February, 2020

• 4 February

  Unilever should sell the Lipton unit and more

  Alan Jope’s efforts to instill purpose into the British heritage tea brand, PG Tips, have been all about bringing people together over a nice cup of tea. Now Unilever NV’s chief executive officer wants to cleave the tired tea business apart from the rest of the consumer giant. He’s conducting a strategic review of the division, which also includes the ...

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• 4 February

  Lagarde’s optimism was too optimistic for ECB

  Christine Lagarde sounded mildly optimistic as she talked about the euro region’s economy last week. The disappointing data gives her a reality check. The situation remains fragile and the European Central Bank (ECB) is still far from its inflation target. The newly installed ECB president would be wise to return to her earlier caution. The monetary union expanded by a ...

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• 4 February

  The robots are coming for fund management jobs

  

  Remember Aibo, the computerised dog Sony Corp. started selling in 1999 as the first personal robot? Hiro Mizuno, the chief investment officer of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), does. So he asked Sony’s computer science lab unit to build him a cyberhound using artificial intelligence to help oversee the external fund managers who manage GPIF’s $1.6 trillion in assets. ...

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• 4 February

  Luxury king is armed for uncertain times

  

  When even LVMH misses estimates, it’s not a good look for the luxury sector. While the owner of the Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior brands still delivered 8% growth in organic sales in the final quarter of the year, this was slightly below the consensus of analysts’ estimates of 8.7%. Organic sales from the fashion and leather goods division rose ...

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• 4 February

  Fed rate cuts do no favours for spring homebuyers

  

  The Federal Reserve cut interest rates three times last year and pledged not to increase them absent meaningful increases in wages and inflation — welcome news for the labour market and economic expansion. But in a twist, the shift wasn’t welcomed by one group of people: would-be homebuyers. Although lower mortgage rates mean more households can afford a higher purchase ...

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• 3 February

  WeWork officially opens in UAE

  Dubai / WAM Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem officially launched WeWork x Hub71 – three floors of beautifully designed workspace offering 1,200 desks for members to innovate, collaborate and connect – in the award-winning international financial centre, Abu Dhabi Global Market, on Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi. The grand launch event was attended by Hub71’s strategic partners, senior government officials, ...

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• 3 February

  UAE suspends all China flights except for Beijing

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE on Monday announced the suspension of all flights to and from China, with the exception of the country’s capital, Beijing, which will remain unaffected. The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said that the suspension would come into force on February 5 – until further notice – adding that the decision is part of precautionary ...

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• 3 February

  China oil demand drops by 20%

  

  Bloomberg Chinese oil demand has dropped by about 3 million barrels a day, or 20% of total consumption, as the coronavirus squeezes the economy, according to people with inside knowledge of the country’s energy industry. The drop is probably largest demand shock the oil market has suffered since the global financial crisis of 2008 to 2009, and the most sudden ...

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• 3 February

  Economic activities’ output in Abu Dhabi hits $345bn

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The total production of all economic activities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi amounted to AED1,268.1 billion ($345 billion) in 2018 from AED1,120.5 billion in 2017, according to an economic survey by Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi on Monday. The value added by all economic activities stood at AED849 billion in 2018 compared to AED733.5 billion ...

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• 3 February

  Emirates Global Aluminium gets $600mn revolving credit facility

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), on Monday announced it has secured a $600 million revolving credit facility with a syndicate of UAE and international banks. According to a press release issued by EGA on Monday, the three year committed facility, priced at a competitive margin, replaces uncommitted facilities extended to EGA separately by a number of banks. ...

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