Bloomberg SAS AB cancelled an additional 587 flights across Scandinavia scheduled for Sunday because of a strike by pilots, disrupting travel for an estimated 64,000 passengers, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The pilots are striking over pay, having started the action after rejecting measures proposed by a mediator in talks that have been going on since March. ...
Read More »Walmart explores options for UK grocer including IPO
Bloomberg Walmart Inc is exploring options for its Asda unit including an initial public offering after plans to combine the business with J Sainsbury Plc to create the UK’s largest supermarket chain collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter. In addition to a potential listing, the US retailer may also revisit a sale, though interest from private-equity firms has ...
Read More »Hermes sales grow most in four years
Bloomberg Hermes International reported its fastest quarterly sales growth in more than four years, buoyed by demand from Chinese consumers, another sign that the world’s largest luxury market is holding up. The French maker of the famed Birkin bag reported sales growth of 12 percent at constant exchange rates, beating analysts’ estimates. “This is a rock solid start to the ...
Read More »Bed Bath & Beyond activists urge ousting CEO, selling assets
Bloomberg The activist investors in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc say the retailer could unlock about $1.9 billion of value if it were to hire a new chief executive officer, improve inventory and explore selling non-core assets. Legion Partners Asset Management, Macellum Capital Management and Ancora Advisors proposed those changes and others in a 168-page report with their diagnosis of ...
Read More »EDB raises home finance for UAE nationals to AED1.45b
ABU DHABI / WAM The Board of Directors of the Emirates Development Bank (EDB) approved AED1.45 billion worth of housing finance for UAE nationals, during its meeting on Wednesday. The bank’s financing solutions provide up to AED5 million for home buyers and up to AED3 million towards construction, enabling Emiratis to maintain a good standard of living. The meeting was ...
Read More »Saudi records budget surplus of $7.4b in Q1
Bloomberg Saudi Arabia started the year with a quarterly budget surplus for the first time since the 2014 collapse in oil prices. The biggest Arab economy posted a surplus of 27.8 billion riyals ($7.4 billion) in the first quarter, helped by an increase in non-oil revenue as well as income from crude exports, Finance Minister Mohammed Al- Jadaan told an ...
Read More »UAE central bank assets hit 4-decade high of AED432.6b
Abu Dhabi / WAM The total assets of Central Bank of UAE hiked to a four-decade-time high of AED432.6 billion by the end of March, a growth of 3.5 percent from AED417.7 billion by end of 2018, CBUAE statistics showed. The significant growth is driven by a rally in deposits to AED133.5 billion by March-end, up 25 percent from AED106.8 ...
Read More »US, China set to resume trade talks on April 30
Bloomberg Trade negotiators led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing next week, the White House said, as both sides work to reach a draft agreement by next month. Talks starting next Tuesday “will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agr- iculture, services, purchases and enforcement,†the ...
Read More »Etihad Cargo celebrates success of new technology platform
ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Cargo on Wednesday celebrated its position as a market leader in the air cargo digitalisation and innovation community, six months after migrating to a new technology platform. Last year, the carrier saw the introduction of several transformative programmes across its fleet and network, commercial and operational processes, and its physical and digital infrastructure. This culminated ...
Read More »DSOA roadshow to target Indian tech firms eyeing Middle East expansion
Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body for Dubai Silicon Oasis, an integrated free zone technology park, announced its participation in a four-day roadshow in India during last week of April. Organised by DSOA, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the high-level promotional event will serve as a platform for DSOA to ...
Read More »