August, 2016

• 2 August

  WETEX to showcase solutions in energy, water and environment

  

    Dubai / WAM The 18th Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2016), to be held in October 2016, will feature the latest innovative solutions in energy, water and environment. Many of these technologies will be unveiled for the first time regionally to cater to the needs of renewable energy, water and energy conservation sectors. WETEX is being organised by …

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• 2 August

  RBA cuts rates to record low

  

    Sydney / Bloomberg Australia’s central bank cut interest rates to a fresh record low as it moves to counter disinflation and support a labour market hampered by high levels of part-time work and underemployment. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens and his board lowered the cash rate by 25 basis points to 1.5 percent on Tuesday, as predicted …

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• 2 August

  Shares in troubled Italian bank rise on rescue deal

    MILAN / AP Shares in troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena rose as a capital infusion means the bank won’t be nationalized. But the shares of other Italian banks fell as investors focused on the scale of their mountain of bad loans. Monte dei Paschi was by far the worst performer in stress tests of 51 European …

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• 2 August

  Commerzbank warns of falling profits

  

    Frankfurt / Bloomberg Germany’s second largest bank Commerzbank warned on Tuesday that its profits in 2016 would be lower than the previous year. “The interest rate environment and persistent customer caution in view of the geopolitical uncertainties will continue to weigh on income despite growth,” the bank said in its second-quarter report. Commerzbank has also been forced to set …

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• 2 August

  India eases rules for new bank permits

  

    New Delhi / Bloomberg India eased rules to allow applicants to seek permits for setting up banks on a continuous basis, replacing a system that created long delays between approvals. According to the rules — posted on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) website Monday — professionals with senior-level banking experience of at least 10 years can apply for a …

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• 2 August

  Poland opts to go slow on Swiss-loan fix

  

    Poland / Bloomberg Polish banks jumped on a newspaper report that President Andrzej Duda will tone down his proposal to help the country’s Swiss-franc-denominated mortgage takers and won’t force lenders to convert $36 billion in home loans into zloty. Fixing the issue of foreign-currency loans, mainly in Swiss francs, has hung over Polish lenders for more than a year, …

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• 2 August

  New Greek bailout finds IMF in a political bind

  

    Washington / AFP Ever since the IMF participated in the first Greek bailout six years ago, the stinging suspicion has been that the Fund is under Europe’s thumb. Now the International Monetary Fund is again under pressure to come to the aid of Athens, providing likely fodder for critics. Europe forged an 86 billion euro ($96 billion) aid package …

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• 2 August

  Instagram ramps up fight against harassment

  

    San Francisco / AFP Instagram said that is adding a new weapon for fighting harassment at the popular mobile app for sharing pictures and videos. The Facebook-owned social network began letting some celebrities and others with accounts that attract torrents of feedback filter those comments by keywords or even turn off the option to comment on particular posts. “Our …

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• 2 August

  Tesla to buy SolarCity for $2.6 billion

  

    New York / AFP Electric carmaker Tesla said it won agreement from SolarCity to acquire the solar power company for $2.6 billion, confirming a deal that has been criticized on Wall Street. Tesla announced the bid in late June, but it drew jeers on Wall Street, in part because of skepticism over the motives of Tesla chief executive Elon …

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• 2 August

  Weak data, Italian bank woes pressure European stocks

  

    Bloomberg European stocks fell on weak British and eurozone manufacturing data and worries about the health of Italian banks. Equities elsewhere were mixed, with the Dow in the US retreating slightly as oil prices fell but the tech-rich Nasdaq finishing higher. The Japanese Nikkei pushed higher for a second straight session. London slid 0.5 percent after a survey showed …

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