There is no gainsaying the fact that globalization has produced many economic benefits and free trade has spurred global prosperity. However, of late, protectionism is taking over economic liberalization and has triggered a rising concern in emerging economies. Leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Lima expressed wariness about the peril that protectionism poses to global economy. ...
Read More »Where to look for covert Russian influence
Stories of shady Russian influence abounded during the U.S. election campaign, but the evidence in them was often sketchy and the eventual benefits to Russia questionable. The European Union, for its part, is dealing with a scandal in which both the Russian connection and the gain for the Kremlin are far less nebulous. On May 18, EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger ...
Read More »Today’s energy system could blow Paris climate goals
Amid whiffs of chemicals and the electric hum of transformers, Kraftwerk Jaenschwalde rises like an ash-colored fortress over a landscape disfigured by decades of open-pit coal mining. The communist-era colossus in eastern Germany is one of Europe’s dirtiest power plants, belching 24 million tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the air every year. It could have been closed for ...
Read More »Donald Trump’s debt to the financial crises
 Mark Whitehouse Do we have the 2008 financial crisis to thank for Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president? More than a century of human experience suggests it’s a real possibility. Trump’s surprise victory has prompted a lot of worrying about the wave of antiestablishment — and often xenophobic — sentiment that seems to be rolling across the developed ...
Read More »Saudi sags on profit taking, Egypt conquers 8-yr high
DUBAI / Reuters Stock markets in the Gulf diverged on Monday with Saudi Arabia’s index cooling for a third session as investors book profits on lofty prices while Abu Dhabi rebounded slightly. Egypt hit yet another 8-year high as foreign investors continued to reprice equities as the local currency weakened against the U.S. dollar. Riyadh’s main index fell 1.1 ...
Read More »â€˜Political intrigue’ buoys European stock markets
London / AFP European stock markets and the euro climbed on Monday after a fast-moving weekend of “political intrigue” in France and Germany, dealers said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared Sunday that she would seek a fourth term in elections next year in the face of looming threats at home and abroad, ending months of feverish speculation. And the ...
Read More »Etihad Airways marks 10th anniv of flights to Bangladesh
Dhaka / Emirates Business Etihad Airways honoured key stakeholders in Bangladesh to mark a decade of partnership and celebrate the 10th anniversary of operations between‎ Abu Dhabi and Dhaka. Diplomats, government and aviation officials were joined by corporate and travel industry partners, along with the airline’s Dhaka-based employees as Etihad Airways recognised their loyalty and support. His Excellency Dr ...
Read More »Qatar Airways Holidays offers travellers free transit visa
DOHA / Emirates Business Qatar Airways Holidays offers travellers from around the world the opportunity to add another experience to their already planned holiday, by stopping over in Doha on their outbound journey, for up to four days. This holiday-within-a-holiday is thanks to a new transit visa scheme that allows visitors to break their outbound journey in Doha without ...
Read More »Alibaba buys a third of discount Chinese grocery chain
Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will spend more than 2 billion yuan ($290 million) buying about a third of Sanjiang Shopping Club Co., picking up a slice of a regional Chinese discount supermarket chain with more than a million members. Shares of Sanjiang surged by its daily 10 percent limit on Monday, giving the Ningbo-based company a market value ...
Read More »Supermarkets brace for great British food price hike
Bloomberg Marmageddon, Toblerone-gate, shrinking fish fingers. Get ready for more food fights. The 12 percent slump in sterling following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union is feeding through to food. Prices may be as much as 5 percent higher this time next year, and some grocers are already feeling the pinch from higher costs for milk, cheese and ...
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