Kirkuk /Â AFP Iraqi special forces led an operation on Tuesday aimed at retaking the extremist-held town of Qayyarah, a key staging base for operations to attack Mosul, military sources said. Qayyarah lies on the western bank of the Tigris river, about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul, the IS group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq. With the ...
Read More »Merkel wants migrant deals with N African states
Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Tuesday on the EU and North African countries to do deals modelled on a controversial agreement with Turkey to stem migrant flows to Europe. Under the EU-Turkey agreement, Ankara agreed to take back one Syrian who made it to Greece in return for being allowed to send one from its massive ...
Read More »3 held in France in August for planning attacks
Paris / AFP Seven people with links to terrorist networks, at least three of whom were planning attacks, have been arrested in France this month, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday. Cazeneuve said at a press conference that French police had arrested as many people for terror links in the first half of 2016 as for the whole ...
Read More »Bank of Montreal posts US$964mn net profit
Bloomberg Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest lender, posted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as US banking and capital markets trading revenue rose. Net income for the period ended July 31 climbed 4.4 percent to C$1.25 billion ($964 million), or C$1.86 a share, from C$1.19 billion, or C$1.80, a year earlier, the Toronto-based bank said in a statement on Tuesday. ...
Read More »Saxo Bank makes MENA appointments
Emirates Business Saxo Bank, the online investment and trading specialist, announces on Sunday two senior appointments as it continues to grow and invest in its retail and institutional functions across the Middle East, reflecting the region’s importance as a growth hub for both Saxo’s retail and institutional business. Mario Camara has joined the company as Head of Saxo Dubai. An ...
Read More »RAKBANK launches ‘Home in One’ in GCC
Emirates Business RAKBANK on Sunday launched – “Home in One†– a first of its kind Home Loan facility in the GCC that not only offers customers competitive interest rates that start at 3.49% per year, but also helps them pay off their mortgage loan much sooner. Home in One is a Combo product that brings together a customer’s ...
Read More »Turkey cuts rates again, defying inflation leap
AFP Turkey’s central bank on Tuesday cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points, defying a sharp jump in inflation following the failed July 15 coup. The central bank said the overnight lending rate was trimmed to 8.5 percent from 8.75 percent and its one-week repurchasing rate remained stable at 7.5 percent. The overnight borrowing rate also remained ...
Read More »Opaque assets at Europe Investment Banks fuel capital doubts
Bloomberg Eight years after the financial crisis, Europe’s biggest investment banks are holding illiquid assets amounting to more than half their combined shareholders’ equity, underlining concerns about capital. Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse Group AG and Barclays Plc say their hardest-to-value securities — known as Level 3 assets — were worth $102.5 billion at the end of June. These ...
Read More »Qantas investors demand dividend map
Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd. shareholders have cheered Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce’s efforts to turn around the marquee Australian carrier, helping the stock more than triple in under three years. Now they want to see a roadmap for reinstating dividends. Australia’s biggest airline, which has withheld dividends for seven years, is expected to announce Wednesday record annual profit because ...
Read More »SriLankan Airlines moves to new location in Dubai
Emirates Business All of its commercial and business activities are now carried out in the second floor of the plush Sharaf Building owned by the Sharaf Group, who has also been SriLankan Airlines’ General Sales Agent in Dubai since June 1. Some of the dignitaries that graced the occasion were –Mr.Charitha Yattogoda, Consul General for Sri Lanka in Dubai, ...
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