The U.S. Federal Reserve defied investor expectations on Wednesday by postponing the start of the wind down of its massive monetary stimulus, saying it wanted to wait for more evidence of solid economic growth. Investors responded by propelling U.S. stocks to record highs and driving down bond yields. Yields on U.S. Treasury debt had risen over the summer on expectations the Fed would cut back its $85 […]
Bahrain-based Islamic investment firm Arcapita has become the first Gulf company to emerge from U.S. bankruptcy under Chapter 11 rules, in a move that could help clarify how Islamic finance is treated in Western courts. Arcapita’s plan, which came into effect on Tuesday, will see it transfer its assets into a new holding company which will dispose of them over time to pay off creditors, effectively a […]
GEMS Education, a Dubai-based schools operator, is seeking to raise about $500 million to fund growth by selling a stake of up to 20 percent in the privately owned company, Chairman Sunny Varkey said. GEMS, which employs about 11,000 staff, operates around 100 private schools across the Gulf region, home to many prosperous expatriates. Private schools in countries such as the United Arab Emirates are expanding rapidly […]
DAMAC Properties, a privately held Dubai property developer, has hired two international investment banks to help arrange an initial public offering of shares in London and join a growing list of Gulf companies seeking overseas listings. Deutsche Bank and Citigroup Inc will advise on the planned flotation, two banking sources aware of the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public. The […]
Just Falafel, a United Arab Emirates-based franchise restaurant offering the traditional Arab food, has hired an advisor to help arrange an initial public offer of shares on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse as soon as October, sources said. The plan suggests IPO activity in Dubai is resuming after a gap of more than four years caused by the global financial crisis and the emirate’s 2009-2010 property market crash. […]
The United Arab Emirates central bank is expected to announce within one or two months rules restricting the amount of exposure which banks can have to the debt of government-related entities (GREs), a top commercial banker said on Tuesday. Abdulaziz al-Ghurair, head of the national banking industry association and chief executive of Mashreq Bank, told reporters that each bank would then discuss the time frame for its […]
Shares dipped and the dollar lost ground on Tuesday as investors consolidated positions before a U.S. Federal policy meeting at which the central bank is set to start scaling back stimulus. German Bunds also edged lower, with the 10-year yields rising 1 basis point to 1.888 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3 percent in early trade, retreating from a five-year high hit […]
Singapore regulators have stepped up their scrutiny of some local branches of Indian banks on concerns about asset quality, three bank executives told Reuters. India’s slowest economic growth in a decade and a weakened rupee have weighed on the balance sheets of heavily leveraged Indian companies, including those that have raised money from Indian lenders in offshore centres such as Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) […]
Commercial banks in the United Arab Emirates are expected to post net profit growth of about 20 percent in 2013, the chairman of the Gulf state’s banking federation said on Wednesday. UAE banks such as Dubai lender Emirates NBD and National Bank of Abu Dhabi posted strong second-quarter earnings thanks to an economic recovery in key sectors, primarily real estate, and lower provisions as the Gulf state […]
Asian shares surrendered earlier gains while the dollar remained under pressure on Thursday, facing growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s impending stimulus reduction might be smaller than some had believed. The waning likelihood of an immediate U.S. military strike on Syria also continued to undermine the dollar as diplomatic efforts to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control intensified. European stocks are seen edging up, as […]
Gold will extend a drop into 2014 as the U.S. Federal Reserve tapers stimulus, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said, forecasting that a decision by the central bank to start reducing bond-buying next week may spur renewed selling. The reduction of asset purchases may be the catalyst that pushes gold prices lower, analysts including Jeffrey Currie and Damien Courvalin wrote in a report today. Goldman’s economists expect that […]
Last week was a key week not only for key economic data points, but the outcome of the G20 summit in St Petersburg which centered on the U.S.’s campaign to drum up last minute support for imminent military action in Syria. Markets particularly in the MENA region have been on tenterhooks with volatility prevailing in MENA indices including Turkey. The Lira reached a record low at 2.0841 […]
The Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC) has become the first central counterparty (CCP) in the Middle East to join Euroclear’s global Collateral Highway. The DCCC guarantees settlement for all trades executed on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), which is supported by a system of initial and variation margins. Scheduled for full operation in early 2014, this exclusive agreement with Euroclear will enable clients of DCCC […]
Benchmark London prices for physical gold fell to US$1363 lunchtime Tuesday, down 2.3% from Monday’s high as the Assad regime in Syria accepted a Russian-backed plan to give its chemical weapons to international control. The Rupee meantime rose to a 2-session high after new Indian trade data showed gold imports falling and exports rising in August. Premiums in Asian markets, over and above London’s benchmark gold price, […]
Fitch Ratings has upgraded UAE-based Tamweel PJSC’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’, Short-Term IDR to ‘F1’ from ‘F2’ and Support Rating to ‘1’ from ‘2’. Fitch has simultaneously withdrawn Tamweel’s ratings. At the same time, the senior unsecured programme rating of Tamweel Funding III Limited (TFIII) has been upgraded to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’ and withdrawn, and the senior unsecured Long-Term rating of the […]
First Gulf Bank (FGB), the United Arab Emirates’ third largest bank, is cutting about 300 jobs, equivalent to nearly 10 percent of its workforce, as part of a restructuring, sources familiar with the matter said. FGB, controlled by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, informed employees about the plan last week and the cuts will mainly affect its consumer banking business, the sources said. They were speaking on condition […]
A week of gains for world stocks petered out on Wednesday and a sell-off in oil and core government debt eased, as talks began on trying to avert a U.S. military strike on Syria against a broadly calm market backdrop. The safe-haven yen was at a seven-week low against the dollar and stood near multi-year lows against the euro and sterling, while shares in Europe inched lower […]
Internet security experts are calling for a campaign to rewrite Web security in the wake of disclosures that the U.S. National Security Agency has developed the capability to break encryption protecting millions of sites. But they acknowledged the task won’t be easy, in part because internet security has relied heavily on brilliant government scientists who now appear suspect to many. Leading technologists said they felt betrayed that […]
Dubai’s iconic island resort, Atlantis, The Palm, has closed an $880 million syndicated loan, a $30 million increase from its original $850 million target, according to banking sources. The loan was provided by a group of seven local and international banks comprising Barclays, HSBC, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Union National Bank and Emirates NBD, the bankers said.company Istithmar. […]
GOLD Coast property developer Sunland has failed to persuade the Victorian Court of Appeal that it was duped into paying a $14 million walk-away fee for a block of land in Dubai to two Melbourne men later convicted of receiving a bribe over the deal. Matthew Joyce, the former general manager of the state-owned Dubai Waterfront, received a 10-year jail sentence and a $25m fine over charges […]
Asian stocks rose to three-week highs on Thursday as Indian shares and the rupee rallied a day after the country’s new central bank chief unveiled measures to support the currency and the banking sector. But worries the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon scale back stimulus kept markets in check. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.6 percent, having earlier hit a high last […]
India’s newly installed central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan burnished his international credentials at a 2005 U.S. conference warning about the danger of a potential crisis. Now he has one of his own to contend with. Rajan, 50, joined the front lines of a battle to forestall a record slump in the rupee yesterday with a package of measures that may lure $10 billion in foreign-exchange inflows over […]
Residential property prices in Dubai are in the midst of another boom, but this time it’s fundamentals – and not speculation – at play, Standard Chartered Bank said in a new report, indicating that the rally will continue as long as the fundamentals remain in place. Economic growth, improving demographics, return of investor confidence and improving regulations have been cited as the primary factors fuelling a remarkable […]
Dubai’s growing population and improving economy are driving a rebound in the emirate’s housing market, rather than the type of speculation that fueled the 2008 boom, according to Standard Chartered. Residential property prices in Dubai are in the midst of another boom, but this time it’s fundamentals – and not speculation – a new report published by the bank said, indicating that the rally will continue as […]
