Bloomberg A group led by US real estate investor Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest manager of alternative assets, said second-quarter profit rose 2 percent as it earned more from real estate sales and its credit portfolio gained. Economic net income, a measure of earnings that reflects both realized and unrealized investment gains, increased to $520 million, or 44 ...

  DETROIT / AP A two-storey, wood-frame house became the 10,000th vacant building torn down under Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s massive plan to eliminate blight as the city continues dealing with abandoned properties following a population decline. An excavator was used to quickly tear down the house on Marlowe Street on Detroit’s northwest side. The demolition of 10,000 buildings is ...

  Bloomberg US home prices rose 5.6 percent in May from a year earlier as buyers competed for a scarcity of listings. Prices climbed 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said in a report from Washington. The average estimate of 18 economists was for a 0.4 percent gain, according to the ...

  Bloomberg Tengda Construction Group Co., which builds municipal infrastructure projects in China, plans to form a 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) hydrogen industry fund to finance fuel cells and vehicles powered by the gas. The Taizhou, Zhejiang-based company, agreed to partner with Chang’An International Trust Co., Oriental Patron Financial Group and Bestone Asset Management Co. for the fund, it ...

  RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business As the UAE takes strides towards promoting environment initiatives, companies in the country are also leading the eco-march by example. In a recent and much-talked-about event, when UAE-based hotels chain ‘TIME Hotels’ grabbed the prestigious Green Key Award, the message went out loud and clear — that UAE is committed to the best when ...

  RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business A testimony to the rising popularity and acceptance of digital banking in UAE, a recent report affirms that use of online apps is on a rise in the country. Banking and finance apps usage has more than doubled in recent years, putting a full stop to all speculations about approval of technology in bank ...

  Emirates Business MBLM, the Brand Intimacy Agency focused on strategy, design, creative and technology, announced today the launch of its ‘I Drink Local’ mobile app for the iPhone and Android. I Drink Local is an MBLM initiative created to promote the consumption of local water for a more sustainable environment and reduction of our carbon footprint. The new app ...

  ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business As reports predict that whopping revenue of US$2 trillion will be generated through digital payments globally by 2020, experts also press for the need of having secure networks for the companies to ensure there is no cyber money heist. Industry veterans say that with astonishing rise in the users of digital payment platforms, these ...

  The “spanner in the works” thrown by Brexit at the global economy has failed to massively dent Asia’s growth prospects. But amid warnings of another Asian financial crisis, not everyone is sanguine on the outlook. In its latest “World Economic Outlook” report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided on Tuesday to cut its forecasts for global economic growth for ...

  Sudha Ramachandran SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS India’s ambitious plan to interlink rivers to achieve greater equity in the distribution of water in the country reached an important milestone on July 6, when water from the Godavari, its second-longest river, rushed to meet the fourth-longest, the Krishna. The two became the first of 30 rivers to be linked under the ...