Author: Arabian Media staff

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldKlarna is stepping up attempts to position itself as a digital bank as the Swedish fintech looks to diversify away from its flagship “buy now, pay later” loans ahead of its second attempt at an IPO.The company, known for loans offered to online shoppers at the point of purchase that are paid back in several interest-free instalments, has in recent weeks launched new products designed to bring it more in line with digital banks such as Revolut and Chime.The move…

Image: Getty Images/ For illustrative purposes The country’s Fuel Price Committee has approved new retail fuel rates for July, raising pump prices for petrol and diesel as global crude markets surged earlier this month, according to state news agency, WAM. The committee paused rates in June following slight hikes in May after two months of declines. However, oil prices climbed earlier this month amid tensions between Israel and Iran and US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, prompting upward pressure on prices. Fuel prices for July Effective July 1, the new prices are: Super 98 petrol: Dhs2.70 per litre, up from Dhs2.58 in…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The buyer of WHSmith’s high street business has renegotiated the price downwards after trading at the chain deteriorated in recent weeks. WHSmith now expects to receive gross cash proceeds of up to £40mn from the sale to Modella Capital, compared with the £52mn it had projected when it first announced the deal on March 28, the company said in a stock exchange statement Monday. The renegotiation with Modella, which plans to change the name of the 233-year-old business to TG Jones, comes…

Image credit: WAM/Website Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the launch of the Al Safa Street Improvement Project, a key infrastructure upgrade aimed at improving traffic flow, supporting urban growth, and enhancing overall quality of life in one of Dubai’s most vibrant districts. Read-Traffic update: Dubai’s RTA completes key road upgrades in Business Bay The project extends over a 1,500-metre stretch of Al Safa Street, from its intersection with Sheikh Zayed Road to its junction with Al Wasl Street. It forms a core part of RTA’s broader master plan to modernise the city’s transport infrastructure in line with…

The plants are old, the earth is tired, says farmer Kouadio N’Guessan Yves, stamping his foot into the red dirt and running his hand up a gnarled trunk. The rows of cocoa trees stretching towards the sun were planted by the Ivorian’s grandfather or great-grandfather, and no one since then has had the cash to plant new ones. Down a narrow, dusty path in a tiny village near the town of Daloa, Yves’s neighbours pull apart the yellow cocoa pods and spread the white, fleshy beans across tarpaulins by hand. Once the sun has browned and sweetened them, the farmers…

Big hedge funds are pushing into private credit as they seek to establish themselves as diversified financial institutions, with Millennium Management, Point72 and Third Point all looking to launch new funds and strategies.Third Point, a $20bn firm with a history as an activist investor, plans to launch a publicly traded private credit fund next month called Third Point Private Capital Partners, which will lend directly to businesses.Millennium, which manages more than $75bn in assets, has been weighing whether to launch a separate fund to invest in less liquid assets, including private credit, its first new fund in more than three…

Image: Tabreed/ X UAE-based district cooling company Tabreed and global investment firm CVC’s infrastructure strategy (CVC DIF) have agreed to acquire Abu Dhabi’s PAL Cooling Holding from Multiply Group in a deal valued at approximately Dhs3.8bn, the companies said in a joint statement. The acquisition includes eight long-term concessions serviced by five district cooling plants in Abu Dhabi, with an expected connected load of around 600,000 refrigeration tons once ongoing and planned plants are completed. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals. Founded in 2006, PAL Cooling is a key player in the UAE’s district cooling sector, working with major…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.British health insurer Bupa has agreed to pay a A$35mn (US$23mn) fine in Australia after it admitted to “unconscionable conduct” by denying legitimate claims made by patients over a five-year period.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the country’s consumer watchdog, began legal proceedings against Bupa after it said the UK company had engaged in “misleading and deceptive” practices between May 2018 and August 2023.The regulator has agreed the fine with Bupa, but a court will formally set the penalty, which could change.The…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.High electricity costs and an intensifying battle with Big Tech for power are hampering US and European policymakers’ efforts to reshore strategically important metals processing industries, executives say. Washington and Brussels are offering billions of dollars of taxpayer funds for smelting, processing and mining projects for metals such as copper and aluminium, in order to break China’s stranglehold on the industry. The US has also imposed punitive tariffs on imports in a bid to protect domestic industry.But senior executives told the Financial…

Image credit: Getty Images Oil prices fell on Monday as an easing of geopolitical risks in the Middle East and the prospect of another OPEC+ output hike in August improved supply expectations amid persistent uncertainty over the outlook for global demand. Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 13 cents, or 0.19 per cent, to $67.64 a barrel by 0344 GMT, ahead of the August contract’s expiry later on Monday. The more active September contract LCOc2 was at $66.62, down 18 cents. Read-Saudi Arabia ready for multiple oil price scenarios, economy minister says US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 dropped 32 cents,…