Arabian Post Staff The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sees 2020 global revenue losses for the passenger business of between $63 billion (in a scenario where COVID-19 is contained in current markets with over 100 cases as of 2 March) and $113 billion (in a scenario with a broader spreading of COVID-19). No estimates are yet available for the impact on cargo operations. IATA’s previous analysis (issued […]
Arabian Post Staff The spread of coronavirus continues to deepen the severity of the blow to global fuels demand. Energy consultancy Rystad Energy now expects more than half of global oil demand growth to be lost in 2020. As global stocks increase by the day, the ongoing OPEC+ meeting is unlikely to result in cuts sufficient enough to balance the market, under all of our scenarios. The […]
By Matein Khalid The US dollar is the traditional safe haven currency during times of geopolitical or financial stress even when the cause of a risk aversion spasm is ultimately American, such as the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008, Obama’s epic budget battles with the Republicans in 2011 and the Trump White House’s drone hit on Iran’s most revered Revolutionary Guard commander on 3 January 2020. […]
By Matein Khalid I had published an article expressing my shock at the abysmal corporate governance and financial disclosure at NMC Healthcare, the London listed UAE’s largest private operator of healthcare clinics and hospitals. NMC Healthcare shares were at 1816 pence on the LSE when I published my article in the Gulf and UK financial press on 30 December 2019. NMC Healthcare has now plunged to 775 […]
By Matein Khalid Thankfully, I was not in the global markets during the Black Death, the Great Plague and the Spanish flu pandemic but coronavirus cases have now crossed 40,000 infections and this is way beyond a local Wuhan outbreak. Despite the blowout 225,000 US January non-farm payrolls growth data, I am alarmed by the global recession SOS in the capital markets metrics I track. One, the […]
The following is a text of seven -year-old Soborno Isaac Bari’s prepared remarks to Mankind, delivered on January 6, 2020 at SP Pune University in India. I am honored to be in India, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, and to be hosted by Savitribai Phule Pune University. Since 1949, India has stood as a beacon of democracy, diversity, and tolerance and the University of Pune has served […]
By Matein Khalid My tactical idea last week to recommend buying sterling against the US dollar (cable) at 1.30 for a 1.34 target is 200 pips in the money now that the Bank of England kept the policy rate unchanged at 0.75% despite Governor Carney’s smoke signals. Sterling closed at 1.32 on Friday evening and will be well bid next week – hopefully. I expect Governor Bailey […]
By James M. Dorsey Disclosures of taped phone calls between embattled former prime minister Najib Razak and a person believed to be United Arab Emirate crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed go a long way to explain Malaysian efforts to counter UAE and Saudi influence in the Muslim world. The disclosures are the latest incident in what have been complex, if not strained relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia […]
By Matein Khalid NMC Health PLC, the UAE’s leading private operator of medical clinics and hospitals with a footprint in 17 countries was founded by Abu Dhabi based Indian-Udupi businessman B. R. Shetty and listed on the London Stock Exchange. NMC plunged a shocking 45% in five trading sessions after Carson Block of Muddy Waters Capital, one of the world’s preeminent short selling specialist hedge funds, accused […]
By Matein Khalid I had recommended buying the Tadawul ETF iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia (symbol KSA on NYSE) on November 30 to benefit from the post-IPO surge in the price of the Saudi Aramco IPO shares on the Tadawul. This tactical trade was a beauty even before Saudi Aramco shares soared 20% on its Thursday December 12 to peak at 38.7 Saudi riyals (SAR). As I expected, […]
By Matein Khalid I first encountered Lebanon as a teenager after the fabled Choueifat College opened its first UAE campus in Sharjah, fleeing the civil war in the Chouf. My ignorance of the country I was to know and love as my own patrie was monumental. When a classmate told me he was a Darzi, I assumed his father was a tailor since Darzi means “tailor” in […]
By Arabian Post Staff The changing landscape of the US$360 trillion (Dh1,321 trillion) global wealth is now more than four times the global GDP of US$88 trillion. The wealth per adult reached a new record high of US$70,850, or 1.2% above the level of mid-2018 with Switzerland topping the biggest gains in wealth per adult this year, according to a latest report by Credit Suisse. Aggregate global […]
