MANAMA / Reuters Al Baraka Banking Group is targeting the sale of capital-boosting sukuk worth $300 million in the first quarter of 2017, the chief executive of the Bahrain-based Islamic lender, with operations in over a dozen countries, said on Tuesday. “You’ll see issuance of sukuk in the first quarter of 2017 around $300 million, and we are talking ...

  Bloomberg Indian sovereign bonds will recover from their biggest loss in more than three years as benign cash conditions in the banking system spur demand for debt and policy makers return to cutting interest rates in early 2017, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. The benchmark 10-year yield jumped 21 basis points to 6.41% on Wednesday, the biggest increase since ...

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. will create an all-screen front for the Galaxy S8 smartphones coming out next year and scrap the physical home button, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The bezel-less displays will provide more viewing real estate while a virtual home button will be buried in the glass in the lower section, the people said, ...

  San Francisco / AFP Smartwatch pioneer Pebble announced it was shutting down, with tech wearables giant Fitbit acquiring some of its assets including key personnel. “Due to various factors, Pebble is no longer able to operate as an independent entity. We have made the tough decision to shut down the company and no longer manufacture Pebble devices,” Pebble founder ...

  Sydney / AFP The hidden secrets of Egyptian mummies up to 3,000 years old have been virtually unwrapped and reconstructed for the first time using cutting-edge scanning technology in a joint British-Australian exhibition. Three-dimensional images of six mummies aged between 900BC and 140-180AD from ancient Egypt, which have been held at the British Museum but never physically unwrapped, give ...

  Tokyo / AFP A Japanese city has introduced a novel way to keep track of senior citizens with dementia who are prone to getting lost — tagging their fingers and toes with scan-able barcodes. A company in Iruma, north of Tokyo, developed tiny nail stickers, each of which carries a unique identity number to help concerned families find missing ...

  Paris / AFP The first wave of virtual reality cinemas, heralding what their creators claim will be an entertainment revolution, rolls out across the world this month. The first screening room in France opened and several others are promised for Beijing, Shanghai and Los Angeles in the next few weeks. Like the early days of cinema, virtual reality — ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Shareholders in First Gulf Bank PJSC (FGB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), have approved a proposed merger of the two banks, which will create the largest financial institution in the UAE with assets of approximately AED655 billion (US$178 billion). At separate general assembly meetings held on Wednesday, shareholders in FGB and NBAD voted ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Fares Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation for Security and Military Affairs, met on Wed-nesday, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian President’s Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia. During the meeting, the duo discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance them, as well as means ...

  DUBAI / WAM HH Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) unveiled the first ‘Smart Lounge’ of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) to strengthen customer service standards and to ensure round-the-clock access to DED’s business registration and licensing services. Dedicated user-friendly and interactive kiosks and smart devices are ...