Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai First, one of the leading consumer finance companies in the UAE, won two awards at the highly prestigious Asian Banker’s Middle East & Africa Awards 2015, – ‘Best Non-Bank Consumer Finance Organisation” and “Best Micro Finance Product of the Year”. The recognition came during The Asian Banker’s 3rd Annual Middle East & Africa Regional …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Open-top driving fun in the world’s only premium convertible in the small car segment has advanced to the next stage. The new MINI Convertible is now on sale in showrooms acorss the Middle East. The open-top 4-seater went on sale at importer showrooms this week — with elegantly stretched lines and a noticeable increase in …

  Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business DLF, one of India’s largest realty firms, is holding a four-day roadshow at the Ritz Carlton Dubai to highlight investment opportunities in DLF’s portfolio of luxury properties. DLF’s latest project is DLF5, a state-of-the-art, integrated development offering high-end residential, commercial, retail and community facilities. DLF5 aims to provide a world-class lifestyle in Gurgaon, India. …

  WASHINGTON / AP When the Federal Reserve chose not to raise its key interest rate, it nevertheless made clear that its next move will be another increase. That stance puts it at odds with other major central banks, which are doing the reverse — seeking to ease credit to spur lending. That policy divergence could pose risks for the …

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG was the best performer among European lenders after reporting a surprise profit in the first quarter as legal expenses dropped and trading businesses performed better than analysts forecast. Net income declined to 214 million euros from 544 million euros in the year-earlier period, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Analysts had forecast a …

  Tokyo / AFP Bank of Japan (BOJ) shocked markets on Thursday as it held fire on fresh stimulus measures, sparking questions about whether there is anything left in its policy arsenal to kickstart a sliding economy. Dealers were caught off guard by the decision, which sent the yen skyrocketing, especially after another set of weak economic data in the …

  Bloomberg EFG International AG, in its second deal this year, has agreed to buy the Luxembourg-based private banking activities of UBI Banca International SA with 3.6 billion euros ($4.1 billion) of client assets. EFG earlier agreed to buy BSI from Brazil’s Grupo BTG Pactual SA in a bid to become Switzerland’s fifth-largest private bank. EFG didn’t disclose the price …

  Reuters Citigroup has dropped out of the group of banks providing a $1.5 billion bridge loan to Gulf-based Adeptio for its planned purchase of a majority stake in Kuwait Food Co (Americana), three sources aware of the matter said on Thursday. The US bank failed to secure internal approval to participate in the deal, with two of the sources …

Bloomberg Airbus Group NV reported a 23 percent drop in first-quarter profit as its two newest jets suffer delivery delays, and said fresh problems with the troubled A400M transport plane could hurt future earnings. A ramp up in production of the A320Neo will be delayed until the second half as Pratt & Whitney works to fix an engine glitch, Airbus …

  Berlin / AFP Germany’s Lufthansa has postponed until September a decision on the acquisition of Brussels Airlines following last month’s deadly attacks on the Belgian capital, the airline said. The delay would allow the Belgian carrier to resume flights in the wake of the suicide bombings that targeted Brussels airport and a metro station, leaving 32 people dead, Lufthansa …