Friday, October 27, 2017 BUSINESS 9 UK retail sales plunge Norway to get first underwater restaurant This bill is about how we leave, London Oslo it’s about delivering certainty ritish retail sales plummeted in October at the fastest pace orway will get Europe’s first underwater restaurant in Bsince early 2009 when the country was last in recession, N2019, newspaper Aftenposten reported. The construction and continuity in the law as according to a survey that could of a 592-square-meter subsea we leave the deepen economists’ doubts about building shall begin during the the wisdom of raising interest rates winter of 2018 at a place just a few European Union,” next week. With the economy kilometers from the Lindesnes having perked up slightly in the lighthouse at the southernmost tip third quarter, it looks very likely of the Norwegian mainland. This -Steve baker, that the Bank of England will deliver area is visited by almost 80,000 first rate hike in more than a decade. tourists each year. a minister in the Brexit department.

The wealth held by the world’s 1,542 billionaires jumped by nearly $1 trillion* in 2016. Asia’s economic expansion saw a new billionaire created every other day, with three in four living in China or India

$86bn $71.3bn $31.2bn $23.2bn Basel III had gone too far, says CBB Bill Gates Amancio Ortega Li Ka-shing Mukesh Ambani Microsoft Zara Diversified Oil and gas United States Hong Kong India Number of Wealth (US$) Percentage billionaires United States change

538 2015: $2,395 billion GovernorRiyadh Al Maraj the Saudi capital. 563 2016: $2,753 billion UP 14.9% ahrain’s central bank He also told the conference Bgovernor said yesterday that the row between Qatar Includes Asia that stricter international and some other Gulf Arab 318 Chinese, bank rules, known as Basel States has paused the progress 101 Indian 520 $1,493bn billionaires III, had gone too far and to a single currency in the banks had been burdened six-nation Gulf Cooperation 637 UP 31.6% $1,965bn with too much regulation. Council (GCC). Europe “We have to be careful Al-Maraj, who was Entrepreneurs World’s can find Europe about how far we go from speaking at an investment 339 $1,255bn billionaires now onwards, not watering conference in Riyadh, also a difficult place employ to do business 27.7 million down what we have done but said he was committed to 342 $1,319bn UP 5.1% due to strict people at least we have to give the Bahrain’s exchange rate peg regulations *$1 trillion = $1,000,000,000,000 banking system breathing to the U.S. dollar because it Sources: UBS/PwC, Bloomberg, Forbes Pictures: AFP/Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS space so they absorb what eliminated risks. we have done, test these new GCC states have been regulations and see what discussing creating a single is the impact on economic currency for years but Madrid’s plan to use Article 155 of its constitution to dissolve ’s parliament and directly administer the region could growth,” Bahrain central economists see it as a distant have a ripple effect on other separatist movements in Spain bank governor Rasheed prospect. The United Arab Rasheed Al Majar (file) Mohammed al-Maraj said at Emirates has pulled out of the BASQUE COUNTRY CATALONIA an investment conference in project. (Reuters) Basque leaders want Catalan government Basque Country says referendum and Catalonia to be of Oct 1, which allowed to hold legal Spanish government referendum following has ruled illegal, negotiation with Madrid gives mandate for independence Basque president Iñaki Urkullu says Madrid insists Catalan president Article 155 is “disproportionate Carles Puigdemont and his and extreme” cabinet will be sacked Bilbao FRANCE ANDORRA Santiago de Compostela Claimed CATALONIA by Basque Barcelona separatists BASQUE COUNTRY

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BALEARIC VALENCIA ISLANDS PORTUGAL Seville 100km 60 miles GALICIA Region with own CATALAN-SPEAKING REGIONS identity, language Valencia and , and separatist strain where variants of Catalan are AGODA, one of Asia’s leading hotel booking sites and part of Nasdaq-listed Priceline Group, has recognised Lack of economic spoken, have regionalist parties and awarded the prestigious Guest Review Awards – Agoda Users 2017 to three of the best rated hotels - development has that demand better autonomy Gulf Hotel Bahrain, The K Hotel and Gulf Inn Asdal, Boutique Hotel (all operated by Gulf Hotels Group). The slowed spread Regional presidents of Valencia, , awards were presented to Hussain Al Samahiji, General Manager of Gulf Inn Asdal Boutique Hotel, Volker of Galician and Balearic Islands, (above), nationalism favour moving Spain towards federal system Mandlowsky, General Manager, The K Hotel, and Hameed Ali, Deputy General Manager, Gulf Hotel Bahrain. Source: Deutsche Welle Pictures: Getty Images, Balearic Islands Government © GRAPHIC NEWS