Ford to cut thousands of jobs as plant closures loom

Ford Motor Co. will shed thousands of jobs at its European operations in a bid to return the business to profitability in a broad restructuring that doesn’t rule out shutting down production plants. The carmaker has struggled with an aging model lineup and a contracting market in the United Kingdom (UK), Ford’s biggest in Europe, […]

UAE’s private sector growth slows in December, but firms bullish for year ahead

Dubai: The UAE’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December dipped to a two-year low from 55.8 in November to 54 in December signalling slower pace of growth in the non-oil private sector. December’s headline PMI marked the slowest pace of expansion in the non-oil private sector since October 2016, and has weighed on the 2018 […]

The world’s richest man is getting a divorce

New York: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, rated the world’s wealthiest person, announced Wednesday on Twitter that he and his wife Mackenzie Bezos were divorcing after a long separation. “We want to make people aware of a development in our lives,” Jeff Bezos, 54, and MacKenzie Bezos, 48, said in joint statement posted to Bezos’ Twitter […]

Saudi private firms continue to face margin pressure

Dubai: Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) registered 54.5 in December, down slightly from November’s 11-month high of 55.2. “The renewed dip in the headline index following November’s 2018 high confirms this year as the weakest in the series, averaging 53.8 as compared to an annual average of 58 over the previous eight […]

Fed Officials signal readiness to pause interest rate increases

WASHINGTON: Two influential Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday that the central bank should pause to assess economic conditions before considering additional interest rate increases, reinforcing the message delivered last week by Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell. The Fed on Wednesday also published an account of its most recent meeting, in December, which showed that […]