December, 2018

• 23 December

  Inflation overshoot fades over Fed hike

  

  Bloomberg The Federal Reserve spent early 2018 assuring investors it wouldn’t fret if inflation climbed above its 2 percent target. That possibility now looks increasingly distant. Oil prices have slumped, weighing on expectations. Housing, a big inflation contributor throughout this cycle, is cooling. And while the core version of the Fed’s preferred price index touched 2 percent this year, Fed ...

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• 23 December

  UniCredit to sell $1.1bn of German realty assets

  Bloomberg UniCredit SpA is seeking to sell as much as 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of German real-estate assets as part of a plan to boost capital, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Italian bank is working with real estate company Cushman & Wakefield on the sale of office buildings and bank branches belonging to its HypoVereinsbank unit, ...

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• 23 December

  Nike soars on earnings beat as Kaepernick campaign pays off

  

  Bloomberg Nike Inc. surged the most since June after its second-quarter results soared past projections, particularly in its two most important regions: North America and Greater China. Domestically, the world’s largest sportswear company posted its third-straight quarter of growth. That sustained momentum is a critical benchmark for investors. Nike was previously in a yearlong slump at home, letting rival Adidas ...

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• 23 December

  Indian PM to pump $330mn in Air India

  

  Bloomberg The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought Parliament’s approval for an equity infusion of 23 billion rupees ($330 million) in Air India, effectively ruling out an immediate revival of its plan to sell the ailing carrier. Modi’s bid to turn the airline profitable under his watch comes after the government failed to find any takers for its ambitious ...

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• 23 December

  Airbus tumbles on US’ bribery probe report

  

  Bloomberg Airbus SE shares tumbled following a report that the US Department of Justice has officially started an investigation into the European planemaker in parallel with British and French bribery probes. The stock fell 4.4 percent, the biggest drop in 2 1/2 years. Le Monde reported that Airbus was informed at the end of the summer about the move by ...

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• 23 December

  US spends $126bn online this holiday

  Bloomberg When it comes to online orders this Christmas, US consumers are spending more than ever before. Shoppers shelled out a record $110.6 billion online between November 1 and December 19, about $17 billion more than in the same period last year, data from Adobe Analytics show. Half of website traffic this year came from shoppers on the go using ...

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• 23 December

  Mall landlords embrace popups to revive dead zones

  

  Bloomberg It wasn’t that long ago that retailers looking for space at shopping centres would get paperwork only for a multiyear lease. These days mall land-lord Macerich Co. is offering 180 days. Last month, Macerich launched BrandBox, a leasing programme that allows online sellers to dip their toes into the bricks-and-mortar universe with a temporary pop-up store. The first one, ...

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• 22 December

  UAE secured 40% of FDI inflows to Arab, West Asian nations in 2017

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE maintained its lead in attracting the highest amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to the Arab region in 2017, according to a top official at the Ministry of Economy. “The UAE was recipient of 40 percent of FDI inflows into Arab and Western Asian countries and 23.3 percent of FDIs directed to Middle ...

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• 22 December

  Projects worth $3.5trn in pipeline across Mena

  

  Dubai / Emirates Business The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is home to some of the most exciting projects markets in the world. With an estimated $3.5 trillion worth of projects planned across the region, the pipeline of future projects is vast. Data from Meed Projects show that construction, which covers private real estate and public buildings, represents ...

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• 22 December

  Dubai free zone trade records 22% growth

  

  Dubai / Emirates Business HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Free Zones Council (DFZ Council), noted that Dubai’s free zones have made a significant contribution to the growth of non-oil trade. Free zone trade in Dubai hit AED394 billion in first nine months of 2018, accounting for 41 percent of emirate’s total trade during the ...

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