St. Regis Doha served as the Strategic Hospitality Partner 10 December 2016 On 7th and 8th December 2016, Alfardan Group hosted the 4th CSR Conference in Qatar at Al Gassar Ballroom, in the St. Regis Doha. The event was organized by Dar Al Sharq and was held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al Thani, Qatar Central Bank Governor. It focused on strategy […]
For a quick study in market blindness, look at how an obscure US fund reacts to events in a country where markets do not even exist. Nearly two years ago US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro jointly announced their intent to rejuvenate the diplomatic and commercial relationship between their two countries. Until that day, the Cuba closed-end fund had historically traded beneath its net […]
By Antonella Cinelli and Isla Binnie | ROME ROME Political parties made their cases to Italy’s head of state on Saturday for candidates to lead the country out of a government crisis prompted by Matteo Renzi’s resignation as prime minister. President Sergio Mattarella, a 75 year-old former constitutional court judge, must decide if someone can lead the country to elections scheduled for 2018, or whether an interim […]
In early 2009, roughly at the time when this blog was launched which coincided with the start of the greatest monetary experiment of all time, we warned that there are two ways it will end: either in hyperinflation, or a deflationary supernova, the failure of currency and, eventually, barter. Now, almost 8 years later, some of the world’s top hedge funds are in agreement, and they are […]
This is part of a series on the global rise of exchange traded funds The morning after the US election Steven Bregman, a New York-based hedge fund manager, began to notice something strange going on in a corner of the stock market. His screen showed that shares of gold mining companies were being sold indiscriminately, falling by double digits, even though the price of gold itself had […]
In this part of the world, the debate is not just theoretical. Terrorism is an everyday reality, and the role that Facebook and other social media sites may play in inspiring it generates deep emotion. Israel has pushed to combat online provocation that it links to bloodshed. Palestinians consider a crackdown on Facebook posts just another tool of repression by an occupying power. Continue reading the main […]
Submitted by Nomi Prins via TomDispatch.com, Given his cabinet picks so far, it’s reasonable to assume that The Donald finds hanging out with anyone who isn’t a billionaire (or at least a multimillionaire) a drag. What would there be to talk about if you left the Machiavellian class and its exploits for the company of the sort of normal folk you can rouse at a rally? It’s […]
Global investors are turning their backs on French government bonds, reflecting alarm over the capacity for next year’s presidential election to deliver another shock to the eurozone and financial markets. A pronounced drop in French sovereign bond prices suggests they are being treated less like those of a core European economy and more like securities issued by the region’s least creditworthy countries. The selling has pushed the […]
Update, Dec. 9, 2016, 2:22 p.m.: This story has been updated. Donald Trump routinely blasts his political foes for “pay-to-play” politics and “crony capitalism and corruption.” But Trump is now rewarding some of his biggest campaign bankrollers with unparalleled access, influence, prestige and power in his presidential administration-in-waiting, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of new campaign finance disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission. In […]
Opec’s first supply cut in eight years looks set to earn the 13-member cartel an extra $5bn a month in revenues. The 15 per cent rally in oil prices since last Wednesday’s agreement looks like an impressive return from a marginal cut in output, even if the deal was months in the making. Beyond the headline price reaction the market has thrown Opec a curve ball. Oil […]
Saudi Arabia has told its US and European customers it will reduce oil deliveries from January, as Russia said it was confident non-OPEC producers would fully join OPEC’s output limits on Saturday in the first such move since 2001. Saudi Arabia told the customers about lower supplies in line with the output reduction agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last week, according to a […]
It is a story of the markets against the US Federal Reserve — and so far, the markets have been on the right side of the call. Bond market movements have this year proved a better guide to potential shifts in benchmark rates than has the Fed’s official range of projections. But as Donald Trump prepares to take power amid expectations that the Fed will next week […]
