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Frankfurt / AFP German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, declined in February, as consumer morale in Europe’s top economy feels the heat from global economic risks, official data showed on Thursday. Retailers’ sales fell by 0.4 percent in February compared with January, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement. The previous month, retail sales ...

TOKYO / Reuters Japan plans a wave of new gas-fired power stations as the country’s electricity retail market opens up from April 1, allowing new entrants to compete for a market of 85 million customers with annual sales of about $70 billion. In the biggest shakeup in the industry’s history in Japan, regional utilities are losing their monopoly rights for ...

Frankfurt / AFP German retail giant Metro announced it will spin off its businesses into two separately listed units, sending its shares sharply higher. “The management board of Metro is preparing the creation of two independent and sector-focused companies through a demerger of the group,” Metro said in a statement. Metro shares were the strongest performer on the mid-cap MDAX ...

AFP Somalia’s bread basket has become a dust bowl as the life-giving waters of the mighty Shabelle river run dry amid intense drought in the war-torn country. River-fed farmlands have become parched playgrounds for children who kick footballs beneath a cloudless sky, as one sign among many of the failed rains that the United Nations warns has put more than ...

AFP Better known for its palm trees and celebrities, Los Angeles is also emerging as a tech hub, with its so-called Silicon Beach area offering a sun-kissed alternative to Silicon Valley. In recent years tech companies large and small, including Facebook, Google and Snapchat, have opened offices in Santa Monica, Venice or Marina del Rey — better known for shirtless ...

Sunaina Rana / EMIRATES BUSINESS Women are under-represented in the workforce globally, and if organisations maintain the current rate of progress, female representation will reach only 40 percent globally in the professional and managerial ranks in 2025, according to Mercer’s second annual When Women Thrive global report. One key trend revealed in the report that women’s representation within organisations actually ...

Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business Ahmed Al Raeesi found his father as his inspiration to follow the path of Business Development and Management. Ahmed explored different career options including Interior Design and Real Estate and finally found his niche in the food and beverage industry. Ahmed Al Raeesi, Chairman of Adyton One Genreal Trading told Emirates Business, “Waiwera water is ...

DUBAI / WAM DP World generated a cash flow of AED 5.3 billion ($1.43 billion) as on December 31, 2015, in spite of the global economic slowdown and world trade slump. The strong cash generation is due to the Group’s ambitious expansion plan and growth of its portfolio of global terminals and business volumes, particularly in Mumbai in India and ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Follow up Committee of the Initiatives of UAE President approved a number of infrastructural and environmental projects in implementation of the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the follow-up of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised a conference for qualifying international developers who intend to send their proposals for the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to produce 800MW of electricity. The project will be implemented according to the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. The conference aims to clarify details of ...