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

Bloomberg Indonesia plans to impose excise duty on plastic bags, sugary drinks and vehicle emissions with the new levies expected to net the government about $1.7 billion in additional revenue annually. The new measures, apart from bolstering tax collections, are aimed at tackling climate change as well as a growing prevalence of chronic diseases, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told ...

Bloomberg A growing number of China’s private companies have cut wages, delayed paychecks or stopped paying staff completely, saying that the economic toll of the coronavirus has left them unable to cover their labour costs. To slow the spread of the virus that’s claimed more than 2,000 lives, Chinese authorities and big employers have encouraged people to stay home. Shopping ...

While candidates jostle for advantage in the Democratic presidential primary, and the news media play the odds, President Donald Trump already knows the identity of his opponent. Indeed, his campaign, with the full support of the Republican Party, is already waging a vigorous crusade to destroy his opposition. No, it’s not Joe Biden, who inspired Trump’s shakedown of Ukraine. Trump’s ...

The euro zone’s response to the sovereign debt crisis is usually associated with austerity. Yet some member nations have forged their own path: Spain and Portugal, for example, overhauled their labour and product markets, helping them return to growth. Now, these structural reforms are under threat in Madrid, as a left-wing coalition of the Socialist Party and Podemos wants to ...

Jupiter Fund Management Plc is getting something of a bargain in its purchase of Merian Global Investors, based on the post-announcement pop in the acquiring firm’s share price. Odd, then, that the deal has a clause that could see a dramatic drop in the takeout price if the target firm stumbles in the next two years. Jupiter is paying 370 ...

One of the world’s most pivotal economies is reeling from a self-induced policy mistake. Japan is now paying the price for last quarter’s consumption-tax hike, just as it begins to wrestle with the impact of the coronavirus. Japan’s gross domestic product tanked 6.3% in the final three months of 2019, the Cabinet Office said, almost twice the drop economists anticipated ...

Before a scandal dashed Benjamin Griveaux’s hopes of becoming the next mayor of Paris, the preferred candidate of French President Emmanuel Macron could be found promoting his answer to the capital city’s increasingly dysfunctional housing market. What the average priced-out Parisian needed, according to Griveaux, was a handout of 100,000 euros ($108,380) to use as down-payment in return for a ...

Bullion prices are at their highest in seven years, closing in on $1,600 an ounce. Gold held by exchange-traded funds is at all-time records and rising, thanks to worries over the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus outbreak. Reserves, meanwhile, are depleting. It’s a heady mixture for miners, but perhaps not yet an intoxicating one. Take Polyus PJSC, Russia’s largest ...

Tech stocks have surged to start 2020, lifting the entire market to record highs. But one place you won’t find much enthusiasm for the rally is on Twitter. There, you’re more likely to read accounts spreading fake news about the coronavirus outbreak or mocking the valuation of Tesla Inc.’s meteoric stock. I have a theory about this: Many of Twitter’s ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Etisalat Group announced Tuesday its consolidated financial statements for the 12 months ending December 31 2019, reporting consolidated net profit of AED8.7 billion. According to a company press statement, the aggregate subscriber base reached 149 million, representing a year-on-year (YOY) increase of 6%. Twelve months’ consolidated revenues reached to AED52.2 billion, while consolidated net profit after ...