Switzerland's central bank said Friday it lost a record 50 billion francs ($51 billion, 47 billion euros) in the first half of 2015, due mainly to the hefty depreciation of its foreign currency holdings.

The Swiss National Bank had been holding down the value of the franc for more than three years, but suddenly announced on January 15 that it was abandoning the minimum rate of 1.20 francs to a euro.

Controversial app-based taxi-hailing firm Uber plans to invest $1 billion in India over the next nine months, the company's local head said in a statement emailed to Agence France Presse on Friday.

Uber has endured a bumpy ride since it started operating in India two years ago, with a rape allegation against one of its drivers leading the New Delhi government to ban it.

Britain's state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group said on Friday that net profits rose by 31 percent in the first half, despite setting aside further funds for compensation for insurance mis-selling.

Earnings after tax rose to £874 million (1.245 million euros, $1.364 million) in the six months to June, and the company announced a dividend of 0.75 percent per share, amounting to £535 million.

Ukraine's finance ministry warned Thursday it could declare a technical default in two months should its lenders fail to accept less stringent repayment terms and a possible partial debt write-off.

The war-shattered state's words of caution came on the eve of a crucial Washington meeting at which the International Monetary Fund is expected to back the release of a new payment that would keep Ukraine's $40-billion (37-billion-euro) global rescue package live.

Europe's biggest bank by capitalization, Santander of Spain, said Thursday quarterly profits surged 17.2 percent to 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion) on growth in markets including Britain and a weak euro.

Relatively unscathed by Spain's banking crisis due to its overseas operations, the group saw its business grow in its 10 "core markets," including in Spain's recovering economy, it said in a statement.

Spain's economy expanded by 1 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous three-month period, its best rate since before the economic crisis began in 2007.

It was Spain's eight consecutive quarterly growth figure.

Smoke rises as crude oil is heated in Rmeilan oil field of Syria's Hasakeh province, where the Kurds, having fought off jihadists, are extracting and refining oil for the first time.

Located in the middle of the desert in the northeastern province of the war-torn country, Rmeilan is Syria's largest oil field in terms of surface area.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday said he would hold early elections if hardliners in his party continued to resist an unpopular new bailout deal that promised debt relief.

"If we do not have a parliament majority I will be forced, we will be forced to hold elections," Tsipras said in a two-hour interview with Sto Kokkino radio.

The following information is provided by Bnooki.com that is a FREE online platform that gathers data related to financial products and services offered by banks and financial institutions in Lebanon.

You may need new house equipment; your children are applying to university, or maybe it is time for travel. Perhaps a personal loan may be the way to achieve that. But don’t rush, taking a personal loan option is often not the right move.

Nissan on Wednesday said its net profit for the three months to June soared 36.3 percent to $1.3 billion on strong sales in North America and Europe.

Japan's number-two automaker said its quarterly net profit reached 152.8 billion yen ($1.3 billion), while operating profit jumped 58.0 percent to 193.7 billion yen.