DWTC welcomes over 500,000 visitors across consumer and entertainment events in 2018

DUBAI: Dubai World Trade Centre, DWTC, announced on Sunday that it has hosted over 500,000 visitors at more than 29 events in 2018. This indicates an approximate seven per cent increase in visitor numbers for consumer and entertainment events over 2017. Mahir Julfar, Senior Vice President — Venue Services Management, Dubai World Trade Centre said, […]

Italy backs down in EU budget spat

Brussels: The EU and Italy on Wednesday called a truce in their bitter row over Rome’s disputed 2019 budget, as the populist government accepted to put off signature reforms. In a historic first, in October the European Commission rejected Italy’s big-spending budget, which promised a universal basic income and scrapped pension reform. In Wednesday’s deal, […]

GCC government borrowings set to surge on higher spending plans

Dubai: Sovereign borrowings by GCC governments are set to surge in 2019, largely driven by higher spending needs in the context of lower oil revenues. “Attending to growing financing needs in a lower oil price environment will drive the GCC states to increasingly diversify their sources of financing, with favourability towards issuers tapping international bond […]

US, China spar at WTO, blame each other for trade crisis

Geneva: The United States and China clashed anew at the World Trade Organisation on Wednesday, accusing each other of undermining the multilateral trading system, according to texts of speeches at closed-door talks seen by Reuters. US Ambassador Dennis Shea also rejected a comment made by the European Union (EU) on Monday that Washington was at […]

Oil in London dips below $50 as market chaos counters Opec+ cuts

Oil in London fell below $50 (Dh183.6) a barrel for the first time since July 2017, as broader financial market turmoil and worries over US supply countered signals from the Opec+ coalition that it may extend or deepen output cuts. Futures fell as much as 1.1 per cent, after Monday’s 6.2 per cent drop. Russian […]

Dubai’s GDP grew 2.8 per cent to Dh389.4 billion in 2017

The Department of Economic Development (DED) announced the release of the ‘Dubai Economic Report 2018’ on Saturday. The report reviews the major macro- and sectoral level economic developments and growth in the emirate during 2017. It aims to be a reference for public and private sector decision-making as well as for developing policies and strategies […]

Work kicks off on one of world’s biggest smart building projects for Expo 2020

Dubai: Work has commenced on one of the world’s largest installations of smart building technologies for the Expo 2020 in Dubai, it has been announced. In a move that supports Dubai’s smart city initiative, Siemens will digitally connect more than 130 structures at the site through digital solutions that boost energy efficiency, comfort, safety and […]

Marka CEO resigns as turmoil continues for retailer

Dubai: The CEO of retail and dining operator Marka has resigned, according to a company statement on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) website. Marka, which became Dubai’s first publicly traded retailer in 2014, has seen its share price drop by 90 per cent since the beginning of this year. Benoit Lamonerie, the outgoing chief executive, […]

Toyota now wants a robot inside every Japanese home

Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corp. has sold enough cars to put one outside every Japanese home. Now it wants to put robots inside. Toyota sees a not-so-far-off future in which robots become commonplace in homes, helping with chores — and even offering companionship — in an ageing society where a quarter of the population is over […]

Trump faces uphill battle in trying to fire Fed chief

Washington: Just because President Donald Trump appointed the boss of the US central bank doesn’t mean he can easily get rid of him. Should Trump — as he’s recently discussed with aides, according to Bloomberg News — seek to fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, he’s likely to set off a thorny legal battle, and […]