Asian markets rallied on Wednesday after Turkey stunned investors with a huge hike in interest rates, stirring hopes drastic action would short-circuit a vicious cycle of selling in emerging markets and revive risk appetite. European shares were expected to ride the wave of optimism, with financial spreadbetters predicting Britain’s FTSE 100 to open 43-48 points higher, or up by as much as 0.7 percent; Germany’s DAX was […]
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 Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly raised its policy interest rate on Tuesday by 25 basis points but said that if consumer price inflation eases as projected it does not foresee further near-term tightening. The policy decision was driven by an expectation that consumer price index (CPI) inflation will remain high, an indication that the RBI is looking to adopt a recent proposal to base its policy […]
After a scary sell-off in emerging markets in the past week, investors who specialize in the sector are looking for places to hide while also looking for opportunities to benefit. And that means finding countries that have stronger economic underpinnings and political stability, while abandoning or betting against those whose current account balances and government budgets are deeply in the red and where there is political turmoil. […]
Barrick Gold Corp’s warning this week that its in-the-ground gold reserves will shrink is widely expected to be echoed in the coming weeks by miners around the globe, spelling more asset writedowns for an already beat-up sector. For the first time in years, miners from Canada to Australia will tell their shareholders that reserves – the future source of production, cash flow and growth – have significantly […]
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, […]
DAVOS: Dubai retailer Majid Al Futtaim, which holds the Carrefour franchise in the Middle East, plans to invest about $2.3 billion in Egypt in the next few years, its chief executive said on Wednesday, a sign of Gulf investors’ growing interest in the Egyptian economy. “Total investments on the plan, including Carrefour, should be around 16 billion Egyptian pounds over the next four to five years,” Iyad […]
Abu Dhabi will pay Exxon Mobil Corp. and Inpex Corp. more to pump oil at the largest field off the emirate’s coast as it extends a contract with the companies. Exxon and Japan’s Inpex lengthened their deal for the Upper Zakum field in the Arabian Gulf by 15 years through 2041, the Asian company said today in a statement, without giving further terms. The companies may get […]
Reliance Industries Ltd., owner of the world’s biggest oil refining complex, reported an unexpected increase in profit as earnings from investments and lower finance costs compensated for a drop in operating income. Net income rose to 55.1 billion rupees ($894 million), or 17.10 rupees a share, in the three months ended Dec. 31 from 55 billion rupees, or 17 rupees a share, a year earlier, according to […]
President Barack Obama banned U.S. eavesdropping on the leaders of close friends and allies on Friday and began reining in the vast collection of Americans’ phone data in a series of limited reforms triggered by Edward Snowden’s revelations. In a major speech, Obama took steps to reassure Americans and foreigners alike that the United States will take into account privacy concerns highlighted by former spy contractor Snowden’s […]
India’s leading mobile phone operators as well as aspiring new entrant Reliance Industries have applied to bid in what will be the government’s third attempt at auctioning off some radio frequencies in the hope of raising billions of dollars in much-needed revenue for state coffers. Revenues from the new licensing are crucial as the government seeks to rein in its budget deficit but two previous attempts to […]
By Abhinav Ramnarayan Debt capital markets bankers covering the Middle East say a bond issue by Dubai may be imminent as part of the emirate’s plan to refinance some of its existing debt. The emirate was one of the first issuers from the Gulf in 2013 with a dual tranche 10-year sukuk and 30-year conventional note, and may be one of the early issuers this year as […]
A deal between Iran and six major powers intended to pave the way to a solution to a long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions will come into force on January 20, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the European Union said on Sunday. Shortly after the interim accord takes effect, an Iranian official added, Tehran and world powers will start negotiating a final settlement of their differences about […]
As the tidal wave of global central bank liquidity recedes in 2014, emerging market investors are growing more anxious about local political risks – and how to spot them early on. Developing economies have had a rough ride since the U.S. Federal Reserve first mooted a wind-down of its money printing last year. The looming withdrawal of easy cash worldwide pushed the dollar and Treasury yields up […]
Target Corp and Neiman Marcus are not the only U.S. retailers whose networks were breached over the holiday shopping season last year, according to sources familiar with attacks on other merchants that have yet to be publicly disclosed. Smaller breaches on at least three other well-known U.S. retailers took place and were conducted using similar techniques as the one on Target, according to the people familiar with […]
The long-term future of fields that produce about half Abu Dhabi’s oil remains unclear with only one day of a 75-year partnership with western oil companies left to run. Some of the world’s largest energy companies – ExxonMobil , Royal Dutch Shell, Total and BP – have been pumping crude from the Abu Dhabi desert for decades, taking payment in oil. From midnight on Friday, the 9.5 […]
Indian budget airline SpiceJet has agreed to buy about 40 Boeing 737 jets worth over $4 billion at list prices, industry sources said, a move that could help the loss-making carrier as it seeks new investors. The deal includes a firm order for as many as 42 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that offer fuel savings compared to SpiceJet’s existing fleet of current-generation Boeing 737s, the sources said. […]
Dubai plans new rules to control speculation on properties sold before they’re built after home prices climbed by more than 30 percent last year, the head of the emirate’s Land Department said. The real estate authority plans to complete a review of what are known as off-plan transactions in the first quarter and may introduce new regulations in the second or third quarter, Land Department General Director […]
By Mohammed N Al Khan The race is on to become the first person to go to Mars – and Khalid Al Jaaidi is well and truly on the starting line. The 21-year-old designer has been shortlisted along with 1,058 applicants for the Mars One mission. More than 200,000 people applied for the chance to be part of Earth’s first colony on another planet, and Khalid feels […]
Nakheel PJSC’s plan to pay more than $1 billion of bank debt early may herald further gains for the Dubai real-estate developer’s Islamic bonds. Mashreq Capital DIFC Ltd. and Quantum Investment Bank Ltd. said Nakheel’s payments might help extend a rally that cut its sukuk yield by 215 basis points in the past 12 months to a record 6.58 percent Jan. 3, according to data compiled by […]
By Andy Mukherjee The sudden rise of India’s self-professed “anti-establishment” party is making seasoned politicians nervous. Investors, meanwhile, view the dramatic ascent of the Aam Aadmi – Common Man Party – with a mixture of awe and suspicion. The one-year old upstart staged a recent electoral upset in the state of Delhi, home to the nation’s capital, by forming a government with support from Sonia Gandhi’s Congress […]
If the medicine tastes bad, it’s probably doing you good. Emerging economies might console themselves with that thought when they’re suffering market cramps and hemorrhaging capital as the U.S. ends its monetary stimulus. The Federal Reserve will begin winding down, or tapering, its $85 billion-a-month money-printing program this month, and emerging markets are seeing foreign investment pull back as a result. Last year, around $30 billion fled […]
India’s diversified equity mutual funds rose in 2013 but underperformed the broader markets for the first time in five years, as returns were dampened by the losses in the mid- and small-cap shares as well as financial companies. These funds gained 4.8 percent on average in 2013, according to data from fund tracker Lipper, delivering lesser annual returns than the benchmark BSE Sensex after 2008. The Sensex […]
The rental increase calculator launched by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) on the Dubai Land Department (DLD) website will be updated soon, XPRESS reported quoting a senior official. Following a new decree on rents, several Dubai residents went online to calculate their rental increase. But since the rental index had not been updated they got no answers. “The rental index is being updated. We are working […]
