Banks waive extra margin on Dubai utility's loan

 - bi-me
0 min ago
DEWA plans to issue US$1.5 billion bonds in April to fund its expansion. » more

Gulf of Aden pirates see drop in success rate

 - Arabian Business
0 min ago
Despite the increase in attacks, the rate of success for Somali pirates off the Gulf of Aden decreased last year, according to a report in a US newspaper. An article in the Los Angeles Times, written by one of its Gulf correspondents, found that pirates operating off the coast of Yemen had a » more

Israel seeks to patch up row over settlements

 - Maktoob Business
0 min ago
TEL AVIV - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a public apology to the visiting US vice president on Thursday in a bid to defuse a row over settlements which prompted a Palestinian boycott of indirect peace talks. Vice President Joe Biden welcomed Netanyahu's statement but again » more

Gates in UAE to seek support on Iran, regional defence

 - Arabian Business
0 min ago
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates touched down in the United Arab Emirates today in the second stop of a Persian Gulf mission to heighten pressure on Iran by enlisting other countries in the neighbourhood. Arriving from Riyadh, where he met with Saudi King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan bin » more

Kuwait inflation eases in July 2009

 - Maktoob Business
0 min ago
KUWAIT - Annual inflation in Kuwait eased to 3.74 percent in July 2009 from 4.2 percent in the previous month, delayed official data showed on Thursday. Kuwait's consumer price index stood at 136 points at the end of July compared with 131.1 a year earlier, Kuwait's statistics office data showed. » more

Hamas releases British reporter in Gaza

 - Maktoob Business
0 min ago
GAZA CITY - Hamas on Thursday released a British reporter held in its Gaza enclave, the only foreigner to be arrested in the territory since the Islamist group seized power in June 2007. The journalist and filmmaker Paul Martin was handed over to a delegation from the British consulate and driven » more

China steps up security crackdown in Tibet

 - Maktoob Business
0 min ago
BEIJING - Chinese security forces have stepped up a crackdown in Tibet's capital Lhasa, two years after protests marking a failed 1959 uprising erupted in deadly violence, police and reports said Thursday. More than 400 people have reportedly been rounded up so far in the "strike hard storm" » more

Iran hangs two drug traffickers

 - Maktoob Business
0 min ago
TEHRAN - Iran has hanged two convicted drug traffickers in the Shi'ite shrine city of Qom, Iranian media reported on Thursday. The Arman newspaper said the men, identified only as Hamid Kh. and Zeinolabedeen Gh., were executed on Wednesday. Both had previously been involved in drug-related crime, » more

Lebanon's Azadea inks deal with US retailer

 - Arabian Business
0 min ago
zoom RETAIL DEAL: Azadea Group was not immediately available to comment on the deal.(Getty Images) The multi-year deal between US-based Gymboree and Azadea G, the fashion arm of Azadea Group, marks the chain’s first entry into the Middle East. The first stores are expected to open in Dubai later » more

Bahrain to invest $15 bln on oil, gas sectors

 - Maktoob Business
0 min ago
BEIRUT - Bahrain will spend $15 billion over the next two decades to develop and boost oil and natural gas production in the Bahrain field, pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat reports Thursday citing the country's minister of oil and gas affairs Abdul-Hussain Bin Ali Mirza. Mirza, who is also chairman » more

Under-fire Myanmar sets election commission

 - Maktoob Business
0 min ago
YANGON - Myanmar's ruling junta Thursday appointed an election commission to oversee this year's polls as international anger grew over new laws barring opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi from the vote. The commission was set up under new legislation unveiled by the government on Monday and its 17 » more

Shariah Capital sees More Islamic Hedge Funds Taking Off

 - Asharq AL-Awsat
0 min ago
KUALA LUMPUR, (Reuters) - More sharia hedge funds are likely to be launched, specialising in healthcare, telecoms and technology stocks, a U.S. financial firm said, as the industry debates how far Islam sanctions such investments. Few Islamic hedge funds have successfully gotten off the ground as » more