September, 2017

• 12 September

  A unanimous vote for soft power

  In a sharp and welcome rebuke to President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy, a Senate committee voted last week in favor of more diplomacy. Support was unanimous. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $51.2 billion for the State Department, the US Agency for International Development and other overseas assistance — more than a third greater than the $37.6 billion the …

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• 12 September

  Lessons from India’s cash experiment

  Almost a year on, India’s ban on large-denomination bills has been deemed a “total failure.” That’s not quite fair. True, the primary goal of flushing out tax cheats has been a flop. But a secondary goal — “to move toward the cashless society,” as India’s finance minister put it — still has real promise. The rest of the world, in …

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• 12 September

  India’s burgeoning youth are the world’s future

  

  If you’ve ever been to India, it’s likely that you’ve been startled by how young the country looks; the streets of any Indian town, even of its villages, are full of 20-somethings. This isn’t a surprise: India is a very young country. Half of its population is under the age of 25. Two-thirds are less than 35. As a recent …

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• 12 September

  Private assets are the new hedge funds

  

  Hedge funds are dead. Long live private assets. Remember when hedge funds were the envy of investors? The returns were magical. The managers were gods. And they bestowed their bounty on a select smart-money set. Investors happily paid absurd fees for the privilege, typically a 2 percent management fee and 20 percent of profits. Some investors paid an additional “2 …

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• 12 September

  Another way climate change might worsen megastorms

  

  In a recent talk about his new book, “Scale,” physicist Geoffrey West described climate change as a form of entropy –- disorder that’s created as the price of all the order and creative energy pent up in cities. In this view, climate change is not, as some argue, just a euphemism for global warming. It’s a broader term that reflects …

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• 11 September

  Abu Dhabi ranked among world’s top financial destinations

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi is ranked among the top 25 cities in the world in terms of economic competiveness as a financial centre, moving up three rankings from the previous position on Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI). The development was announced during the launch of the GFCI 22 on Abu Dhabi Global Market premises on Monday. “As the …

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• 11 September

  UAE, China geared to nurture trade ties

  HONG KONG / WAM The UAE GDP growth rate has outpaced its global equivalent over the past five years, according to a top executive at the UAE Ministry of Economy, who attributed the jumbo leaps secured by the country’s domestic economy to a robust energy sector and an agile economic diversification programme embraced by the wise leadership of the country. …

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• 11 September

  UAE building projects value reaches AED836bn in Sept

  

  DUBAI / WAM Total value of 7,878 active building projects in the UAE reached $227.9 billion (AED836 billion) at the beginning of September 2017, according to BNC Network, the largest and most comprehensive project research and intelligence provider in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Of these building projects, high-rise buildings account for $100.5 billion while mid-rise and …

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• 11 September

  Union Properties announces AED8bn plan for MotorCity

  Dubai / Emirates Business Union Properties (UPP) has announced a new masterplan for its flagship MotorCity development in Dubai with a completed value of more than AED 8 billion. UPP has also signed an agreement with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), one of the world’s largest construction companies to build the new mega development. The announcements were made on …

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• 11 September

  Hamdan inaugurates Cityscape Global

  

  Dubai / WAM / Emirates Business His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, on Monday morning, inaugurated the three-day Cityscape Global exhibition, which is being hosted by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed toured the exhibition halls and learnt about the most …

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