January, 2019

• 30 January

  Metro Bank plunges on misclassified assets, capital concern

  

  Bloomberg Metro Bank Plc fell the most since going public after applying an incorrectly low risk weighting to parts of its loan book, with the British lender’s chief saying he doesn’t know how long the mortgages in question had been wrongly classified. The shares plunged as much as 39 percent and the bank’s bonds also fell on concern it will ...

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• 30 January

  Brexit uncertainty may split BOE policy makers on how to respond

  

  Bloomberg Don’t be fooled by the Bank of England’s (BOE) recent unanimity — the debate will become more heated. While Brexit has split Britain down the middle, policy makers have voted 9-0 on interest rates for the past four meetings and generally stayed quiet on the outlook as the UK’s impeding divorce from the European Union becomes more fraught. Governor ...

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• 30 January

  ‘Blockchain is making progress outside crypto’

  

  Bloomberg It may take a few years for blockchain’s impact to be felt meaningfully, but it will provide some advancements in certain areas even as cryptocurrencies falter, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Blockchain isn’t going to reinvent the global payment system, but it will provide marginal improvements,” JPMorgan’s chair of global research, Joyce Chang, said in an interview. “The ...

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• 29 January

  DoH launches AI laboratory

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH), launched its Artificial Intelligence (AI), Lab at Arab Health 2019. The AI Lab is a first-of-its-kind initiative in region, dedicated to developing healthcare solutions through emerging technologies including AI, Blockchain, genomics, predictive analytics and Internet of Medical Things, among others. Bringing together individuals, industry experts and service providers, the ...

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• 29 January

  Mohamed, Kuwait’s minister of defence discuss bilateral ties

  ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received on Tuesday, Sheikh Nasser bin Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Kuwait. His Highness welcomed Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah, and held discussions on the brotherly relations between the ...

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• 29 January

  ADCB net profit up 13% to AED4.84bn in 2018

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC on Tuesday reported net profit of AED4.840 billion for the fiscal year 2018, up 13% on year. The robust performance is supported by record operating income, optimal management of cost of funds and lower impairment charges, ADCB said in a press release on Tuesday. As a result of the Bank’s strong ...

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• 29 January

  UAE industry leaders emphasise regional breakbulk importance

  

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Breakbulk Middle East, the GCC’s leading breakbulk and project cargo sector event, held a press conference on Tuesday in anticipation of the event’s fast approaching 4th annual edition. This year’s two-day conference and exhibition will be held under the patronage of HE Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, the UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development and the Chairman ...

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• 29 January

  GE, Sumitomo sign Sharjah power project contract

  

  SHARJAH / WAM GE and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation have reached a public-private partnership milestone by signing a 25 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa), to develop, build and operate a 1.8 gigawatt (GW), combined cycle power plant in Hamriyah. Equipped with GE’s HA technology, including the world’s largest and most efficient heavy-duty gas ...

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• 29 January

  Foreign journalists in China face harassment

  

  Bloomberg Increased surveillance and government interference with reporting amid a crackdown on Xinjiang’s Muslims fueled a “significant deterioration” in the work environment for correspondents in China last year, the country’s foreign journalists’ organisation said. Reporting grew much harder in the far western region, where the detention and “re-education” of up to 1 million minority Muslim Uighurs has attracted global outcry, ...

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• 29 January

  NATO dashes to expand in Balkans after North Macedonia name deal

  

  Bloomberg NATO approved the accession protocol for soon-to-be renamed North Macedonia, weeks after the former Yugoslav republic and Greece settled a decades-long dispute that hindered its membership. At the center of a tug-of-war for influence between Russia and the West, the Balkan state cleared its biggest hurdle to joining the military alliance last month by agreeing to change its name ...

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