In January of 2016, the Bundesbank announced that three years after commencing the transfer of some of its offshore-held gold from vaults located at the Banque de France in Paris and the NY Fed in New York, it had repatriated a total of 366.3 tonnes, bringing the German central bank’s gold reserves held in Frankfurt to 1,402 tonnes, or 41.5% of Germany’s total gold of 3,381 tonnes, […]
FRANKFURT European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann said plans for a state bailout of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) should be weighed carefully as many questions remain to be answered, according to German newspaper Bild. “For the measures planned by the Italian government the bank has to be financially healthy at its core. The money cannot be used to cover losses that are already […]
AJMAN // With unspoilt beaches, majestic mountains and competitive prices, tourists from the UAE and around the world are flocking to the Northern Emirates. The Ajman Tourism Development Department said 552,220 tourists have stayed in hotels this year, compared to 509,658 last year, said Faisal Al Nuaimi, general manager of the department. In Fujairah, more than 760,000 visitors stayed in hotels, a 6 per cent increase from […]
Well before India’s surprise ban on using 86 per cent of its cash supply, rightwing circles were abuzz with speculation about prime minister Narendra Modi taking such a step to fight so-called black money. Mainstream economists paid little heed to the chatter — deeming it “too preposterous” to take seriously, given the economic damage it would inflict. But with India now reeling from the acute cash crunch triggered […]
Saudi Arabia will resist plans to introduce a tax on expat remittances for now, according to Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, secretary general of the Financial Committee at the Royal Court. Saudi Arabia’s Shura council has discussed plans to impose a 2 to 6 percent tax on expat workers’ remittances, following a proposal submitted by former Shura council member Husam Al Angari. He proposed an initial tax of 6 percent […]
Kuwait, 26 December 2016 Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” and Gulf Bank announced in a joint statement the successful completion of “Markaz” 5 years bond issue with a nominal value of 25 Million Kuwaiti Dinar, which was oversubscribed. This extensive demand reflects the investors’ trust in “Markaz”, the quality of the issue, and the high creditworthiness of “Markaz,” in addition to the effectiveness of the joint distribution efforts […]
MILAN/LONDON On the morning of July 29, former Italian Industry Minister Corrado Passera was traveling in a high-speed train toward the medieval city of Siena, racing to meet the directors of the world’s oldest bank to present them with a rescue plan. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third-largest lender, was destined to be wound down within months unless it could raise billions of euros and pull […]
Over the past year, technology and ‘sharing economy’ start-ups have continued their disruption of traditional industries — from Uber and other ride hailers’ shake-up of the taxi market to Airbnb’s myriad alternatives to conventional hotel stays. But which will be the next businesses to be challenged by further digitisation and automation? FT correspondents have looked ahead five to 10 years to identify those industry sectors and companies […]
JERUSALEM: In the days following the UN Security Council’s resolution affirming the illegality of Israeli settlements, it is business as usual as the Jerusalem municipality is expected to approve about 5,600 more homes.Israeli officials acknowledged that the move to expand the settlements in East Jerusalem was a direct response to the Security Council Resolution 2334 that was approved by 14 countries — Britain, Russia, China, France, Egypt […]
Dubai’s Shuaa Capital bought 14 percent of Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank on Sunday for 9.6 million dinars ($25 million) and said it would use the stake to support the bank’s expansion. The Dubai-listed investment bank purchased the stake from Alimtiaz Investment Group for 0.065 dinar per share, acquiring 147.1 million shares in a special auction, the Bahraini bourse said. KHCB is an Islamic retail bank with assets […]
Dubai, December 25, 2016 Nikai Electronics, a part of the Nikai Group of Companies, has been honoured with the Sheikh Khalifa Business Excellence Award (SKEA) in the Commercial sector. The prestigious award, an initiative of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, aims at providing continuous improvement and enhancing competitiveness within the business sector in the UAE. The coveted award was conferred to Nikai at a […]
2016 was chock-full of surprises, both in markets and in politics. As Goldman’s Allison Nathan explains, the year began with a perfect storm of worries that had become all too familiar already in 2015. Oil prices plunged and fears of faltering growth and a sharp depreciation of China’s currency escalated, driving disruptive sell-offs in credit and other risk assets. Confidence in global growth faltered, particularly after an […]
