Dubai has relaunched an ambitious project to develop its second airport, touted originally as the world's largest, to handle 120 million passengers a year.

The plan aims to expand Al-Maktoum International airport within eight years to shift the growing operations of Emirates Airlines from Dubai International, Dubai Airports chief Paul Griffiths told Agence France Presse on Monday.

Ratings agency Moody's said Monday prolonged political discord in Hong Kong over China's refusal to grant the key financial hub full democracy could negatively impact the city's economy.

But the agency added that the southern Chinese city would likely weather any storm caused by the current political crisis.

A second causeway linking Bahrain with Saudi Arabia and providing a route for a regional railway network being built by Gulf monarchies will cost about $5 billion, a minister said.

"The cost of the causeway will be roughly $5 billion (3.9 billion euros)," Bahrain's Transport Minister Kamal bin Ahmed told Agence France Presse on the sidelines of a two-day business conference, adding that it will be "part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) railway network."

A unit of Dubai Holding, a conglomerate owned by Dubai's ruler, said Sunday it earned 2.1 billion dirhams ($572.2 million) in net profit in the first half of 2014.

Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG), a hospitality, media and property group, said revenues in the six-month period reached 5.6 billion dirhams ($1.53 billion) thanks to a "strong performance in all of its business lines."

General Motors CEO Mary Barra unveiled plans Sunday to make driving safer through hands-free technology, after a string of recalls that has dogged the company.

GM's top-of-the-line Cadillac brand will provide a semi-auto pilot mode dubbed "Super Cruise" on certain 2017 model year cars.

Germany's trade surplus grew strongly in July on the back of booming exports, official data showed on Monday.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Germany exported goods worth a total of 98.2 billion euros ($127 billion) in July, up 4.7 percent from the figure for June, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is in the final stage of talks to buy Ebates, a U.S. cash-back shopping service provider, and boost its business abroad, a report said Saturday.

Rakuten is expected to acquire a majority stake in the San Francisco-based company at an estimated price of more than 100 billion yen ($950 million), the business daily Nikkei reported.

Chinese online marketplace Alibaba unveiled plans Friday to raise up to $24.3 billion in what could be the biggest stock flotation in history.

The company told US regulators it would offer some 320 million shares in a range of $60 to $66 per share. An option will be available for 48 million additional shares.

Americans' obsession with jeans is beginning to wear thin.

Jeans long have been a go-to staple in closets across the country. After all, not many pieces of clothing are so comfortable they can be worn daily, yet versatile enough to be dressed up or down.

The eurozone economy stagnated in the second quarter, official figures showed on Friday, in line with the poor outlook which pushed the European Central Bank into radical action on Thursday.

In a second estimate for growth in the 18-country currency zone, the Eurostat statistics body confirmed zero percent growth from the previous quarter.