Top Kuwait investment bank's loss falls

Global Investment House, Kuwait's biggest investment bank, said its second-quarter loss narrowed as interest expenses and operating costs declined. The shares surged the most in at least eight years. The net loss in the second quarter was 16.7 million Kuwait dinars ($224.7 million) compared with 20.3 million dinars a year earlier, according to a company statement on the Kuwait bourse's website. The first-half loss was 38.7 million dinars compared with 34.4 million dinars. First-half principal investment losses of 28.2 million dinars were largely due to 6.8 million dinars in losses from the "share of results of associates" and the impact of political unrest on regional equity markets and on Global's holdings, the company said in an e-mailed statement.