New Jersey regulators have given permission to Dubai World to raise its stakes in MGM Mirage, Bloomberg has reported. Dubai World is the second biggest shareholder and was given permission to own as much as 20% of the the entertainment conglomerate. Dubai World has currently 9.4% stake in MGM. Dubai World can raise its MGM share to 14.75% and would still needs permission from Michigan's regulators before it can make a 20% investment.

Dubai Properties, master real estate developer and a subsidiary of Dubai Properties Group (DPG), today announced the Dhs50bn Culture Village project has crossed key construction milestones, including the completion of 90% of the Dhs500m infrastructure works.

Stocks in Europe close lower in thin trading, paced by a decline in banks including France's Natixis and Spain's Banco Santander. London market is closed.

On behalf of H.E. Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, H.E. Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Director General of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, will lead a 5-man UAE delegation to the 77th edition of Izmir International Fair, Turkey's oldest trade fair, to be held from August 22 to August 31, 2008, at the International Izmir Fair Center, Izmir, Turkey.

According to Reuters LPC/DealScan, Emirates NBD is ranked as the number one mandated arranger for corporate deals in the UAE with 10.58% share of the UAE market, Gulf News has reported. The bank has arranged deals valued at more than $23bn since the beginning of 2008, while as book runner, it has closed a total of 10 deals valued at $14.7bn. The bank is seen to widen its role in the institutional banking industry in the UAE and the region.

Dow Jones Indexes and the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first and North America's only voluntary, legally binding integrated greenhouse gas emissions reduction, registry and trading system, are launching  the Dow Jones/CCX European Carbon Index and Dow Jones/CCX Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) Index, which serve as benchmarks for participants seeking exposure to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), respectively. The two new indexes are the first in a series of global emissions indexes to be launched jointly by Dow Jones Indexes and CCX.

Dubai Bank, a Dubai Group company, has announced its Information Security Management System (ISMS) has been accredited at the highest possible level, receiving ISO 27001:2005 certification.

Shares of major U.S. investment banks fell Monday morning amid an overall retreat in financial stocks. Shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. dropped $1.07, or 7.4 percent, to $13.34 as speculation mounted that the company could be bought by South Korea's Korean Development Bank.

Africa Israel Investments Ltd. is an international holding and investments company, focused in the fields of real estate, construction & infrastructure, energy and related industries sectors. Headquartered in Israel where it is one of the country's ...

A pleasant way to spend a couple of hours - delving through recipes from books and magazines with the aim of matching 5 dishes to 5 different wines. These were all white wines from the Hugel stable in Alsace ready for the Twitter Tasting organised in America but stretching across to these shores and down to France with Etienne Hugel himself participating. With each course to be as simple as possible a couple of matches were easy: with the Gewrztraminer a foie gras (with toast and a little fig chutney) and with the Pinot Blanc an Alsace speciality (or the closest we could locate) an onion tart. I read somewhere that coconut macaroons were a sensational match to sweet Gewrztraminers, so that was the final dish sorted which left a course for the mixed grape blend and another for a top-notch Riesling. The host, Rob, insisted on a pork dish and I came up with Pork Medallions with Mustard Mash with Apple and a Cider Reduction. A triumphant match as it transpired. Scallops from Borough Market formed the opening course; which I was unexpectedly asked to cook! A few shavings of fresh ginger, a little garlic, slithers of a mild, fresh red chilli and a sprinkling of dried coriander were added to the pan before the scallops turned rubbery. A splosh of white wine and a pinch of pepper, a quick shake of the pan and a squeeze of lemon and then out to the expectant guests. To be honest I thought I had overdone the spice but nods all round seemed to indicate a success!  read more »