By Matein Khalid I literally laughed when I heard that Goldman Sachs put a valuation range of $1.6 to $2.3 trillion on the Saudi Aramco IPO. One, a valuation range of $700 million only means the Goldie analyst bankers (deal promoters?) are clueless about what Saudi Aramco is really worth. Two, I cannot fathom how the financial markets will assign a valuation of 17 to 23 times […]
By Diyari Salih On the first of October, Iraq witnessed enormous protests against the government and the political elite in this country. Later, the prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, announced many reform packages. He also declared that a committee would be established to investigate the actions of violence executed against the protesters. No one believed in these governmental procedures. Thus, a new wave of protests engulfed Iraq’s […]
Continuing from the previous quarter, average sales prices and rents softened across most communities in Dubai in the third quarter of 2019, the latest Cavendish Maxwell UAE Property Market Report says. The average apartment prices declined by 16.5% over the 12-month period from Q3 2018 to Q3 2019 while the average villa/townhouse prices declined 15% during the period. Rental declines for apartments in Dubai averaged 15%, whilst […]
Whilst the forex market is renowned for its liquidity and volatility, it’s fair to say that some currencies offer a far greater degree of stability than others. Take the U.S. Dollar (USD), for example, which features as part of 84% of all currency trades and accounts for an estimated 38% of the world’s debt. The USD has also performed well of late, having strengthened to a 12-year […]
By Arjavi Indraneesh It is a no-brainer that when there is an increase in digital payments, a proportionate rise in fraud is a given. But India’s payment digitisation programme has gone ahead without a requisite improvement in the infrastructure for fraud detection and prevention. Over the past five years, the volume of digital payments has grown by a factor of 10 and an additional growth of 10 […]
By Arabian Post Staff DP World has announced a partnership with Zhejiang China Commodity City Group Company LTD (CCC) to develop the ‘Traders Market’ in Jebel Ali Freezone (JAFZA). DP World will hold a majority share in the 70/30 joint venture. The Traders Market project will span approximately 800,000 square metres, with Phase 1 development covering about 220,000 square metres. Phase 1 Capex is estimated at $150 […]
By Matein Khalid So Boris Johnson was elected the leader of the Conservative Party by 66% of the Tory membership and thus he, not Jeremy Hunt, will go to Buck House to present his credentials to Her Majesty the Queen. This increases the risk of both no deal Brexit and a potential Tory vote of no confidence in parliament, led by Mrs. May’s Chancellor of the Exchequer […]
By Matein Khalid George Soros once observed “the big money in emerging markets is made when things go from Godawful to just plain awful”. So true. The point of maximum pessimism in an emerging market is often an opportune moment to accumulate its shares, ideally after a political, economic or financial systemic shock. I sold my entire Pakistan equities portfolio in summer of 2017 after the Supreme […]
By Matein Khalid The S&P 500 index trades at 2990 as I write. The risk-reward calculus on the broad index no longer flashes a buy signal to me. The economic data around the world has deteriorated at an accelerating pace, as the decline in global PMI’s, 9% fall in German factory orders and $13 trillion in in government debt trading at negative interest rates attest. Commodities prices […]
By Matein Khalid Goldman Sachs shares traded at 190 when I wrote this article, way below its 52 week high at 245 making it a Cinderella in global investment banking at only 8.5 times forward earnings. It is obvious that Goldman’s involvement in the $7 billion 1MDB sovereign wealth heist in Malaysia has led to global outrage, demands for a $6 billion in punitive fine by Prime […]
(Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/sperium-cum-sperm-winner-first-2505954/) Over the years, we have emphasized the importance of fertility treatment and checkup for women while turning a blind eye on male issues. Infertility in UAE is an issue of concern with half of the cases has to do with male infertility. What is alarming is that male infertility is on the rise in UAE compared to other nations. Experts believe that obesity, stress, and […]
By Matein Khalid Thanks to the orchestrated bullishness of a dozen Wall Street sell side analysts and the mother of all short covering rallies, Uber has managed to claw back its losses from 38 to its IPO offer price of $45 though the latest management disaster and sacking of Dara’s handpicked COO and marketing lady wunderkind will slam the shares tonight. Uber has also benefited from a […]
