South Korea’s December exports in surprise fall as global economy cools

Seoul: South Korean exports fell slightly in December from a year earlier, official data showed on Tuesday, missing even the most pessimistic forecast from a Reuters survey and providing fresh evidence of a cooling global economy. Although all 10 economists in the Reuters survey had forecast a rise in exports, some said the data was […]

Oman seeks to raise $6.2b for 2019

Dubai: Oman’s government, whose budget deficit is among the largest of all the sovereigns tracked by Fitch Ratings, will tap capital markets for a fourth straight year to plug a fiscal gap vulnerable to lower oil prices. The Gulf nation is looking to raise 2.4 billion Omani riyals (Dh22.8 billion, $6.2 billion) internationally and at […]

Netflix is said to nab Activision CFO in New Year’s Eve switch

San Francisco Netflix Inc is expected to announce in the next few days that it has hired Spencer Neumann from Activision Blizzard Inc as its chief financial officer, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The report comes after Activision said in a regulatory filing on Monday that it intended to fire Neumann […]

Flying Colours: Renting a car in the UAE just got easier

Working as a full-time entrepreneur for 12 years and the main architect behind the booking systems of several world-renowned car rental brands, Ammar Akhtar was well aware of the frustration people in the UAE felt when renting a ride. Bad customer service, reams of paper forms, and high prices convinced him in 2016 to launch […]

Italy’s president chides populists over marathon budget

Rome: President Sergio Mattarella, who has sought to rein in Italy’s populist leaders, took the government to task for ramming spending plans through parliament and warned that the country’s debt mountain penalises ordinary citizens. The head of state used his year-end televised address Monday night to issue thinly-veiled reprimands to the coalition dominated by Euro-sceptic […]