The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

  Bloomberg The rush to take advantage of post-Christmas sales lifted shopper numbers on Boxing Day, but with the cost-of-living crisis pushing UK consumers to cut back on spending any boost for retailers may prove short-lived. Retail tracker Springboard said Boxing Day shopper numbers rose 39% on 2021, when there were still some pandemic restrictions in place and limited trading ...

  Bloomberg As a winter storm bore down on a broad swath of the US, a staffing crisis was brewing for Southwest Airlines Co in Denver. Chris Johnson, the carrier’s vice president of ground operations, declared a “state of operational emergency” at the airport after “an unusually high number” of employee absences, according to a message to ramp workers seen ...

  Bloomberg The US is considering taking new coronavirus precautions for people travelling from China, which has seen a rapid rise in infections as officials lift Covid Zero restrictions. US officials said the government is concerned about the surge of cases in China, and has raised questions about the transparency of data the country is reporting about the spread of ...

  Bloomberg A glitch in OR Tambo International Airport’s fuel-supply system resulted in major flight delays at South Africa’s busiest airport. The airport in Johannesburg has been “experiencing challenges with fuel supply from its fuel storage facility to the main hydrant system,” Airports Company South Africa said in a post on Twitter. “Technicians are onsite and have resolved the issue.” ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong will end some of its last major Covid rules, scrapping gathering limits to vaccination checks and testing for travellers, in a sweeping overhaul of policies aimed at reviving its reputation as a global financial centre. There will be no cap on the number of people who can gather in public, and the vaccine pass for entry ...

  Bloomberg AstraZeneca Plc’s new drug Imjudo won approval in Japan for two different cancer types when added to the blockbuster medicine Imfinzi, widening the immune therapy’s reach. The treatment, a monoclonal antibody, is now authorised for forms of lung and liver cancer in Japan for patients who are also receiving Imfinzi, Astra said. The approval, coming after clearance in ...

Bloomberg PLDT Inc said it is in discussions with four major vendors for equipment and assets covered by its 48-billion peso ($859 million) overspending that stretched over four years from 2019. While the Philippines’ biggest phone company didn’t specify the nature of its discussions with the firms, namely Cisco Systems Inc, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Ericsson and Fiberhome Telecom in ...

  Bloomberg Investors betting on Singapore’s two largest internet companies are staring down hefty losses as rising interest rates and recession risks extended a tech rout that wiped out $110 billion from their market capitalisation. E-commerce platform operator Sea Ltd plunged 78% this year while ride-hailing firm Grab Holdings Ltd has more than halved. The two companies, both listed in ...

  Bloomberg Gold rose — trading above $1,800 an ounce — as China swept away more of its Covid-19 controls, piling pressure on the dollar as risk assets gained. China will no longer subject inbound travellers to quarantine from early January, adding to the rapid rollback of strict pandemic rules and boosting sentiment towards Asia’s biggest economy. Markets are also ...

  Bloomberg Bangladesh’s capital now has its first metro rail, a Japanese-funded project that aims to ease commuting in one of the most congested cities in the world. A section of the over 20-kilometre (12.427 miles) urban rail project, known as Line 6, was inaugurated by PM Sheikh Hasina. The line connects the northern zone of Dhaka to a hub ...