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

  Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc are starting to churn out doses of omicron-specific vaccines, and they say they could have data on whether the shots are effective as soon as March. But is this the best way to build and maintain protection against Covid-19? The world is breeding new variants so fast, it may not make sense to chase ...

On Christmas eve, Gazprom, the Russian state-owned natural gas giant, tweeted a rather unfestive message: Gas inventories in Europe were depleting quickly. Since then, Gazprom has been reminding the world of the trend every few days. “It should be noted that gas reserves in Europe’s UGS (underground gas storages) are currently at their lowest for the season in the long ...

  Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has imperiled London’s status as the region’s financial center. So far, the loss of jobs has been more of a dribble than an exodus. But the current hiatus masks a longer-term threat, as companies choosing where to house new positions expand elsewhere. At the moment, British banking is thriving. UK financial-services firms ...

  Microsoft Corp is going all in on gaming. The technology behemoth announced an agreement to buy Activision Blizzard Inc for $69 billion in cash. If the deal goes through, it would become the biggest acquisition in the company’s history. But is this mega-deal a smart move? At first blush, the merger makes sense. Gaming is one of the largest ...

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden said he thinks Vladimir Putin doesn’t want a full-blown war but will “move in” on Ukraine after amassing 100,000 troops on its border, part of an extraordinarily blunt assessment of Russian intentions and the West’s likely response. “I’m not so sure he has — is certain — about what he’s going to do,” Biden said ...

  Bloomberg Ethiopia’s government and Tigray forces are making progress in efforts to end a 14-month conflict, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. “I am delighted that after over a year of armed conflict which has affected millions of people across Ethiopia and the rest of the region, there is now a demonstrable effort to make peace,” Guterres said. ...

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) has “every reason” not to respond as forcefully as the Federal Reserve to soaring consumer prices, according to President Christine Lagarde. “We’re all in very different situations,” Lagarde told the France Inter radio station on Thursday in an interview. Inflation is “clearly weaker” in the euro area, while the region’s economic recovery is ...

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc said it has hired 5,500 young employees for its Asia businesses over the last two years, ahead of its target to recruit 6,000 by 2023, after stepping up efforts to help cushion the region from soaring youth unemployment amid the pandemic. Consumer banking operation has taken up 48% of the overall hires, followed by 31% for ...

  Bloomberg The Riksbank may soon have to abandon its dovish monetary policy and start raising rates in response to inflation overshooting its 2% target, according to Swedbank economists. The bank’s main scenario is that a first policy rate hike in early next year will be followed by a second one later in 2023. However, there is a risk that ...

  Bloomberg Ukraine may increase borrowing costs further as concerns over a potential war with Russia pushed the country’s currency to the weakest level in a year. The central bank signalled last month that interest rates will continue to rise, although only a narrow majority of analysts in a Bloomberg survey expect such move at the meeting on Thursday. Five ...