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

  Lawmakers in India’s upper house of parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved the creation of the landmark goods-and-services tax, or GST. It will pave the way for the introduction of a new national sales tax, creating a common market across the country for the first time. The tax, which has been kept in limbo for a decade, is seen benefiting ...

  Investors have been enthusiastic about the potential of online marketplace lenders in recent years, but the industry has hit some significant roadblocks. LendingClub’s stock has fallen almost 60 percent this year. Prosper Marketplace cut about 28 percent of its staff in May. Regulators are starting to circle. The question now is whether these technology-based firms will continue to lose ...

  Who does a better job of managing money, Republicans or Democrats? Thanks to a new study, we finally have at least a partial answer. The paper, by Marian Moszoro and Michael Bykhovsky, uses Federal Election Commission data to identify equity fund managers by their political contributions. If the managers at a fund gave to only one of the two ...

  Bloomberg Australian retail sales limped through June, saved only by a blast of winter weather that forced shoppers to stock up on warmer clothing and compounded by mid-year discounts. A more realistic reading of the month came in the food section, which showed even alcohol sales actually fell in June. While households got a rate cut in May, adding ...

  Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in talks to buy Jet.com Inc., the e-commerce startup that began a year ago billing itself as a challenger to Amazon.com Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions may ultimately result in a strategic investment rather than an acquisition, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because ...

  Bloomberg The federal government for the first time has given permission to a private Florida company to fly a spaceship beyond Earth’s orbit and land on the moon. The Federal Aviation Administration gave clearance to Moon Express to land a washing machine-sized vehicle on the moon that would take hops across the lunar surface using engine firings instead of ...

  Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly pushed back against calls for his ouster by four labor groups, saying the personal attack against him is part of a negotiating ploy. “I’m not going anywhere and neither is Mike Van de Ven,” the company’s chief operating officer, Kelly said in a video posted for Southwest employees. “We have ...

  Bloomberg Vancouver’s technology industry is in danger of becoming collateral damage in British Columbia’s push to rein in spiraling home prices. The surprise decision last week to impose a 15 percent levy on overseas property investors may make it even harder for Vancouver to attract foreign talent and reach its goal of becoming a Canadian version of Silicon Valley. ...

  Bloomberg The number of Australian suburbs where homes command a median A$1 million ($762,000) price has surged in the wake of a four-year long housing boom driven by declining interest rates and demand from investors. Suburbs nationwide where the median value is at least A$1 million jumped 29 percent to 613 in the year ended June, and more than ...

  Bloomberg Home prices in Mumbai may take a couple of years to resume gains amid a glut of unsold properties, according to Indiabulls Asset Management Co., an investor in residential projects. Mumbai’s property sales have been sluggish as prices in India’s most expensive market continue to hover near a record reached in December 2014, crimping affordability and denting demand. ...