Reuters

UK house price growth picks up in October, Nationwide says

London - Muslimchronicle

British annual house price growth edged up to a three-month high in October, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Wednesday, although the outlook for the housing market remained subdued. House prices rose 2.5 percent on the year compared with 2.3 percent in September. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted house price inflation would slow to 2.2 percent. On the month, pricesRead more

US jobless claims up less than expected as labor market tightens

Washington - Muslimchronicle

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, suggesting the labor market continued to tighten after recent hurricane-related disruptions. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended October 21, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims fell to 223,000 in the prior week, which wasRead more

Airbus defense unit freezes capex

Paris - Muslimchronicle

Airbus Defense and Space has frozen capital spending and urged its 34,000 staff to take “drastic measures” to save cash as it faces the prospect of missing 2017 cash targets by hundreds of millions of euros, according to a memo seen by Reuters. “With the risk of missing our full-year cash targets by hundreds of millions, we need to doRead more

Saudi Aramco explores the Empty Quarter with ‘Exceptional Techniques’

Riyadh - Muslimchronicle

Saudi Aramco is using new technology to re-explore areas of the desert Empty Quarter, which could help enhance its reserves of oil and gas before the company offers its shares to the public. In a statement issued, Aramco explained that a team of about 900 people is using advanced seismic technology that has been under development for the past fewRead more

Macron's French presidency bid gathers pace, minister joins campaign

Paris - Arab today

A junior French minister backed Emmanuel Macron's presidential campaign on Tuesday, the first government member to do so, just hours after he firmed up his status as favourite in the first of a series of TV debates. Biodiversity minister Barbara Pompili, from the ecology party, is expected to be the first of a number of ministers in Socialist President FrancoisRead more

Egypt to introduce stamp duty in May, targets EGP 1-1.5 bln in revenues

Egypt - Arab today

Egypt's new stamp duty on stock exchange transactions will come into effect in May and include for the first time a 0.3 percent levy for investors acquiring more than a third of a company's stocks, deputy finance minister Amr Al-Munayer said. Egypt's finance minister said last month the government planned to introduce a stamp duty of 0.125 percent onRead more

UN warns of catastrophic dam failure in Syria battle

Geneva - Arab Today

The United Nations is warning of catastrophic flooding in Syria from the Tabqa dam, which is at risk from high water levels, deliberate sabotage by Daesh and further damage from air strikes by the US-led coalition. The earth-filled dam holds back the Euphrates River 40km upstream of the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa and has been controlled by Daesh since 2014.Read more

Philippine Catholic Church slams ‘reign of terror’ behind war on drugs

MANILA - Arab Today

The Philippines’ Catholic Church assailed President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs for creating a “reign of terror” among the poor, in sermons read out at Saturday services that will be repeated to congregations across the country on Sunday. In its most strongly worded attack on the crackdown on drug pushers and users, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines saidRead more

IMF team in Egypt to review loan installment

Cairo - Arab Today

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has arrived in Egypt to prepare for a review required before disbursing the second installment of a three-year $12-billion loan, sources at the Finance Ministry told Reuters on Tuesday. The IMF said earlier this month that Egypt was on track to receive the second tranche, expected to be $1.25 billion, pending aRead more

Mideast funds positive on bonds

DUBAI - Arab Today

Middle East fund managers are strongly positive toward fixed income in the region because of expanding international bond issuance and they also plan to increase their equity holdings, a monthly Reuters poll found. The poll of 13 leading fund managers, conducted over the past week, found 46 percent expect to raise their investment in fixed income in the next threeRead more