Partial US-China trade deal only ‘baby step’ as thorny issues remain

BEIJING: A partial US-China deal may only offer a temporary tariff reprieve because it lacks specifics and leaves the thorny issues for later, analysts said, allowing both economic powers to claim success. Friday’s initial agreement — which included increasing US farm product purchases, and also covers intellectual property, financial services and currencies — finally breaks […]

Oil producers, refiners grapple with surging global freight rates after US sanctions

Houston, New York, London: Rates to charter oil tankers from the Arabian Gulf, United Kingdom and the US Gulf Coast to Asia surged to fresh highs on Friday as global oil traders grappled with a tanker shortage in the aftermath of US sanctions on units of Chinese giant Cosco. Occidental Petroleum Corp tentatively chartered a […]

Dubai’s Dewa gets record-low bid to build solar-power plant

Dubai: Dubai Electricity & Water Authority selected a contractor that submitted a “record” low bid to build a 900-megawatt solar-power plant in the emirate, Managing Director and CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said. The contractor, which Al Tayer declined to identify, bid 1.7 cents per kilowatt-hour for the photovoltaic plant. The decision requires a lengthy […]

UAE assigns gold sector priority status

Dubai: The gold and jewellery sector has been assigned priority status by the UAE government, with the intention to transform it from a regional hub into a leading global centre for bullion manufacture and design. This will see the setting up of a “UAE Gold Standard” as well as policies to ensure stability within the […]

China open to small trade deal if Trump eases tariff threats

Beijing: China is still open to reaching a partial trade deal with the US, an official with direct knowledge of the talks said, signalling that Beijing is focused on limiting the damage to the world’s second-largest economy. Negotiators heading to Washington for talks starting Thursday aren’t optimistic about securing a broad agreement that would end […]