When US authorities started pursuing banks for their role in slicing, dicing and packaging the arcane products that sparked the financial crisis, they initially focused on domestic lenders. Now it is Europe’s banks that are in the crosshairs. Two days before Christmas, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have agreed to settle with the US Department of Justice over the alleged mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up […]
I’d like to be able to say France withdrawing from the EU is a potential downside catalyst for stocks. However, these days nothing matters. Stocks would go up if nuclear war was initiated wordwide. There’s literally nothing that can stop stocks from heading higher. But in the event you’re still nostalgic about news, France’s Le Pen wants stronger ties with Moscow, out of the EU and NATO — […]
By Jeffrey Heller | JERUSALEM JERUSALEM Israel summoned the ambassadors of 10 nations to Jerusalem to reprimand them on Sunday and had more harsh words for the Obama administration over a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlement-building. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put his personal imprint on the show of anger by repeating at the weekly cabinet meeting what an unidentified Israeli government official contended […]
BEIJING China needs to keep financial market liquidity stable and regulate its “money gates” to prevent asset bubbles, but it also needs to ensure a lack of liquidity doesn’t cause financial stress, according to a commentary in a newspaper owned by the People’s Bank of China. Chinese policymakers face a dilemma as they need to tighten credit to contain debt and speculative investment without triggering a wave […]
Israel on Sunday summoned ambassadors of countries that belong to the UN Security Council for a Christmas Day reprimand for their support of a resolution condemning Israel’s illegal settlements on Palestinian lands. The UK was among the countries which saw its diplomats called into Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs on Sunday. David Quarrey, Britain’s ambassador to Israel, told the Financial Times. While Mr Quarrey was in the […]
By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON New U.S. single-family home sales rose more than expected in November and consumer sentiment hovered near a 13-year high this month, strengthening the view that the economy will gain further momentum next year. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to cut taxes and increase infrastructure spending is expected to boost economic growth, though it already has sparked a surge in mortgage rates that […]
Three Société Générale executives have been arrested in Equatorial Guinea for allegedly breaking its banking secrecy laws, accused of leaking financial documents to be used against the country’s vice president during his upcoming corruption trial in Paris. The move is the latest in a tit-for-tat battle between the two countries after French prosecutors this year formally charged the vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang, of acquiring real estate, luxury […]
Abu Dhabi 22 December 2016 Union National Bank (UNB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS). The signing ceremony took place on Tuesday 20th December 2016, at UNB head office, Abu Dhabi, and was attended by Mr. Mohammad Ali, Deputy CEO from UNB, and Mr. Jamal Al Jassmi General Manager of EIBFS, along with other Senior Executives from […]
JERUSALEM Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it […]
By Tracy Rucinski | CHICAGO CHICAGO Caesars Entertainment Corp’s (CZR.O) bankrupt operating unit resolved a dispute with its lenders on Friday, paving the way for a consensual plan to push the casino group out of its $18 billion Chapter 11. In filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago, bank lenders said they had reached an agreement over their recovery terms and were withdrawing a threat to […]
Photo Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, at a ceremony on Saturday marking the beginning of Hanukkah, described a Security Council resolution condemning Israeli construction in the West Bank as “delusional” and “absurd.” Credit Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images JERUSALEM — In a furious riposte a day after the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of a resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on […]
Written by Ritu Sarin | New Delhi | Published:December 25, 2016 4:55 am The Letters of Intent along with the precise quantum of orders to each foreign firm would be finalised soon. The remonetisation drive — and the frantic printing of banknotes — has brought some Christmas cheer for some of the world’s largest currency paper suppliers. Over Thursday and Friday, principals of eight foreign firms were […]
