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

Bloomberg British Airways (BA) has become the first major European carrier to lose its investment grade status amid the Covid-19 pandemic after Fitch cut its credit rating one notch. The flagship British company is unlikely to recover its end-2019 capacity level until 2023, according to Fitch’s baseline forecast. The ratings agency also put the company on negative outlook, reflecting the ...

Bloomberg The fortunes of the Walton family — the pioneers of American bargain shopping — have reached new heights during a pandemic that has otherwise obliterated trillions of dollars of value across global markets. The combined net worth of siblings Alice, Jim and Rob Walton has climbed 2.6% this year to $165.7 billion as recession-wary shoppers flock to Walmart Inc ...

RIYADH / WAM The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen has declared a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen for a period of two weeks, starting April 9 at 12:00 KSA time. The two-week period is subject to extension. “Based on its previous announcement on March 25, the Joint Forces Command of the coalition supported the Yemeni ...

Bloomberg Oil rose but trading was volatile as the world’s top producers inched towards a deal to curb output. Brent futures were higher on the day, but fell sharply by about $2 a barrel on concerns that any deal may not be enough to stem rising inventories. The Opec+ meeting discuss curbing output by 10 million barrels a day, said ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE Space Agency, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi-based global innovation hub Krypto Labs, announced that it would be kicking off its virtual programmes as part of the Global Space Industry Accelerator (GSIA) initiative. As part of its digital transformation, the UAE Space Agency will be holding a virtual roadshow for the NewSpace Innovation Programme. ...

Bloomberg India is planning to provide nearly $6.6 billion in loans to state power utilities as a slump in electricity demand squeezes liquidity while dues to generators pile up, according to people with knowledge of the development. The loans, via state-run Power Finance Corp. Ltd. and its unit REC Ltd., will help the utilities, known as discoms, clear debts to ...

Bloomberg The number of people going hungry around the world could double in just a few months as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on food supplies and hurts incomes. That’s according to a group of major food companies, industry bodies and academics, which warned that those suffering from chronic hunger may surge from about 800 million amid mounting food-supply risks. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Four agriculture technology (AgTech) pioneers will build new facilities in Abu Dhabi dedicated to developing next generation agriculture in arid and desert agriculture. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has partnered individually with AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ and Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI). The partnership will establish new R&D and production facilities in the emirate, turning sand ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Financial services group (PraxisIFM) announced on Thursday that it secured an ADGM ‘Venture Capital Fund Manager’ licence for venture firm, Hambro Perks. The licence was attained via the setting up of the structure, incorporation and application to the FSRA and Registration Authority in ADGM. Commenting on the announcement, Sam Shields, Head of Fund Marketing at PraxisIFM, ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) issued Circular No. 5 of 2020 regulating facilities’ work at Abu Dhabi’s fish markets, to ensure the health and safety of consumers. The circular translates ADAFSA’s continuing efforts to follow precautionary measures, to help achieve high levels of health and safety for the society in cooperation with ...