Business

Saudi retailer plans 250 new stores 05 Sep 2013 - 01:01 am

KHOBAR: Saudi Arabian retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair plans to open nearly 250 stores at home and abroad this financial year, a top executive...

Syria cancels tender to buy rice as traders steer clear 05 Sep 2013 - 01:01 am

ABU DHABI: A Syrian purchasing agency has cancelled an urgent tender to buy 135,000 tonnes of white rice, the third state food tender...

Turkish central bank to use gross forex reserves 05 Sep 2013 - 01:01 am

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s central bank suggested yesterday that more surprises lay ahead in its unorthodox efforts to manage a weakening lira, pressured by concerns...

Next Android to be called ‘KitKat’ 05 Sep 2013 - 12:59 am

The Android mascot made of Nestle’s KitKat chocolate bars in front of Google headquarters in Moun-tain View, California. Google said the next version...

Qatar bourse index down by 1.89 percent 05 Sep 2013 - 12:59 am

Doha: Qatar Exchange was down 179.80 points or 1.89 percent to 9,356.32 points yesterday from the previous closing of 9,536.12. Among the top...

Egyptian pound strengthens 05 Sep 2013 - 12:58 am

CAIRO: The Egyptian pound jumped 1.2 percent yesterday at a $1.3bn foreign currency sale — its biggest ever — as the central bank...

Exports, spending pull eurozone out of recession 05 Sep 2013 - 12:58 am

BRUSSELS: A bounce in exports and spending pulled the eurozone out of recession in the second quarter of 2013, data shows, in the...

US trade deficit widens in July as exports dip 05 Sep 2013 - 12:58 am

WASHINGTON: The US trade deficit widened slightly more than expected in July as exports dipped, but a rebound in imports pointed to some...

Tunisian inflation rate falls to 6pc in August 05 Sep 2013 - 12:57 am

TUNIS: Tunisia’s annual inflation rate fell for the second month running to reach 6 percent in August against 6.2 percent in July and...

Al Sada opens Sasol office in Qatar 04 Sep 2013 - 12:25 am

H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada (right) inaugurating the Sasol-Qatar office. DOHA: H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, the...

Singapore firms to play bigger role in Qatar 04 Sep 2013 - 12:25 am

DOHA: As the GCC-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (GSFTA) entered into force from September 1, Singaporean and Qatari companies will now be able to...

Microsoft swallows Nokia’s phone unit 04 Sep 2013 - 12:23 am

HELSINKI/SEATTLE: Two years after hitching its fate to Microsoft’s Windows Phone software, Nokia collapsed into the arms of the US software giant yesterday,...

Muntajat to have its HQ in The Hague 04 Sep 2013 - 12:23 am

DOHA/THE HAGUE: The newly established Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat) yesterday announced that it has chosen ‘The Hague, (the...

Construction sector in Mideast forecast to grow by 19pc 04 Sep 2013 - 12:21 am

DOHA: The Middle East’s construction sector, including Qatar, has been forecast to grow by 19 percent in 2013, with the combined value of...

Khartoum, Juba avert oil shutdown 04 Sep 2013 - 12:17 am

Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir welcomes his South Sudan’s counterpart Salva Kiir on his arrival at Khartoum airport yesterday. KHARTOUM: Sudan and...

European stocks fall 04 Sep 2013 - 12:17 am

LONDON: European stocks fell in choppy trade yesterday as a US-Israeli missile test rattled nerves and raised expectations of Western military action in...

India’s rupee slides, shares slump by almost 3.5pc 04 Sep 2013 - 12:16 am

MUMBAI: India’s currency slid yesterday and the share market crashed nearly 3.5 percent in another major sell-off caused by uncertainty in Middle East...

Europe joining US recovery: OECD 04 Sep 2013 - 12:16 am

PARIS: Led by firm US growth, the outlook is gradually improving for advanced economies while even crisis-weary Europe is at last joining the...