March, 2019

• 18 March

  UAE ranks 8th on Positivity Index of Nations

  

  Dubai / WAM The UAE ranked 8th on the Positivity Index of Nations, an annual global report published by the Positive Economy Institute since 2013, which measures positive economy indicators in OECD member countries. The UAE, which is being included in the Index as a non-OECD country for the first time since its creation, outperformed 27 out of the 34 ...

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• 18 March

  Roadmap for food security in Middle East released

  

  Dubai / WAM The UAE’s bid to become one of the world’s top 10 food secure nations took a major step forward when Mariam Almheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, released an innovation-driven food security roadmap for the Middle East. Designed to further the objectives of the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy and to support regional improvement in this ...

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• 18 March

  Macron’s revival at risk as yellow vest violence flares

  

  Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron seemed to have overcome the worst of the Yellow Vest protests. One Saturday of renewed violence has put him back in crisis management mode. Shops on Paris’s iconic Champs Elysé es were torched and 200 people were arrested, prompting Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s office to note the police actions had shown “inadequacies.” Recent protests had ...

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• 18 March

  New Zealand agrees to overhaul gun laws after mosque massacre

  

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Cabinet resolved on Monday to overhaul New Zealand’s gun laws after the nation’s worst mass shooting in modern history left 50 people dead. Ardern told reporters in Wellington that ministers had made “in-principle decisions around the reform of our gun laws” and would make an announcement on the proposed changes before Cabinet meets again next ...

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• 18 March

  Mozambique cyclone toll hits 1000

  

  Bloomberg A tropical cyclone that tore across Mozambique at the weekend may have killed more than 1,000 people, President Filipe Nyusi said as heavy rains continued to pound neighbouring Zimbabwe where flooding left dozens more dead. “It’s clear that the next few days could be worse,” Nyusi said in comments broadcast on state radio. “If more than 1,000 lives have ...

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• 18 March

  Brazil’s military keeps dialogue open with Venezuelan generals

  Bloomberg Brazilian Armed Forces maintain an open communication channel with Venezuela’s military even though Brasilia no longer recognizes Nicolas Maduro as president of the neighbouring Latin American country, according to Brazil’s Defense Minister. “It’s always useful to maintain this channel,” General Fernando Azevedo said at an interview in his office. “It’s part of the military diplomacy.” The dialogue is held ...

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• 18 March

  Populists slapped as Slovaks set to elect pro-EU president

  

  Bloomberg The European Union has to worry about one fewer member, for now, sliding into the nationalist-populist rising that’s roiling its post-communist wing. As the bloc’s executives wrangle over democratic standards with governments in Hungary, Poland and Romania, the presidential election in euro-member Slovakia propelled a supporter of deeper integration and a top EU diplomat into a runoff. The vote ...

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• 18 March

  FIS agrees to buy Worldpay for $43b as payment sector soars

  

  Bloomberg Fidelity National Information Services Inc. agreed to acquire Worldpay Inc. for about $34 billion in cash and stock, the biggest deal ever in the booming international payments sector. FIS, based in Jacksonville, Florida, will also assume Worldpay’s debt, bringing the enterprise value of the deal to about $43 billion, the companies said on Monday. FIS’s current shareholders will own ...

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• 18 March

  Lyft aims to raise $2.1bn in year’s biggest US IPO

  

  Bloomberg Lyft Inc. is seeking to raise as much as $2.1 billion in its initial public offering, valuing the firm at up to $19.6 billion. The No. 2 US ride-hailing giant is offering 30.8 million shares at $62 to $68 each, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday. At the targeted range, the San Francisco-based company’s offering will be ...

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• 18 March

  Brazil’s sugar giants making output harder to predict

  

  Bloomberg Brazil’s sugar mills can make the switch into ethanol easier than ever before, making it harder to predict how much sweetener will come from the world’s biggest producer and exporter. Take the case of Sao Paulo-based Usina Batatais. Just two years ago, no matter how low sugar prices got, the company had no choice but send at least 45 ...

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