AP Long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged higher this week, remaining near historically low levels as a continued enticement to prospective homebuyers. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.45 percent from 3.42 percent last week. The average rate is down sharply from 4.04 percent a year ago. The 15-year fixed …

  Bloomberg Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency plans to sell real estate loans with a face value of about 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion), two people with knowledge of the matter said. NAMA is expected to seek bids for the portfolio, known as Project Gem, toward the end of 2016 and the portfolio will sell at a substantial discount to …

  Bloomberg It’s a good time to buy a home in New York’s Hamptons, especially for shoppers with more than $3 mn to spend. Sales of luxury homes in the area, known as Wall Street’s beachside retreat, fell 20 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 57 deals, while the number of high-end listings climbed, according to …

  Eindhoven / AFP Former refugees Massoud and Mahmud Hassani stunned the world three years ago with an invention like a dandelion puffball that sought to rid the world of landmines. Now the Afghan brothers are back with their latest creation: a low-cost drone to detect and destroy mines, which each year claim thousands of lives. Ridding the world of …

  Andrew Griffiths / TNS It’s hard to always be feeling “up” in the world of business. There are always going to be those times when there just isn’t any “mojo” left for anything. The real problems arise when it’s not just a bad morning or a bad day, but a bad year. Over the years I’ve certainly had those …

  Our Correspondent EMIRATES BUSINESS Enjazat Services was established in 2009 as a national firm to serve the business community in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The company provides a wide range of services aimed towards the business community including public and private sectors as well as to individuals to facilitate their transactions and supply value to their businesses, operations …

  Our Correspondent EMIRATES BUSINESS From the world’s most demanding race-track directly onto the road: Never before has Mercedes AMG packed so much motorsport technology into a production vehicle than into the new AMG GT R. The front-mid-engine concept with transaxle, the twin-turbo V-8 engine rated at 430 kW/585 hp, the extensively modified suspension, the new aerodynamics and the intelligent …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business A UAE delegation led by the Ministry of Economy concluded its productive participation in the activities of the 14th UN Conference on Trade and Development held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from July 17 till 22, 2016. The group was headed by H.E. Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, …

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will hold its 2016 AFC Annual Awards Night ceremony at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi on 1st December. The event will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates Football Association (UAEFA) and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) who signed an agreement with the AFC today in Kuala Lumpur …

  Dubai / WAM Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) won the International Star for Leadership in Quality in the Gold Category from Business Initiative Directions (BID) for outstanding excellence and quality, in accordance with the QC100 criteria, for economic growth, leadership, technical development, and innovation. The Award was received by Marwan Al Zaabi, Vice President of Corporate Excellence at DEWA, …