Bloomberg The Bank of Israel left its benchmark interest rate near zero, as growth slowed, home prices rose and exporters braced for the impact of the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union — Israel’s largest trading partner. The decision to hold the rate at 0.1 percent was forecast by all 17 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The central ...

  Bloomberg The Central Bank of Kenya maintained its benchmark interest rate at 10.5 percent with an eye on accelerating inflation and concerns that Britain’s exit from the European Union may trigger capital flight. The decision by the monetary policy committee led by Governor Patrick Njoroge was anticipated by seven of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. One economist predicted a ...

  AFP Yahoo sealed a deal Monday to sell its core business to telecom giant Verizon for $4.8 billion, ending a two-decade run as an independent company for the internet pioneer. The agreement announced by the two companies after months of negotiations comes following a years-long decline for the iconic firm that introduced many people around the world to the ...

  Relaxnews After its first presentation in May 2016 at the Google I/0 conference, summer brings more news on the latest version of Android — version 7.0, also known as Nougat — ahead of its official launch this fall. VIRUS DETECTION BLOCKS SYSTEM BOOTING Android is the world’s most popular mobile operating system (84.1% market share for Q1 2016, according ...

  Relaxnews The first ever genuine Star Wars drones are official and despite not going on sale until the fall and currently not being available to US fans even to reserve, the buzz they’re creating can be heard in a galaxy far, far away. Built by Propel and called ‘Battle Quads’ rather than drones, the range will launch with a ...

  Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co.’s revenue growth accelerated in the first half as upgraded smartphones and network gear helped China’s largest vendor of telecommunications equipment counter deteriorating demand. The world’s third-largest smartphone brand grew revenue 40 percent to 245.5 billion yuan ($37 billion) in the first six months, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement. That’s up from the 30 ...

  Bloomberg Indian Railways plans to rack up debt to help fund an unprecedented modernization plan. Some 2.5 trillion rupees ($37 billion) of debt is required in the five years through 2020, according to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. That’s more than triple the 692 billion rupees of outstanding Indian Railway Finance Corp. bonds. The network is also exploring non-fare revenue ...

  AFP GAIL India Ltd. is seeking to defer a 20-year contract to buy liquefied natural gas from Gazprom PJSC until the Russian company’s Shtokman project begins production, officials at the South Asian country’s biggest gas transporter said. New Delhi-based GAIL signed a contract in 2012 to buy 2.5 million metric tons a year of LNG from Gazprom starting in ...

  AFP Japan on Monday posted its first half-year trade surplus since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, after the accident sent energy import bills soaring and led to a string of deficits. The world’s third largest economy logged a January-June surplus of 1.8 trillion yen ($17 billion), against a 1.69 trillion yen deficit in the same period last year, the ...

  AFP An Australian couple are raffling their tropical island resort and say they hope whoever holds the winning US$49 ticket loves warm weather. Doug and Sally Beitz moved to the remote Micronesian island of Kosrae in the 1990s, but now want to return to Australia to enjoy being grandparents. Instead of selling their 16-room Kosrae Nautilus Resort to a ...