The Pentagon on Tuesday unveiled its plan to boost spending in defense mechanism in 2017, aiming to increase its military capability to back its European NATO allies. The US Defense Department requested a budget seeking 7.5 billion US dollar for operations in Syria and Iraq for the year 2017.
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Vodacom's Q3 revenues up 8.7%; sees weaker growth
Vodacom Group Ltd has recorded 8.7 percent growth in third quarter revenues. The South Africa-based mobile phone company is focusing on subscribers and high-speed network expansion. Vodafone is expanding internet services and strengthening its network amid rising domestic competition.
China's gold demand rises as investors seek safe haven
The gold buying demand from China is surging from last December onwards owing investors' priority to safe haven assets. The sluggish stock markets, weaker currency and lower global prices are prime reasons for the rising demand for the yellow metal. The consumption rose 3.7 percent to 985.9 metric tons in 2015.
Stryker acquires Sage for $2.76 billion
Stryker just reached an agreement with Sage to acquire the company for $2.76 billion in an all cash agreement. The acquisition is expected to boost Stryker's revenue in the coming years and the company will also enjoy $500 million in tax benefit.
Cheap oil benefits consumers, hits governments
The lower oil price for about 19 months is benefiting the consumers, but creating a lot of problems for the global governments and business firms. Many banks and the US government forecast oil price above $40 a barrel this year. The oil price fell to below $30 during the past 19 months from $107 a barrel.
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Gramercy said that it will pursue more than 1.3 billion US dollar from the government of Peru over a land bond clash. The dispute relates to bonds issued as per the military dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s as reimbursement to farmers who lost their lands under the agrarian reform.
Malala Yousafzai will be speaking at the "Supporting Syria and the region" conference in London on Thursday, February 4 to ask the world leaders attending to donate $1.4 billion in support of education for Syrian refugees. Muzoon Almellehan, a student and Syrian refugee will also speak at the conference in support of her cause.
S&P rating service on Tuesday downgraded Sprint credit to B, citing a challenging environment for the wireless industry. Morningstar and Moody have also demoted Spring credit rating.
The US federal contracts are somehow still not won by the women-owned small companies in this day and age. Senator Jeanne Shaheen has openly expressed her disappointment regarding this sobering fact. But she is still optimistic that the changing laws would rectify the situation and empower women with the experience to bid for larger and more competitive federal contracts in the future.
Swiftkey, the popular predictive typing app for smartphone, has been reported to be bought by Microsoft for nearly $250 million. Microsoft is said to have a bigger plan with the app, going further than just expanding on more than iOS and Android devices.
Citigroup holds view that it's too early to come to a conclusion about the state of the world's largest economy. It advises investors not to offload stocks over China. Citigroup in its latest research reports terms the present uncertainty and sluggishness in the Chinese economy and markets as a 'correction.'
NetApp has completed its acquisition of SolidFire which is a scale-out flash array maker. Now customers have an advantage to meet their needs for data services by accessing industry's broadest all-flash portfolio.
The latest forecast indicates 50 percent rebound in oil prices by the end of 2016. The oil price could be higher by $15 per barrel this year taking the New York crude to $46 a barrel by fourth quarter and Brent to $48 during the same period. The drop in US shale output is likely to drive oil price up in the second half of 2016.
Mophie, the famous battery cases maker, is acquired by Zagg, its competitor in mobile accessories. The acquisition is believed to bring more benefits for both parties, as to be the best in class product development, as well as to obtain more financial profits.
