August, 2018

• 12 August

  Suicidal ground worker crashes Alaska Air plane

  

  Bloomberg Step inside the cockpit of an empty commercial aircraft and the pilot controls are yours. You don’t need a key or any special passcode to power up the plane and fly it away, whether it’s a small regional jet or a giant twin-deck Airbus A380. The suicide-by-plane at Seattle’s Sea-Tac International Airport, which ended when a rogue airline employee …

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• 12 August

  Airbus drone sets flight-endurance record of 25 days

  

  Bloomberg Floating almost motionless at an altitude of 70,000 feet, Airbus SE’s Zephyr spy drone has extended the record for the longest flight within the Earth’s atmosphere to 25 days, two-thirds more than the previous best. The first production version of the solar-powered pseudo-satellite spent more than three weeks in the stratosphere on its maiden trip after taking off from …

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• 12 August

  Amazon captures 5% of US retail spending

  

  Bloomberg Americans last year bought about $200 billion worth of stuff from Amazon and its Whole Foods grocery stores. That figure is based on a Bloomberg Intelligence estimate that Amazon sold about $300 billion in merchandise in 2017 and the company’s report that two-thirds of its revenue comes from the US. If that’s accurate, Amazon.com Inc. captured about 5 percent …

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• 12 August

  The clunky dad shoe gives sneaker makers a swift kick

  

  Bloomberg Dad shoes are clunky, ugly — and the hottest trend in footwear, clomping down the runway at recent shows by luxury houses Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. The bulked-up sneakers, which can retail for hundreds of dollars a pair, also represent a major challenge for athletic-shoe makers unaccustomed to the volatile world of high fashion. Until recently, companies such as …

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• 11 August

  Saudi is making strenuous efforts to serve pilgrims

  KHARTOUM / WAM The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making strenuous efforts for the convenience and comfort of millions of pilgrims while performing the fifth pillar of Islam, stated Dr Mohammed Mattar Al Kaabi, Chairman of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Awqaf, and Head of the UAE Haj Mission. “The KSA warmly welcomes millions of pilgrims and …

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• 11 August

  UAE, Ethiopia keen to boost cooperation in key sectors

  

  ADDIS ABABA / WAM Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, received Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and discussed prospects for joint cooperation, especially in vital areas of energy, infrastructure, investment, free industrial zones and civil aviation. While in the capital, Addis Ababa, Al Hashemy held a series of meetings with Ethiopian senior officials, tackling bilateral …

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• 11 August

  UAE condemns attack on security personnel in Jordan

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE has strongly condemned a vehicle explosion that took place when gendarmerie and public security personnel were taking part in a joint patrol in the Jordanian capital, Amman. “The UAE stands in solidarity with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan against any attempts to its security and stability and supports whatever measures it may take to …

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• 11 August

  New tax-credit investigation may be tough for Wells Fargo

  

  Bloomberg As much as Wells Fargo & Co. wants the public to believe it has put its troubled past behind it, yet another legal tangle shows it still doesn’t have a handle on its own questionable behaviour. In the latest turn of events, the Department of Justice has started an investigation into whether Wells Fargo colluded with developers to submit …

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• 11 August

  China’s Ping An mulls buying Asia business of Britain’s Prudential

  

  Bloomberg Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. is considering buying Prudential Plc’s Asia business, people familiar with the matter said, a deal that would reshape Asia’s booming insurance industry and mark the biggest-ever Chinese acquisition. Ping An has sounded out the Chinese government about whether it would be supportive of a deal, according to one of the people. The Shenzhen-based insurer …

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• 11 August

  PBOC vows no ‘strong’ stimulus, says won’t use yuan in trade war

  

  Bloomberg China’s central bank said it won’t use the yuan as a tool to cope with trade tensions and other external issues, and that it won’t conduct any “strong” economic stimulus. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) won’t implement stimulus in “flood-irrigation” style, according to the quarterly monetary policy report released in Beijing. Prudent monetary policy should maintain neutrality and …

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