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Bloomberg Wesfarmers Ltd. posted a 1.2 percent increase in first-half profit and created a new department stores division as the nation’s largest retailer seeks to trim costs. Net income was A$1.39 billion ($1 billion) in the six months ended December 31, up from A$1.38 billion, the Perth, Western Australia-based company said in a regulatory statement Wednesday. That compared with expectations ...

CAPE TOWN / Bloomberg South Africa is considering merging two state-owned airlines and selling off a stake in the enlarged carrier to private investors, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said. The government will “explore the possibility of merging South African Airways (SAA) and SA Express, under a strengthened board, with a view to engaging with a potential minority equity partner,” Gordhan said ...

Bloomberg On the southeast coast of Australia, a A$5.7 billion ($4.1 billion) processing plant to turn the ocean into a source of drinking water has sat idle since it was built in 2012. That could change soon. The state of Victoria will decide by April whether to switch it on, sucking water from the Bass Strait through an underground tunnel ...

Erika Lindholm In our current economic system — the linear economic system — we extract resources from our planet at an ever-increasing pace, and turn them into a product that we mostly dispose after use. From the perspective of an individual or organization, that seems efficient. However, zooming out to a global level shows how unsustainable this approach is. The ...

Our Correspondent / EMIRATES BUSINESS Elegant Resorts is certainly adding a dash of luxury in the lifestyle of the UAE residents. You just name any of the lavish destinations from the world map and they would offer you a tailor-made travel itinerary exactly matching your likings and personality. In just few months of its UAE operations, Elegant Resorts has managed ...

Our Correspondent / Emirates Business Only a handful of companies in United Arab Emirates can be compared to the growth and diversification which Abela & Co has achieved over the last 50 years. This brand name would instantly come to mind when there is any mention about the food management service industry in the region. Established in Dubai by its ...

It is the fourth most lucrative illegal trade in the world and Malaysia is among its thriving hubs. The global black market for wildlife and wildlife products is estimated to be about US$20 billion, ranking below drug smuggling, human trafficking and the illegal arms trade. Over the past four decades, more than 50 percent of the world’s wildlife has been ...

Donald Trump’s big win in Nevada, with Marco Rubio pulling even with or just ahead of Ted Cruz, fuels the conventional wisdom that the Republican presidential contest is now down to a two-man race. However, this year the conventional wisdom has been consistently wrong. Next Tuesday will test that two-man theory. Ted Cruz, despite third-place finish in South Carolina and ...

International attention has once again closed in on the South China Sea over claims that China has deployed HQ-9 surface-to-air missile batteries to Woody Island. Reports suggest that US intelligence sources have confirmed the presence of these mobile batteries, whereas satellite images of Woody Island earlier this month showed no such batteries. China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, has downplayed concerns ...

ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has decreased by -1.08% to close at 4255.16 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has lost AED 7.56 Billion attaining AED 690.24 Billion. A total of 1.18 Billion Shares were traded with a total value of 1.1 Billion AED during the trading session of 24-02-2016 through 10870 transactions. The number of companies which ...