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

At last month’s meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), I repeatedly heard the same dismal view: The global economy is in for low growth and historically low interest rates for a long time. “Low for long” isn’t even the worst of it. In the event of a new recession, governments have limited monetary and fiscal firepower ...

It’s rare for a European bank to be adding businesses nowadays, as capital constraints curtail dealmaking. The takeover of Deutsche Bank AG’s hedge fund activities by France’s BNP Paribas SA is an exception. There’s no mistaking what’s driving BNP: Absorbing a larger competitor with a chunky client base is one way to try to salvage its own ailing hedge fund ...

People shouldn’t be as worried as they are about the risk of a US recession. That said, it wouldn’t take much to trigger one, which is why the Federal Reserve should take out some insurance by providing added stimulus. Market participants see all sorts of reasons to fret about an imminent slump. Global growth is slowing, trade wars are adding ...

As Christine Lagarde takes over as president of the European Central Bank (ECB), the job looks less daunting than what greeted her predecessor, Mario Draghi, in 2011. Don’t be misled. Thanks to his efforts, the euro system is no longer in imminent danger of breaking apart. But this certainly doesn’t mean all is well. Sooner rather than later, in fact, ...

Most environmental problems are concentrated in the area where the pollution is produced. This is good, because it’s a lot easier for a single city or country to deal with an environmental challenge than it is for the international community. There are two huge exceptions to this. The first is global warming, which (as the name implies) affects everyone. The ...

The finance industry is in turmoil. Tax collections have hit stall speed. India’s credit and fiscal crises are joined at the hip. Consider the $13 billion in past fees that the government is asking from telecom operators. It’s a desperate attempt to squeeze money from an industry in which most players have already vanished or gone bankrupt. The two old ...

Facebook Inc. is a superpower. Twitter Inc. is a relative nobody. Last week, though, Twitter won a round. Just as Mark Zuckerberg’s company reported quarterly earnings, Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey tweeted that his company would stop accepting advertisements from candidates for elected office. Starting next month, Twitter also won’t accept payments to promote tweets or other ads that ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE has taken orders for more than 350 planes in Asia since August, streaks ahead of rival Boeing Co as the US planemaker struggles to revive its grounded 737 Max. A big win for Airbus came last month, when Indian budget carrier IndiGo ordered 300 narrow-body aircraft in a deal worth more than $33 billion at list prices. ...

Bloomberg British Airways parent IAG SA agreed to buy Air Europa in a move that will bolster a Spanish lineup that already includes former national carrier Iberia and discount operator Vueling. IAG will buy the Spanish airline, which serves 69 domestic and international destinations, from tourism group Globalia for 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), the London-based company said in a ...

Bloomberg The Nordic operations of Thomas Cook have been bought by a group of local investors, a little over a month after the parent company went bust. Billionaire Petter Stordalen’s Strawberry Group will team up with Altor Fund V and TDR Capital to take over the assets of Thomas Cook Northern Europe, or Vinggruppen, the group said. “Their great industry ...