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

Bloomberg J Sainsbury’s sales fell in the first quarter since its planned acquisition of Walmart’s Asda collapsed, underlining the need for a revamp of its UK supermarkets. Comparable retail sales excluding fuel dropped 1.6 percent, with general merchandise, clothing and groceries all declining, the retailer said. The shares rose as much as 2.4 percent in London after an early dip, …

Bloomberg Procter & Gamble Co, facing an industrywide backlash against consumer waste, is seeking a patent that would help it develop recyclable versions of absorbent products including diapers, sanitary products and potentially even Swiffer pads. Because many absorbent products today use multiple kinds of plastic and other materials, they’re hard to separate during trash sorting and nearly always end up …

Bloomberg Oil slid to its worst loss in two weeks as mounting fears about the global economy undercut the latest plan from Opec and its allies to stabilise markets. Futures dropped by as much as 4.3 percent in New York, the steepest intraday decline since June 12. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned of the dangers of rising protectionism …

DUBAI / Emirates Business The total value of more than 26,000 construction projects exceeded AED9.25 trillion in June, according to the June 2019 Issue of the BNC Projects Journal: The Next Construction Circus — Setting the Stage for Growth, issued by BNC Network. Saudi Arabia leads the GCC region in the total value of construction projects worth $895.8 billion (AED3.29 …

DUBAI / Emirates Business The average size of a home loan taken out in the UAE in May 2019 was AED1.31 million, marking a steady incr-ease compared to an average loan size of AED1.67 million in May 2018, according to data from Mortgage Finder. This is in line with the current market trend which has shown a downward shift in …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is restarting preparations for a potential initial public offering of oil giant Aramco, months after putting the planned listing on hold, people familiar with the matter said. Aramco, the world’s most profitable company, held talks with a select group of investment banks to discuss potential roles on the offering, according to the people. Detailed work on the …

Bloomberg Venezuela’s state-owned oil company is taking an unusual step to try and increase production: shut fields. From this month, Petroleos de Venezuela SA will prioritise 13 fields in the Faja, a 55,000 square-kilometer (21,235 square-mile) strip north of the Orinoco River containing heavy crude oil that former president Hugo Chavez turned into the nation’s oil flagship project, according to …

Bloomberg South Africa is working on a policy to govern the development of oil and gas resources after calls by potential investors to shield the industry from a long-running debate over laws that apply to mining exploration. The finalising of oil legislation has become more urgent since Total SA announced the first significant deep-water oil find off the coast of …

Bloomberg US stocks fluctuated near all-time highs and Treasuries were little changed as attention turned to a slew of data later in the week that will influence the Federal Reserve’s policy path. The dollar weakened. The S&P 500 was little changed in the last full day of trading before an early close on July 3 and Thursday’s holiday. Data on …

Bloomberg Indian equities extended gains to a second day ahead of a federal budget due later this week that will give an indication of the government’s commitment to providing stimulus for a slowing economy. The advance was led by energy stocks, while drugmakers declined. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.3 percent to 39,816.48 at the 3:30 pm close in …