Gold rallied to the highest level since November as investors assessed further cuts to U.S. stimulus and Chinese buyers increased purchases to extend last year’s record consumption. Silver, platinum and palladium rose. Bullion for immediate delivery gained as much as 1 percent to $1,287.81 an ounce, the highest price since Nov. 18, and was at $1,283.85 by 3:01 p.m. in Singapore. A fifth day of advance would […]
Gold rose to a two-week high, set for the longest rally since October, as U.S. jobs data missed estimates and Chinese buyers returned after the Lunar New Year break. Silver headed for the longest winning run since August. Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.7 percent to $1,276.03 an ounce, the highest level since Jan. 27 and surpassing its 100-day moving average of $1,267.43, before […]
The U.N. nuclear agency said on Sunday that Iran had agreed to start addressing suspicions that it may have worked on designing an atomic weapon, a potential breakthrough in a long-stalled investigation into Tehran’s atomic activities. The development – although limited for now – marked a step forward in an international push to settle a decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran says this is peaceful, while […]
Investment bankers in Europe are off to the leanest start to a year in a decade as dwindling income from deal-making and trading presses firms to reduce costs. Revenue from arranging mergers, loans and stock and bond offerings for clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell 22 percent to $1.58 billion last month from the year-earlier period, according to data compiled by New York-based research […]
The U.K. has chosen HSBC Holdings to arrange and advise on its debut Islamic bond planned for as early as this year in an effort to become the first non-Muslim nation to sell the debt, a Treasury official said. Other banks will be mandated closer to the time of the sale, the official said yesterday, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public. Linklaters LLP […]
Gold’s biggest slump in three decades has been a boon for MKS (Switzerland) SA’s PAMP refinery near the Italian border in Castel San Pietro, whose bullion sales to China surged to a record as demand rose for coins, bars and jewelry. As prices plunged 28 percent in 2013, investors dumped a record 869.1 metric tons from gold-backed funds traded mostly in the U.S. and Europe. Much of […]
The top U.S. tax prosecutor said that 106 Swiss banks are seeking U.S. amnesty for helping American clients evade taxes, according to three lawyers who heard her speak at a conference in Phoenix. U.S. prosecutors gave more than 300 Swiss banks until Dec. 31 to seek non-prosecution agreements if they have “reason to believe” they violated tax laws. Banks must disclose how they helped Americans hide assets, […]
Gold will extend declines this year as gains in equity markets reduce the need for haven assets and increased regulation hurts risk appetite, according to Morgan Stanley, which lowered its bullion forecasts. The 2014 target was cut 12 percent to $1,160 an ounce and the prediction for 2015 reduced 13 percent to $1,138, analysts Peter Richardson and Joel Crane wrote in a report today. Gold remains under […]
|By Parag Deulgaonkar| A wider economic upturn and rapid population growth will lead to a shortage of residential units in Dubai, believes a market participant. “I see a serious shortage… the government is diversifying into tourism-related projects. Schools, universities, theme parks and shopping centres are coming up and so many people will be employed and they all will require accommodation,” Samir Munshi, Managing Director, Orion Holdings, told […]
Abu Dhabi will take full control of the UAE’ biggest oilfields when its decades-old venture with four western oil giants ends this weekend, while it weighs new partnerships that could include its long-term collaborators or Asian newcomers. The OPEC member country has held a 60-percent stake in Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) since acquiring an interest in fields that produce over half the United […]
The UAE stock market regulator has introduced new margin lending rules and vowed to crack down on unlicensed lending, it said in a statement on its website. Margin lending – borrowing with cash or share holdings as security, has been in high demand as investors sought to maximise gains from a UAE market surge, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s bourses jumping 108 percent and 63.1 percent respectively […]
Hedge funds got less bullish on gold for the seventh time in eight weeks as signs of accelerating U.S. economic and tame inflation growth drive prices to the worst annual drop in more than three decades. The net-long position in gold fell 12 percent to 28,702 futures and options in the week ended Dec. 24, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Short holdings gained 1.1 percent […]
