Energy Germany and Qatar ‘at odds over LNG deals’ Germany and Qatar’s talks over liquefied natural gas supply deals have run into difficulties, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations. Berlin needs to secure large volumes of LNG to reduce its dependence on Russian gas, but sources said the Germans were reluctant to accept Qatar’s condition that they sign deals lasting at least […] May 10, 2022
Tourism Russian visitors ‘strong’ despite Ukraine invasion “For us Russia, Ukraine, CIS, are very important,” Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, told delegates at the Arabian Travel Market. May 10, 2022
Exclusive Interviews UK-Gulf deal will be ‘tough nut to crack,’ says top Johnson ally The co-chairman of the UAE-UK Business Council and former chief strategic adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the upcoming UK-Gulf trade agreements could be delayed but bilateral opportunities remain immense Lord Udny-Lister, co-chairman of the UAE-UK Business Council and one of Boris Johnson’s closest political allies, cuts a distinguished figure amid the sumptuous surroundings […] May 10, 2022
Energy EU ‘may offer sweeteners to get its ban on Russian oil’ The European Commission is considering offering landlocked eastern European Union states more money to upgrade oil infrastructure in a bid to convince them to agree to an embargo on Russian oil, according to an EU source. The measures are part of a package of new sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, but an […] May 9, 2022
Aviation Leasing giant AerCap says Boeing will ‘bounce back’ The head of the world’s largest aircraft leasing company threw his weight behind Boeing on Monday, saying the jetmaker would overcome a spate of industrial and certification problems. “I think Boeing will bounce back. There are a few scenes in this movie to be played out yet,” Aengus Kelly, AerCap’s chief executive, told the Airline […] May 9, 2022
Energy Abu Dhabi’s ADQ strikes $4.2bn investment deal with Greece The deal was agreed as the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, held talks with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. May 9, 2022
Insight The UK-Saudi strategic trade partnership just got closer The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan are stimulating more and more investment deals May 9, 2022
Opinion Old friends, new vision: the Gulf and UK are shaping the future The Gulf's ambition, energy and skill coupled with Britain's heritage in innovation creates a formidable partnership that promises exceptional opportunities May 9, 2022
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