Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Waha Capital said on Tuesday its net profit for the second quarter of 2014 jumped on the back of a one-off gain from its investment in AerCap Holdings. Waha, whose shareholders include Abu Dhabi government entities, made Dhs1.14 billion ($310.4 million) in the three months to June 30, up from Dhs38.4 million in the year-ago period, it said in a bourse filing.
Updated 5 Years ago

Dubai’s main stock index slid 1.4 per cent as builder Arabtec continued to decline and fell 3.7 per cent. The stock plunged this week after Arabtec’s key shareholder, Aabar Investments, did not confirm a report which said Aabar was in talks to increase its stake in Arabtec. Abu Dhabi’s bourse edged down 0.4 per cent. Developer Aldar Properties was the main drag, dropping 4.1 per cent.
Updated 5 Years ago

A toxic food scandal in China is spreading fast, dragging in U.S. coffee chain Starbucks, Burger King Worldwide Inc. and others, as well as products of McDonald’s Corp. as far away as Japan. McDonald’s and KFC’s parent Yum Brands Inc. apologized to Chinese customers Monday after it emerged that Shanghai Husi Food Co. Ltd., a unit of U.S.-based OSI Group LLC, had supplied expired meat to the two chains.
Updated 5 Years ago

Shipments of white goods fell 6.8 percent in June from a year earlier to ¥250.7 billion, down for the second straight month, an industry group said Tuesday. The drop reflected a continued decline in demand after a surge ahead of the consumption tax hike in April as well as sluggish demand for air conditioners due to bad weather, the Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association said. The margin of decline was larger than 5.7 percent in May.
Updated 5 Years ago

A Chinese program through which thousands of Africans have learned modern farming techniques will be expanded into Cameroon this year, the company behind the initiative says. The education push, which is being financed by the Chinese government and run by the rice producing giant Long Ping High-Tech Agriculture, is the latest sign that the Hunan company is considering a research or commercial based venture in Cameroon.
Updated 5 Years ago

British Prime Minister David Cameron warned Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin today that the European Union was ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia after separatists downed a Malaysia Airlines plane with the loss of 298 lives. "Russia needs to know that action will follow if there isn't a radical change in the way they behave," Cameron said. "The EU will be ready to take further steps."
Updated 5 Years ago

The remains of some of the nearly 300 victims of the Malaysia Airlines plane downed over Ukraine were making their way to the Netherlands today as a senior Ukrainian separatist leader handed over the plane's black boxes to Malaysian experts. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a news conference that a train carrying around 200 body bags was on its way to rebel-held Donetsk and then to Kharkiv, which is in Ukrainian government hands, from where the bodies would be taken back to the Netherlands to be identified.
Updated 5 Years ago

São Paulo state water utility Sabesp launched a consultancy tender to carry out environmental impact studies and reports (EIA-RIMA) to prepare for a water supply improvement initiative budgeted at some 504mn reais (US$226mn). The tender, priced at a 4.28mn reais, involves studies to interconnect the Jaguari reservoir in the Paraíba do Sul river basin to the Atibainha reservoir in the PCJ basin (Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí rivers), according to a Sabesp bids call.
Updated 5 Years ago

Trading activity has slumped in Barclays' U.S. share trading venue after New York's attorney general accused the British bank of misleading its customers and giving an unfair edge to high-speed traders. Volume in Barclays' so-called "dark pool" electronic trading venue has slumped by 79 percent in the week and a half after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against the bank, data showed on Monday.
Updated 5 Years ago

President Vladimir Putin’s meddling in Ukraine cost Russia dearly in financial markets. With the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, the toll is only getting worse. The price to protect Russian bonds against default, already the highest among the world’s four largest emerging markets, has surged since the July 17 tragedy in eastern Ukraine. TheMicex Index (INDEXCF) resumed its decline, putting the losses since Putin began his push into Crimea in late February at 4.2 percent and wiping out about $28 billion in market value, even as stock gauges from the U.S. to India jumped to all-time highs.
Updated 5 Years ago