Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras

Saudi Arabia is one of the main contributors to the Islamic finance industry, with an estimated $94 billion in Islamic finance assets representing 26 per cent of the GCC total, a report said.

Russia’s second-largest airline Transaero signed a $1.7 billion deal Thursday to buy four Airbus A380 jets, becoming the first ex-Soviet region carrier to order the world’s biggest passenger jet.

A weakening Indian rupee is likely to contribute to volatility in rough diamond prices for the rest of the year, but longer-term price prospects are bright, the chief executive of London-listed miner Gem Diamonds Ltd said.

The euro slipped in Asian trade Thursday on concerns Spain’s troubled banks may need a bigger bailout, while the greenback got a slight boost after moves by the US Federal Reserve to power the economy.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) should be able to export nearly half of its crude without using the Strait of Hormuz for the first time from early July, with a new pipeline expected to pump a million barrels to the Gulf of Oman Thursday, three industry sources said.

Global ATM software company, KAL, has launched the Retail Teller Machine (RTM), a revolutionary cashless ATM which the the company said will transform branchless banking forever.

Gulf bourses ended mixed in a muted session Thursday that saw investors little moved by index compiler MSCI’s decision to keep frontier market status for the UAE and Qatar, while Egypt’s bourse resumed its decline on political woes.