Browsing: Business

The share price of Volkswagen hovered around breakeven on Monday, reflecting a mixed response from investors to the automaker’s plans to list sports car brand Porsche AG in what could be Europe’s third biggest IPO. According to Reuters, Volkswagen wants to value Porsche AG at 70 billion-75 billion euros ($70-75 billion), a little below some estimates of up to 85 billion euros, but well above rival BMW’s 49 billion euros and Mercedes-Benz’s 61 billion euros. Even as shares of other luxury carmakers like Ferrari and Aston Martin have struggled this year on European stock markets, Porsche AG hopes its track…

There was a notable rise in oil prices on Monday. This was due to a weaker dollar and supply concerns ahead of the European Union’s embargo on Russian oil in December. This offset fears of a global recession that could dampen fuel demand. As of 0330 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 60 cents, or 0.7%, to $91.95 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 39 cents, or 0.5% to $85.50 a barrel on Tuesday. Tuesday is the last day to renew the front-month contract. A weaker dollar, which came off multi-year highs last week, supported both contracts, which…

Annual inflation in the euro area increased from 8.9% in July to 9.1% in August 2022. The rate was 3.0% a year earlier. In August 2022, the annual inflation rate in the European Union was 10.1%, up from 9.8% in July. According to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, the rate was 3.2% a year earlier. In terms of annual rates, France recorded the lowest rate of 6.6%, Malta posted 7.0%, and Finland had a rate of 7.9%. Estonia recorded the highest annual rate of 25.2%, Latvia recorded 21.4%, and Lithuania recorded 21.1%. There was a decrease in annual inflation…

There was a drop in Chinese trade in August due to a decline in global consumer demand and a drop in domestic demand, as a result of high energy prices, inflation, and anti-virus measures. The growth rate of exports decreased from 18% in July to 7% in August. The Associated Press (AP) reported that demand for Chinese exports has cooled as Western economies cool and the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to contain surging inflation. China’s continued closure of cities because of virus outbreaks has affected consumer spending. Chinese domestic demand continues to be weak, as evidenced by the lack…

In the southwestern province of Sichuan, where a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday, Chinese state media reported that the roads leading to the epicenter have reopened. Traffic has resumed. However, the death toll has risen to 74. The People’s Daily reported Tuesday night that 259 people were injured in the disaster, and 26 remained missing. According to Reuters, the strongest earthquake to hit the province since 2017 destroyed numerous buildings and severely damaged power and water infrastructure. 11,000 people were evacuated from Luding county, where the quake was centered, as rescuers rushed to reach stranded people, restore utilities, and…

As the impact of COVID-19 curbs in top crude importer China and expectations of more interest rate hikes spurred fears of a global economic recession and decreased fuel consumption, oil prices dropped more than $1 on Wednesday to their lowest level since before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Brent crude futures fell $1.35, or 1.5%, to $91.48 a barrel by 04:20 GMT after falling 3% in the previous session. The contract reached its lowest level since February 18 at $91.35. Crude futures for West Texas Intermediate fell $1.55, or 1.8%, to $85.33. Crude futures for West Texas Intermediate fell to a session…

In July 2022, industrial producer prices rose by 4.0 percent in the Euro area, by 3.7% in the EU, in comparison with the same month last year. This is according to the latest estimates from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, which provides statistical information for the European Union. There was an increase in prices of 1.3% in the Euro area in June 2022 and a rise of 1.5% in the EU in June 2022. Euro area industrial producer prices increased by 37.9% in July 2022 compared with July 2021, while EU producer prices increased by 37.8%. Euro area industrial…

Spark Security Services, a leading provider of manned guarding security services in the UAE, is being fully acquired by Aldar Properties in order to scale up its property management and integrated facilities management platform. Aldar’s property and facilities management platform is further strengthened by the all-cash transaction of AED125 million, which will enable the company to offer customers a wider range of services, such as sales, leasing, property management, consultancy, valuation advice, energy management, and hard and soft real estate maintenance. As a result, Aldar’s AED23 billion (US$6.3 billion) portfolio of prime properties, including retail, residential, commercial, and logistics properties,…

MENA Newswire: Bank ABC, MENA’s leading international bank, has won The Banker Transaction Banking Awards 2022, for Middle East by the Financial Times. The Banker’s highly coveted awards are an industry benchmark for banking excellence, adjudged by industry stalwarts and its top editors. Mr. Sael Al Waary – Acting Group CEO of Bank ABC (left) | Mr. Amr ElNokaly​ – Group Head of Wholesale Banking (right) The award stands testament to Bank ABC’s consistent efforts to develop a stronger, more resilient bank for its corporate banking clients, by way of accelerating its ambitious digital transformation programme, driven by innovation, in thought…

A record two-decade low in the euro was recorded on Tuesday as renewed concerns over an energy shock pushed inflation higher and made Europe more likely to become recession-prone. The Chinese yuan slid down to a two-year low on Monday, while the pound briefly touched its lowest level since March 2020. Reuters reports that European business activity data weren’t as grim as feared, pushing the euro away from a 20-year low at $0.99005. In spite of this, by 0820 GMT, the currency was still down 0.15% to $0.9930 and remained below the key $1-level. “What we’re trying to figure out…