Singapore to become more expensive for businesses

  Bloomberg Businesses in Singapore are bracing for higher costs in a country that’s already among the world’s most expensive to live in. From a 30 percent increase in water prices to higher diesel costs to a looming carbon tax, manufacturers are being forced to adjust their operations to remain competitive in an economy that’s only recently recovering from an ...

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China, EU keen to push free trade, engagement

  BEIJING / AP Top diplomats from China and the European Union pledged closer cooperation on Wednesday at a time of global uncertainty, highlighting their common interests in peace and security and pushing a message of free trade and open engagement in contrast to fears that the US is turning inward under President Donald Trump. The statements came as China ...

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Workers made Germany into world’s best economy

  Let’s hope US policy makers have woken up to the fact that the country is in a period of sclerosis, where its economic institutions seem to be inefficient along a variety of fronts. When things aren’t working, one good idea is to look around and see which countries are doing better. Right now, Japan is one such country. But ...

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A sideshow in India’s bad-debt epic

  There’s an expanding bad-debt crisis in India. There’s also a related spectacle surrounding the owner of a failed airline with $1.4 billion in unpaid loans. No prizes for guessing which makes for healthier television ratings. Neither the Indian government nor the main opposition party lost much time in taking credit after Vijay Mallya, a business tycoon and founder of ...

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Wal-Mart, Amazon are buying their way to the top

  Amazon and Wal-Mart might once have existed in parallel universes, but these days they’re in a price war. Both giants are now seeking to make acquisitions to compete on the other’s turf. Amazon.com Inc. is going to have a significant brick-and-mortar presence. The only remaining question is when and how. Perhaps it’ll be a new high-tech store created by ...

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Saudi wealth fund to get airports in privatization push

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia will transfer airports to its sovereign wealth fund by mid-2018, as part of a nationwide privatization drive spurred by low oil prices. Airports will be turned into companies before being handed over to the Public Investment Fund, to help improve accountability, Faisal Al-Sugair, chairman of Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Co., said in a phone interview. The ...

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EAE inks deal with Deiehl to produce 3D-printed part

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Airways Engineering (EAE) signed an agreement with Diehl Aerosystems to jointly design, manufacture and install the first serial produced 3D-printed cabin plastic part on an aircraft for one of its customers. Additive manufacturing – commonly referred to as 3D-printing – reduces lead time in design, decreases production cost of and enables speedier manufacturing. Etihad ...

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Airbus sued over aircraft deals

  Bloomberg Airbus SE is being sued by some former consultants after the earlier discovery of questionable practices related to aircraft sales led the European planemaker to overhaul its business-partner relationships. The review and related legal matters may have a material impact on future financial statements, Airbus said this month in its annual report. It is “too early to determine ...

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Air Canada apologizes for bumping 10-yr-old from flight

  CHARLOTTETOWN / AP Air Canada is apologizing to a Canadian family after the airline bumped a 10-year-old boy from a flight. Brett Doyle booked four tickets from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to Costa Rica for his family last August. A day before the vacation during March break, Doyle says he checked his family in for the flight online, but ...

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In a quest to revive love for books

  BAGHDAD / AP The Iraqis guarding Baghdad’s many checkpoints, on the lookout for car bombs and convoys, don’t know what to make of Ali Al Moussawi when he pulls up in a truck displaying shelves of glossy books. The mobile bookstore is the latest in a series of efforts by the 25-year-old to share his passion for reading and revive ...

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