Sharia investment start-up aims for Malaysia, India expansion

There are 172 million Muslims in India — roughly equivalent to 10 per cent of the world’s entire Muslim population — and yet there isn’t one Islamic bank. Junaid Wahedna thought that was strange. So, when Wahedna was 22, he started his own Sharia-compliant finance company with $30,000 (Dh110,175). Three years later, Wahed Invest is […]

Kraft Heinz announces $15.4b write-down

WASHINGTON. The US packaged food giant Kraft Heinz has announced a $15.4 billion write down on some of its most iconic brands, reflecting a big change in what people like to eat. In its fourth quarter earnings report, the company said Thursday that the write-down resulted in a net loss of $12.6 billion. The company […]

Trump says he’s inclined to extend China trade deadline

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Friday there was “a very good chance” the United States would strike a deal with China to end their trade war and that he was inclined to extend his March 1 tariff deadline and meet soon with Chinese President Xi Jinping. US and Chinese negotiators had made progress and […]

US tax refunds plunge 17% as Treasury ratchets up defence

New York: Average tax refunds are down 17 per cent so far in the first filing season under President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul, according to the IRS, prompting the Treasury Department to caution that the data contain aberrations and could be misleading. Direct-deposit refunds dropped for the third week in a row this filing season […]

A surprise China debt default upends assumptions on official aid

Beijing A Chinese state-backed borrower’s failure to make good on a payment on a dollar bond on Friday threatens to overturn assumptions that officials would step in to avert defaults by companies closely linked to local authorities. Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co., an aluminium producer that was seen by some analysts as a bellwether for […]