Wednesday , 17 December 2025

Amazon’s Prime Day evolves to become must-shop event

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc.’s fourth annual Prime Day event lured shoppers from around the world, highlighting the promotion’s evolution from a rummage sale of obscure products to 36 hours of discounts on major brands such as Samsonite luggage, Callaway golf clubs and General Mills cereals. It’s a sharp contrast from the first Prime Day in 2015, when customers kvetched on social …

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GE, Microsoft team up to spur digital transformation

DUBAI / Emirates Business GE and Microsoft Corp announced an expanded partnership, bringing together operat- ional technology and information technology to eliminate hurdles industrial companies face in advancing digital transformation projects. GE Digital plans to standardise its Predix solutions on Microsoft Azure and will deeply integrate the Predix portfolio with Azure’s native cloud capabilities, including Azure IoT and Azure Data …

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‘VAT regulations maintain realty investment competitiveness’

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA), has called on persons dealing with commercial real estate to apply the basic Value Added Tax, VAT, rate of five percent on all sales and rent of such properties, urging buyers to pay the due VAT before proceeding with the transfer of ownership. The Authority had organised an awareness tour for …

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Tech shares lead stocks lower; dollar strengthens

Bloomberg US equities mostly edged lower as shares of slumping energy and technology companies offset gains in financials after Morgan Stanley earnings beat forecasts. European shares advanced after a mixed session in Asia. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped from a record high as Google parent Alphabet Inc. faced a $5 billion fine and Twitter was downgraded. The dollar strengthened as …

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China’s yuan hits one-year low

Bloomberg The yuan fell to the lowest since August as the dollar rallied, raising speculation that Chinese officials are comfortable with the currency’s weakness. The yuan fell as much as 0.29 percent to 6.7229 per dollar, while the overseas-traded currency also weakened. Chinese stocks reversed earlier gains, with the Shanghai Composite Index and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closing …

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Vitol teams with Peabody to grind coal for refineries

Bloomberg Vitol Group, the biggest independent oil trader, and mining giant Peabody Energy Corp are joining forces to give coal a new lease on life. The companies have teamed with a UK startup that’s developed a process to pulverize coal, remove impurities and pollutants, and blend it with crude or fuels for use by refineries and other customers. While unproven …

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Dominion Energy plans $1.5 billion power plant sale

Bloomberg Dominion Energy Inc is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co to seek buyers for two power plants in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, according to people familiar with the matter, as it sells assets to pay down debt. The Richmond, Virginia-based company could fetch about $1.5 billion from the sales of its natural-gas-fired Fairless and Manchester Street Power Stations, said …

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Banks are facing a squeeze from Trump’s trade war

Bloomberg For banks that finance trade in Asia, the tariff war between the US and China couldn’t come at a worse time. Lenders globally have faced declining revenue from the $9 trillion business of funding cross-border commerce for five years running, thanks to a drop in margins that is persisting in Asia. Now, as the trade dispute between the world’s …

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BOE to give view on Brexit deal: Carney

Bloomberg Mark Carney thrust the Bank of England (BOE) into the Brexit debate again, saying he’ll give a thumbs up — or down — to any divorce deal that British Prime Minister Theresa May reaches with the European Union. “We will have to give our view on whether or not the arrangements are consistent with our ability to fulfill our …

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‘Tariff war could spur broad market rout’

Bloomberg BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said that intensifying global trade tensions may spur a broad market downturn and a slowdown in the US economy. Stocks could drop 10 percent to 15 percent and US gross domestic product would start slowing in 2019 if the Trump administration sees through its threat to levy tariffs on an additional $200 …

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