Exclusive Real Estate Russians pay ‘any price’ for Dubai homes to avoid Western sanctions Wealthy Russians are snapping up luxury homes in Dubai in a bid to sidestep the sanctions imposed by Western nations after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine May 9, 2022
Aviation Lufthansa sees return to profit as air travel rebounds Germany’s Lufthansa is looking to return to an operating profit this quarter as demand for travel rises with the easing of coronavirus curbs and the airline raises ticket prices to offset higher costs. The group, which owns the German airlines Lufthansa and Eurowings as well as Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines, doubled sales in the […] May 5, 2022
BBVA exceeds 50% in Garanti after raising offer for bank Spain’s BBVA said on Monday it had already secured more than 50 percent of Garanti after raising its bid for the rest of the Turkish bank it does not own, takingadvantage of a slide in the lira with a 1.985 billion euro ($2.1 billion) offer to increase its emerging market exposure. BBVA had said earlier it had upped […] May 4, 2022
Binance registers with France crypto regulator, advances European plans Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has registered with France’s market regulator, Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao said in a tweet, advancing the company’s plan to make Paris its European base. “It’s a real stamp of quality,” said Binance France’s General Manager David Prinçay, referring to the registration with the regulator, AMF. “The perception is changing. It allows […] May 3, 2022
Employment Deliveroo backs off plan to cut pay of UAE riders after strike Delivery service Deliveroo on Monday put on hold plans to cut pay and extend working hours for its drivers in the United Arab Emirates after a rare strike over the weekend. The Amazon-backed company said in an email to restaurants, seen by Reuters, that it had paused proposed changes in its rider pay structure and […] May 3, 2022
Retail Swiss watchmakers grapple with fallout of Russian crisis Swiss watchmakers are gathering in Geneva this week for their first big industry event in three years, tackling the impact of sanctions on rich Russians arisingfrom the war in Ukraine. Russia was only the 17th largest market for Swiss watch exports last year, but how to manage business and client relations during such a sensitive […] May 3, 2022
Health Betting big on drug discovery, UK’s OMass Therapeutics raises $100m Betting on a fresh formula for the arduous, expensive and failure-prone field of drug discovery, UK-based OMass Therapeutics on Thursday said it has raised $100million in series B funding. Including the latest injection – led by a pack of prominent new investors including the Google Ventures and Sanofi Ventures as well as existing investors such […] May 2, 2022
Analysis Energy Tapping oil stockpiles may not be enough to plug loss of Russian supply Top oil consuming nations may find that one of their main tools to fight high global oil prices – the release of strategic stockpiles – will prove inadequate to soothe markets starved of Russian supply since its invasion of Ukraine. The 31-member International Energy Agency, representing industrialised nations but not Russia, presided over the fourth […] May 2, 2022
Hollywood actress Jolie visits Lviv, trip interrupted by sirens Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, going to the station to meet people displaced by the war with Russia before later leaving after air-raid sirens sounded. Jolie, 46, is a special envoy for the United Nations refugee agency, which says more than 12.7 million people have fled their homes […] April 30, 2022
Actual COVID death toll near 15 million The official death toll from the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic is about 5.4 million. But according to a new World Health Organization report, the actual number is around three times higher than that. The U.N. body said on Thursday there were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with COVID-19 by the end of […] April 29, 2022
Pearson maintains momentum after rejecting takeover Pearson beat first-quarter forecasts and said it would benefit from a lowertax rate this year, underscoring confidence at the education group after it rejected a private equity offer in March. The British company, emerging from years of turbulence sparked by the US education market moving online, reported a better-than-expected 7 percent rise in first-quarter underlying […] April 29, 2022
Agriculture Ukraine war push egg prices higher worldwide Severe outbreaks of bird flu in the United States and France are tightening global egg supplies and raising prices for the food staple as the war in Ukraine disrupts shipments to Europe and the Middle East. Higher prices are particularly painful for consumers who rely on eggs as a low-cost source of protein and substitute […] April 29, 2022
Sustainability Regulators call for external checks on bank climate data Regulators could force banks and other financial firms to hire external auditors to check on the accuracy of their climate data, the Financial Stability Board said in a report on Friday. Financial firms are being required to spell out how climate change is affecting their business as part of government efforts to meet net-zero economy […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar Airways suffers setback in feud with Airbus A British judge has denied a bid by Qatar Airways to reinstate a jet contractcancelled by Europe’s Airbus in the latest twist to a dramatic feud playing out in UK courts. The companies have been locked in a safety dispute for months on Europe’s A350 long-haul jet. Their unprecedented bust-up widened in January when Airbus revoked a separate deal for […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Americana selects banks for Saudi and UAE listings The Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast-food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut has hired banks for a potential dual listing in Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Americana Group has selected Goldman Sachs, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Saudi National Bank (SNB) for the deal, said the source, declining […] April 29, 2022
Tourism Airbus wins backing for 2024 jet output European planemaker Airbus looks set to raise narrowbody jetliner production for 2024 after reaching a compromise deal with at least two suppliers following months of wrangling over the speed of post-pandemic recovery. The world’s largest planemaker is restoring and slightly expanding pre-pandemic output for best-selling models as traffic rebounds in the West, but has been […] April 29, 2022
Energy Repsol’s profit doubles on high oil and gas prices Spain’s Repsol posted a first-quarter profit upswing on Thursday, bolstered by higher oil and gas prices and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Commodities prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, sending further shockwaves through markets already reeling from last year’s collision between tight supplies and high demand in economies reopening after coronavirus lockdowns. Adjusted […] April 29, 2022
Energy Volkswagen and BP consider e-car charging alliance in new regions Europe’s top carmaker Volkswagen and BP are planning to deepen their electric charging partnership and could expand it to other regions and technologies, the CEOs of both companies said on Thursday. “There are so many more areas where we are complementary,” Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Duesseldorf […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Orsted defies Russia, refuses to open roubles account for gas payments Denmark’s Orsted has no intention of opening a rouble account in Russia to accommodate Moscow’s demand for gas payments in the Russian currency, the energy firm’s CEO said on Friday. Orsted sold its oil and gas assets in 2017 to focus on offshore wind energy but retains a long-term gas deal with Russia’s Gazprom which […] April 29, 2022
Energy Germany: Gazprombank accounts do not breach Russia oil sanctions European energy firms can open special accounts with Gazprombank to pay for Russian gas, a key demand by Moscow, without breaching sanctions if transferring euros or dollars to them fulfils their contractual obligations, the German Economy Ministry said. Russia cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland this week for failing to pay in roubles, raising […] April 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Sterling set for biggest drop in six years against dollar Sterling rose against the dollar on Friday but was still set for its sharpest monthly drop since October 2016, while edging higher against the euro. The dollar dropped from its recent 20-year high while still on track for its best month since 2015, bolstered by a combination of expectations for US rate hikes and growth […] April 29, 2022
Angry Credit Suisse shareholders reject 2020 discharge Credit Suisse shareholders on Friday rejected by a wide margin the board’s proposal to provide the beleaguered Swiss bank’s management a discharge from liabilities for the 2020 financial year, as investor ire over a slew of costly missteps grows. The board’s proposal to provide managers a legal discharge for 2020 — a sign of backing, […] April 29, 2022