Who will lead the ECB? Next move in central bank chess

Mario Draghi’s appearance alongside Janet Yellen and Haruhiko Kuroda this week at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, would make a great photo for the history books. It may well be the trio’s last Fed retreat together. The guessing game on Fed leadership has received plenty of attention, and this month I wrote that Kuroda deserves a second term atop of the Bank ...

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French president’s foes are doing his work for him

France’s new leader won stunning support this spring and squandered it with stunning speed soon after. But he has what Napoleon said a general needs most: luck. President Emmanuel Macron has not yet begun serious reform of France’s sclerotic economy, such as a rewrite of France’s overweight labor regulations, which is sure to prompt protests. But in the meantime he ...

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Congress should write a US insider-trading law

The biggest problem with US insider trading laws is that the US has no insider trading law. It’s true. The nation’s seminal securities statute, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, while broadly outlawing securities fraud, never even employs the phrase “insider trading.” And over the subsequent 83 years, while Congress has occasionally increased the penalty for insider trading, it has ...

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Robocar ‘brakes for balloons’ as real world tests driverless hype

Bloomberg On a test route in Berlin traffic, an experimental Jeep Grand Cherokee slams on its brakes every few hundred yards, like a nervous teenager with a learner’s permit. In a sense, that’s exactly what the robo-car is. Even after months of navigating the same 11-kilometer (7-mile) set of roads, the sport utility vehicle that’s kitted out with an array ...

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Microsoft chasing Europe startups for cloud business

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. is doubling down on its attempt to back Europe’s next big software startups, in order to win over future business to its cloud platform. The US company is set to reveal on Monday a new Berlin-based, four-month program focusing on supporting companies that have raised early-stage financing and are building software for some of the fastest-growing areas ...

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Alphabet’s Nest launches new cheaper thermostat in bid to boost sales

Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Nest introduced a cheaper version of its digital thermostat to spur sales as the smart home sector gains new competitors. The new model, the Thermostat E, costs $170, coming in $80 below the current version, Nest said. To cut costs, Nest used plastic rather than metal for the edges that surround the circular thermostat and swapped the ...

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LG unveils V30 with advanced multimedia options

DUBAI / Emirates Business LG Electronics (LG) took the wraps off the eagerly anticipated LG V30, the latest iteration of the company’s V series flagship smartphones. The LG V30 improves on the strengths of the V series phones in providing a whole new mobile experience and offering optimal multimedia features. The V30 features many industry innovations – the first F1.6 ...

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Abu Dhabi’s Eshraq, Reem to create mega realty firm

Abu Dhabi / Agencies Eshraq Properties Company PJSC (“Eshraq”) and Reem Investments PvJSC (“Reem”) confirmed that the discussions are at an advanced stage over a potential strategic investment in Eshraq (by way of subscription for new shares to be issued by Eshraq) in return for the acquisition of Reem’s entire business and assets (the “Potential Transaction”). This Transaction will create ...

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OPEC hails UAE’s commitment to oil curbs

VIENNA / WAM OPEC has commended the UAE’s commitment to adhere to its production adjustments for “the remaining period of the Declaration of Cooperation.” The Declaration was made at the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministerial Meeting held on December 10, 2016 at which 11 (now 10) non-OPEC oil producing countries cooperated with the 13 (now 14) OPEC Member Countries in ...

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Property market H1 results reflect confidence in domestic economy

ABU DHABI / WAM The decent gains held by listed UAE property companies during H1 2017 reflect the positive sentiments prevailing in the UAE realty market and corroborate investors’ growing confidence despite global economic headwinds, according to a real estate expert. “The UAE property market is forging ahead towards more maturity at the current stage, with property development companies exhibiting ...

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