August, 2019

• 13 August

  RBA’s Kent says interest-rate cuts flow to Australia economy

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s back-to-back interest-rate cuts are flowing through the financial system and into the economy, while the falling currency should provide a similar stimulus to sustained declines of previous years, a senior Reserve Bank official said. “The transmission of monetary policy in Australia to financial conditions is working in the usual way,” Christopher Kent, assistant governor for financial markets, said ...

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• 13 August

  SNB to follow interventions with ‘rate cut’

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) may have to do more than pump billions into foreign exchange markets into prevent the franc from appreciating to a damaging level. With data suggesting the central bank recently intervened after the currency rose to the highest since 2017 against the euro, an increasing number of economists expect the SNB to reduce its benchmark ...

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• 13 August

  Absa’s retail-banking push pays off as profit rises 5.4% in first-half

  Bloomberg Absa Group Ltd.’s push to reclaim market share lost while under the control of Barclays Plc is beginning to pay off at the South African lender’s main retail-banking business. First-half net income climbed 5.4% to 7.64 billion rand as Absa provided more personal loans and credit cards, while boosting the revenue it generates from fees and commissions, the Johannesburg-based ...

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• 13 August

  Mobile phones are replacing bank accounts in Africa

  

  Bloomberg It doesn’t look like the hub of an online bank. But that’s what the yellow and blue metal kiosk becomes when Albert Agane locks himself behind the metal bars every day at 6 a.m. From his perch along a dusty suburban thoroughfare in Accra, the 28-year-old helps fellow Ghanaians withdraw or deposit cash for accounts they operate from their ...

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• 7 August

  UAE unveils strategic water project in Yemen’s Qataba

  HODEIDAH / WAM The UAE, through its humanitarian arm, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), on Wednesday launched a strategic water project in Qataba in the Khawkhah District, Hodeidah Governorate, as part of its efforts to respond to the needs of people in Yemen’s Red Sea Coast. Mohamed Al Junaibi, Director of Humanitarian Affairs at the ERC in Yemen, stated that ...

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• 7 August

  UAE, Saudi send 540,000 tonnes of wheat to Sudan

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE and Saudi Arabia allocated 540,000 tonnes of wheat to the Sudanese people, meeting the population’s ba-sic food requirements for thr-ee months, announced Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) on Wednesday. ADFD Director-General Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi said, “The food security support provided to the Sudanese people is in line with the wise directives of ...

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• 7 August

  7 more Emiratis join UAE’s nuclear sector

  ABU DHABI / WAM The third batch of Emirati engineers and physicists completed their one-year intensive nuclear regulatory development progam at the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR). The graduates, comprising sev-en young Emiratis, will begin their nuclear career at the authority. During the year, developees gained fundamental training to underst-and technical concepts applicable to nuclear engineering, radiation safety ...

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• 7 August

  18 national banks report AED24.5bn profit in H1

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The combined net profits of 18 national banks listed on the country’s financial markets rose to AED24.5 billion in the first half of 2019, compared to AED21 billion in the same period of 2018, an increase of 16.6 percent. These statistics reflect the solidity of the UAE’s banking sector, despite the slowdown faced by its counterparts ...

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• 7 August

  Trump tech tariffs would add $1bn monthly to import costs

  

  Bloomberg US technology companies would pay an additional $1 billion a month or more in tariffs if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose duties on additional Chinese imports next month, a trade group said. Trump said last week that he plans to add a 10 percent tariff on essentially all remaining Chinese imports — a category ...

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• 7 August

  Takaful records AED65 million profit in first half

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi National Takaful (ADNTC) announced a combined net profit of AED65.4 million in H1, achieving significant growth of 35 percent compared to AED48.5 million for same period last year. According to financial results as at end of second quarter on June 30, the underwriting profit reached AED46 million showing an increase of 27 percent compared ...

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