racketeering charges that date back to the 1990s will begin on May 17, after the courts rejected his repeated applications to have the case dismissed. The case against the 78-year-old resumed briefly in the High Court in the eastern town of Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday, where the trial ...

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