DUBAI / Reuters Gulf shares were marginally lower on Thursday amid caution from investors ahead of companies reporting first quarter results. Dubai insurance companies made strong gains by the close, lifted by investor bets on good results from the sector and market speculation on consolidation. Dar Al Takaful Insurance jumped 14.84 percent at the closing bell, while Dubai Islamic ...

  Bloomberg Asian emerging markets were among the biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve’s massive balance-sheet build-up over the past decade. So it’s tempting to conclude the Fed’s coming asset wind-down bodes ill for bonds and equities from South Korea to Taiwan. The key gauge to watch may not be the pace at which the US central bank’s balance-sheet contracts ...

  NEW YORK / AP YouTube TV, Google’s new streaming package of about 40 television channels, is the tech industry’s latest bid to get cable-shunning millennials to pay for live TV over the internet. It offers intriguing advantages over rivals, but it remains hobbled by a limited channel selection. Don’t confuse the YouTube service, with Netflix, Amazon Prime and other ...

  Bloomberg Facebook Inc. has increased the number of its African users to 170 million and plans to expand further by adding wifi hotspots and laying fiber-optic cables in a bid to spread its reach outside of developed markets. The figure is 42 percent higher than when the US social network first opened an African office in 2015, Carolyn Everson, ...

  LONDON / AP Britain’s High Court ruled that it can decide what mobile phone manufacturers should pay to use patented technology that is essential to make mobile networks function. In a case that helps clarify how patents are handled in the telecoms industry, Justice Colin Birss ruled that neither of the parties in the case had made a “fair, ...

    Bloomberg Yunfeng Financial Group Ltd., the financial services company backed by Alibaba-billionaire Jack Ma, has created a robo-advisor application to manage the wealth of regular Chinese and Hong Kong investors, a segment traditionally neglected by banks and financial institutions. The service — called Youyu — targets anyone who has a bank account in Hong Kong with at least ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Infrastructure and Environment Committee of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi approved several infrastructure projects. These projects come to meet the growth and sustainability needs of the region and were adopted as part of the Abu Dhabi plan at a total cost of AED74 million. The Committee approved the awarding of the operation and ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM UAE stock markets continued their gaining streak on April 5, with the share of the new First Abu Dhabi Bank, (Ticker NBAD), maintaining its upward rise up to AED 11.35, supported by a buying spree by foreign and local investors. Transactions over the new share hit AED 375 million, an-all-time high in years, ahead of ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business UAE, represented by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), signed an agreement for protection and promotion of investment with Angola, on Ministry’s premises in Dubai. The agreement comes in line with the Ministry’s strategy to expand its network of international relations and protect investments abroad. The agreement was signed by HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates NBD Capital Limited (EMCAP), the investment banking division of Emirates NBD PJSC, one of the largest banking groups in the Middle East by assets, has successfully completed its role in the landmark IPO of ENBD REIT, which admitted shares to trading on Nasdaq Dubai on March 23. EMCAP acted as Listing Advisor to ENBD ...