May, 2017

• 10 May

  US mulls expanding airline electronics ban

  

    Bloomberg Anti-terrorist officials in the US are considering expanding the restrictions on carrying electronic devices in airline cabins beyond the handful of Middle East airports currently covered. Asked if the laptop ban could be expanded to other countries or electronic products, Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan told reporters that the agency is in discussions with airlines and …

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• 10 May

  United, American lead airline shares to two-month high

    Bloomberg US airlines climbed to a two-month high after beleaguered United Continental Holdings Inc. won support from one of its biggest shareholders and American Airlines Group Inc. signaled that it’s gaining additional control over fares. United shares could jump to $135 by 2020, or even higher under certain circumstances, said Brad Gerstner, chief executive officer of Altimeter Capital Management. …

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• 10 May

  ING profit rises 39% on loan growth, higher trading income

  

    Bloomberg ING Groep NV Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers’s international expansion is helping the biggest Dutch lender boost profits. Net core lending increased by 5.7 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in the first quarter, as strong growth in nations including Germany more than offset a drop in Dutch consumer lending, the Amsterdam-based bank said in a statement on Wednesday. Loan …

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• 10 May

  Egyptian banks ease curbs on customers’ overseas cards

  

    Dubai / Emirates Business Egyptian banks are lifting restrictions on customers’ overseas credit card purchases, the latest indication that a foreign-currency crunch that crippled the economy is easing. State-run Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-biggest lender, is removing curbs imposed last year on purchases, while keeping limits on foreign-currency cash withdrawals, the official Middle East News Agency reported on Tuesday, without …

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• 10 May

  Nigerian digital boom to boost Ecobank clients 5-fold

  

    Bloomberg Ecobank Transnational Inc., Africa’s most geographically diverse lender, is betting that Nigeria’s plans for a digital revolution will increase the number of its customers in the country more than fivefold over the next five years. The bank is closing branches in the continent’s most populous nation to cut costs while using improving access to the internet to add …

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• 10 May

  SNB introduces new 20-Franc note

  

    Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) takes its money seriously. Fresh from winning banknote of the year for its 50-franc denomination, it unveiled a new 20-franc design on Wednesday that Vice President Fritz Zurbruegg argues might be the world’s most secure bill. Red in color and based on a theme of light and culture, the new 20, made of …

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• 10 May

  Wells Fargo’s possible job cuts fuel Wall Street analyst debates

  

    Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. is poised to spread pain to the rank and file. That’s the view from analysts, who say the bank’s leadership almost certainly must announce more aggressive cost-cutting targets on Thursday when hosting an annual investor briefing. After a bogus-account scandal spooked new clients and crimped profitability, Wells Fargo will probably eliminate more branches and …

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• 9 May

  Dubai’s private sector gains momentum in Q2

  

    Dubai / Agencies The private sector in the Emirate of Dubai gained momentum by the beginning of Q2 2017 as business conditions improved in key platforms, according to the latest Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index. The index is a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy. The data …

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• 9 May

  GCC visitors at ATM 2017 up 10%

    DUBAI / WAM This year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2017) witnessed a 10 percent increase in visitors from the GCC and a 7 percent increase in international visitors to the event, which was held in Dubai World Trade Centre from April 24 to 27, organisers said. For the second year in a row, visitor numbers smashed through the 28,000 …

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• 9 May

  Nakheel issues tender for AED670mn RIU resort

    DUBAI / WAM A joint venture between Dubai master developer Nakheel and leading Spanish hospitality group RIU Hotels and Resorts has moved a step closer with the release of a construction tender for an 800-room, beachfront resort and water park at Deira Islands. With an investment value of AED670 million, the resort – RIU’s first in the Middle East …

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