KATHMANDU: The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has started to park its data in its own data centre that has been established in Bhairahawa from Monday. IRD has set up data centre outside Kathmandu so that it will be able to recover its data in an event of a disaster. IRD was supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) to set up the data centre, as per IRD Director General Chuda Mani Sharma.

UBS earnings jump

GENEVA: Switzerland’s largest bank UBS on Monday posted a 53 per cent rise in second quarter profits, in its first results since agreeing to plead guilty to fraud as part of the Libor manipulation case. The bank brought in profits of 1.2 billion Swiss francs ($1.25 billion, 1.1 billion euros), with strong performances from its wealth management, corporate and investments units. The bank said it had showed ‘resilience’ in the face of economic uncertainty and rising costs caused by a strong Swiss franc, among other headwinds.

Delta to buy stake

NEW YORK: Delta Air Lines will buy a stake in China Eastern Airlines as the two carriers strengthen their partnership serving the United States and China, the companies announced Monday. Under a preliminary agreement, Delta will invest $450 million to acquire a 3.55 per cent stake in China Eastern and will be given an observer seat on the Shanghai-based airline’s board of directors.

Ryanair aid row

BRUSSELS: The EU referred France to the bloc’s top court on Monday for failing to recover nearly 10 million euros in illegal state aid received by low-cost airlines Ryanair and Transavia. Ireland-based Ryanair and Dutch carrier Transavia received the money from French government in return for basing operations at several French regional airports. The European Commission, EU’s executive arm, ordered Paris in July 2014 to get the money back, saying it had given the firms an unfair advantage.

German confidence

BERLIN: German business confidence rose slightly in July, reflecting relief in Europe’s biggest economy about the easing of the Greece debt crisis, the Ifo economic institute said Monday. Ifo’s closely watched business climate index rose to 108 points, the first increase in three months, from a revised 107.5 points in June, beating analysts’ expectations, the institute said.

Canon profit down

TOKYO: Japan’s Canon said Monday that its net profit fell 20.5 per cent in the first six months of the year as smartphones increasingly take a bite out of demand for digital cameras. It reported a 102.13 billion yen profit for the January to June period, while operating profit fell 11.5 per cent to 170.90 billion yen.