09 December 2016 MARC has affirmed its AAA(bg) and AAA(fg) ratings on Premier Merchandise Sdn Bhd’s (Premier Merchandise) RM300 million 7-year Medium-Term Notes (MTN) Programme (Tranche 1) and RM300 million 9-year MTN Programme (Tranche 2) respectively with a stable outlook. Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 are guaranteed by Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) and Danajamin Nasional Berhad (Danajamin) respectively, and the ratings reflect the credit strength of the […]
An upcoming deadline for a major derivatives market reform is “unrealistic” and authorities should consider whether the asset managers and banks most affected are ready, a top US regulator has warned. Christopher Giancarlo, the sole Republican of the three commissioners at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on Friday called on counterparts to prevent new rules due on March 1 from disrupting the global swaps market. His remarks, […]
The Twitter account of Indian entrepreneur Vijay Mallya was apparently hacked Friday morning after messages were posted on his page by individuals who claimed to be part of the same group that broke into the accounts of prominent opposition politicians last week. A message on Mr. Mallya’s Twitter said that his account had been hacked. Messages were briefly posted on his page inviting readers to follow a […]
The European Central Bank’s supervisory arm has rejected a request from Rome to delay a private sector-led rescue for Monte dei Paschi di Siena, leaving Italy little option but to inject state funds and impose losses on creditors. MPS asked the ECB for an extra five weeks to pull off a last-ditch €5bn equity injection for the lender, which emerged as the weakest in the European bank […]
The Indian government has announced several incentives to try and get its citizens to stop using cash and adopt digital payments. Notes have been in short supply in the cash economy ever since the government last month canceled the largest bank notes to drill out ill-gotten wealth. Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced a series of incentives to try and persuade citizens to use cards […]
Investors made the biggest shift in more than three years into funds that help provide protection against rising interest rates ahead of next week’s meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers who are expected to increase overnight borrowing costs for the first time this year. Funds invested in leveraged loans attracted $1.7bn of inflows in the week to December 7 — the greatest weekly haul since 2013 — figures […]
The US government is to check if sanctions where violated when Russia this week struck a deal to sell a stake in oil producer Rosneft to a consortium of Qatar’s sovereign fund and commodities trader Glencore, the White House said. “The experts at the Department of Treasury that are responsible for constructing and enforcing the sanctions regime will carefully look at a transaction like this,” White House […]
FRANKFURT German semiconductor chipmaking machinery company Aixtron (AIXGn.DE) is considering reducing the size of the business with a partial sale, its chief executive said in an interview published on Friday, opening the door for bidders after a deal with a Chinese firm collapsed. “There are two options: First, we could hope that the markets for our products recover and continue investing high sums in new equipment. But […]
In 2011, as skincare brand Nivea marked its centenary with a string of parties across the world, Indian billionaire BR Shetty hosted his own private celebration in his extraordinary apartment in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. No humble pied-à-terre, this pad occupies the entire 100th floor of the tallest building in the world — not bad for the former pharmaceutical salesman, who was one of the first people to […]
Friday 06:00 GMT Overview Markets across Asia were mostly higher as investors reflected on record highs for Wall Street and the European Central Bank’s decision to tweak its asset purchase programme. European bourses are expected to open little changed, with spreadbetters predicting the UK’s FTSE 100 will be flat at 6,932 and Germany’s Dax to add 7 points to 11,186. US index futures suggest the S&P 500 […]
By Lisa Twaronite and Wayne Cole | TOKYO/SYDNEY TOKYO/SYDNEY Asian shares edged down on Friday but were on track for weekly gains, while the euro became more settled after the volatility seen in the wake of the European Central Bank’s decision to trim the size of its asset purchase program while also extending it for longer than many analysts had expected. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares […]
Relegated to the backbench of the UK parliament, George Osborne has a great deal more time on his hands after the very public failed Brexit ‘Remain’ campaign. The former British chancellor is using the downtime to investigate why a wave of populist nationalism is currently sweeping across the world – and how it managed to bruise his political career as well as that of former prime minister […]