Gold fell for the first time in five days, heading for its biggest annual loss in three decades as investor holdings extended their decline to the lowest since 2009. Silver retreated for the first time in more than a week. Bullion for immediate delivery slid as much as 0.5 percent to $1,206.81 an ounce and was at $1,207.69 by 2:23 p.m. in Singapore. Prices climbed to $1,219.28 […]
The decision by India’s top investigating agency to probe a third billionaire-led mining deal in six months puts at risk government efforts to revive $160 billion of stalled projects. The Central Bureau of Investigation said on Dec. 23 it started probing Anil Agarwal, who runs the country’s biggest aluminum and copper producer. It alleged irregularities in his 2002 purchase of the state’s 26 percent stake in Hindustan […]
While it may be the most common given name in the world, the global banking system seemingly can’t cope with Mohammed and its various different spellings. When it comes to false positives – where a person or transaction is incorrectly flagged for contravening sanctions – the total at Middle Eastern banks is around twice that of many international lenders because of the high use of names like […]
Tourism Development & Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi-owned developer of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums, raised a $500 million loan to pay existing debt, according to three bankers with knowledge of the deal. The five-year facility was obtained from a group of seven banks and pays 1.5 percentage points including fees more than the London Interbank Offered Rate, said the bankers, asking not to be identified because […]
Holders of Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties’ convertible bonds have asked the company to convert them into shares, Emaar said in a bourse statement on Sunday. Emaar said its board would discuss the matter at a meeting on December 17. Emaar issued a $500 million convertible bond in 2010. The sale marked the Dubai developer’s return to the debt markets after more than a year and an opportune […]
By Lewis Braham Don’t try to catch a falling knife. It’s one of the oldest saws on Wall Street. But to make a lot of money, sometimes you have to get a little bloody. So say contrarians like Brian Singer. The risk is great, “but the return is of such an astounding magnitude, you’re willing to do it,” says Singer, manager of the William Blair Macro Allocation […]
Swiss authorities are urging banks to quash their doubts and enter a U.S. voluntary disclosure program aimed at uncovering American tax evaders. The Swiss financial watchdog Finma requested banks to decide by today whether they will join the first stage of the U.S. Department of Justice program by applying for non-prosecution agreements by the end of 2013. Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is scheduled today to respond […]
Investment Corp of Dubai, the flagship holding firm of some of the emirate’s top companies, has acquired the Atlantis hotel from a unit of Dubai World for an undisclosed sum, a statement said on Thursday. The hotel, which sits at the head of a manmade island in the shape of a palm tree, was set up in 2008 as a joint venture between Dubai World’s Istithmar World […]
Dubai’s benchmark stock index rallied the most in more than two months after the emirate won the right to host the World Expo 2020. The DFM General Index advanced 4 percent to 3,015.65 at 10:02 a.m. in the city, bringing the gain for the year to 86 percent. Emaar Properties , builder of the world’s biggest shopping mall by floor space, jumped 3 percent and Dubai Investments […]
BlackBerry Ltd’s board does not believe a break-up of the Canadian smartphone maker is currently in its best interests, even though Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd, among others, have expressed interest in acquiring parts of the company, according to people familiar with the discussions. The board rejected proposals from several technology companies for various BlackBerry assets on grounds that a break-up did not serve […]
Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank, raised its estimates for economic growth in the United Arab Emirates this year to 4.4 percent, aided by an increase in oil output. The forecast was raised from 3.8 percent, putting the second-biggest Arab economy on track for a higher growth rate than Saudi Arabia for the first time in at least four years, according to the bank’s quarterly economic report released […]
Investors are becoming more discerning about where they put their money, shying away from countries such as Brazil, India (SENSEX), Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa. Behind the discrimination is a new-found focus on current-account deficits and structural weaknesses exposed by the likelihood of less stimulus from the Federal Reserve and cooling demand in China, according to economists from HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and International […]
