Bloomberg Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate near a record low, seeking to preserve policy room despite signs that the economy is heading deeper into deflation again. The one-day bond repurchase rate was left at 1.5 percent, with monetary policy committee members voting unanimously in favor, the Bank of Thailand said in Bangkok. All 21 economists surveyed by …

Bloomberg Bank failures in Italy and the drawn-out rescue of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA revealed the frayed edges in Europe’s patchwork of rules for dealing with firms in crisis, and fixes are needed to make the system work as intended, according to Elke Koenig, who makes the call on saving or shuttering major euro-area lenders. “Let’s try …

Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group signaled that a turnaround that began early this year is continuing as summer bookings rise and tourists from Asia and the US return to France after staying away in 2016. “The second quarter is good and the bookings for this summer are also quite positive compared to last year,” Jean-Marc Janaillac said in an interview at …

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etisalat on Sunday announced its commercial launch of NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies becoming the first operator in the MENA region to offer these new technologies enabling variety of solutions and services. Both NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) and LTE-M (Long Term Evolution for machines) technologies are 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) based standardized technologies using …

Bloomberg South Korea’s police raided the head office of Korean Air Lines Co. in Seoul to probe alleged misuse of company funds, the first crackdown on a major local conglomerate after President Moon Jae-in came to power in May. Police are investigating allegations that Chairman Cho Yang-ho, the head of Hanjin Group that controls Korean Air, had interior work done …

Bloomberg A Deutsche Lufthansa AG pilot who was grounded when he turned 65 lost his age-discrimination fight at the European Union’s top court, which said EU legislation imposing the limit is justified for safety reasons. “It is undeniable that the physical capabilities essential to the profession of an airline pilot diminish with age,” the EU Court of Justice said in …

Bloomberg Airbus SE Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders will take control of sales and marketing for the company’s planemaking division in a move that dilutes the role of chief operating officer and commercial-aircraft president Fabrice Bregier. The change comes after Airbus implemented a shift to a single corporate structure that folds the civil arm more closely into the group. That …

Dubai / WAM Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade grew 2.7 percent to reach AED327 billion in the first quarter of 2017, compared with the AED318 billion in the same quarter of 2016, according to the data published by Dubai Customs. H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, praised …

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in ‘Al Dhafra Region’, HE Staff Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Khalfan Al Mazrouei, Chief of the General Authority for the Security of Ports, Borders and Free Zones, and Board Member of Abu Dhabi Ports, officially inaugurated Delma Port on Saturday. …

Dubai / wam Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), announced a partnership with Trane Commercial for the purchase of new chillers in what is considered the biggest deal in the district cooling industry worldwide. The agreement was signed at the end of the IDEA Annual Conference & Tradeshow 2017 held in Arizona, USA. Accordingly, Trane Commercial will supply Empower with …