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Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp. is trying to avoid the fate of other companies that loaded up on debt to fund acquisitions, saying it will use some of its cash hoard and suspend share buybacks in an effort to prevent downgrades to the cusp of junk. The transaction will take IBM’s debt load close to $80 billion as it pursues ...

Bloomberg Novartis AG has dropped about a fifth of its research projects as the drugmaker narrows its focus on the most cutting-edge medicines. The pharmaceutical giant has reduced its drug programs to 340 from 430 after completing a review of its portfolio, Jay Bradner, president of the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, said in an interview. Among the resea-rch projects ...

DUBAI / WAM Marking a new milestone that adds to the UAE’s achievements and a new phase in the development of the national space sector, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced the successful launch of the Emirati satellite KhalifaSat into orbit. KhalifaSat is the first Emirati satellite to be 100 percent developed at the facilities of MBRSC in ...

DUBAI / WAM The UAE has been ranked as one of the world’s top Islamic fintech hubs with the country home to 12 start-ups specialising in this field, a new analysis from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has revealed. The analysis, based on recent data from IFN Fintech, ranked the UAE fourth globally as an Islamic fintech hub. ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Emirates Defence Companies Council (EDCC), is preparing to launch a new strategy that aims to bolster its role in enabling UAE’s defence and security industries sector, said Mohamed Helal Al Muhairi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and member of the Council’s Board of Directors. Al Muhairi made the remarks while ...

Dubai / WAM Emirates is gearing up to launch the world’s first “biometric path” which will offer its customers a smooth airport journey at the airline’s hub at the Dubai International airport. Utilising the latest biometric technology – a mix of facial and iris recognition – Emirates passengers can soon check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the ...

Bloomberg The speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament has warned his country could descend into political violence if the legislature remains suspended throughout a leadership struggle that has plunged the island nation into a constitutional crisis. The capital Colombo was gripped by political intrigue after President Maithripala Sirisena said he had to fire Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late on Friday because ...

Bloomberg Chinese firms combating tight funding conditions are bracing for the next shoe to drop: a record amount of perpetual bonds up for redemption. Some 48.9 billion yuan ($7 billion) of perpetual notes will have first call dates this quarter, which means they either have to repay the debt or be forced to increase interest rates by as much as ...

Bloomberg The world’s largest healthcare program in India is running up against a challenge: many of its 500 million beneficiaries don’t have a clue about it, as they didn’t have to enroll for it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s solution is to tackle the problem at its roots. He is writing letters to 100 million families educating them about the benefits ...

Bloomberg IBM’s $33 billion purchase of Red Hat Inc — the world’s second-largest technology deal ever — is aimed at catapulting the company into the ranks of the top cloud software competitors. The cash deal, IBM’s biggest by far, boosts the 107-year-old computer-services giant’s credentials overnight in the fast-growing and lucrative cloud market — and gives it much-needed potential for ...