UAE government firms’ debt refinancing ‘a challenge’ - IMF
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Refinancing the debts of the United Arab Emirates’ government-related entities (GREs) remains a challenge made more difficult as European banks trim their activities in the region, the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday. State-owned companies in the UAE, one of the world’s top five oil exporters, face $30 billion of ... Read More
Iraqi Kurdistan to push ahead with oil export plan
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region said on Sunday it expects to start exporting its crude oil production along a new pipeline to the Turkish border by August 2013, defying Baghdad in a long-running dispute over who should control the country’s oil exports. The Kurdistan region, which has its own government and armed forces, ... Read More
G8 backs Greece, papers over tensions
Sunday, 20 May 2012
G8 leaders said they want debt-stricken Greece to stay in the eurozone at a Camp David summit as the group papered over deep-seated divisions about how best to tackle the eurozone crisis. With the future of Europe’s currency union in doubt, leaders of the world’s largest economies called on Greece Saturday to ... Read More
Iran’s budget revised higher at $453 billion
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Iran on Sunday announced an upward revision of its annual budget, as a rise in oil prices appeared to mitigate the impact of international sanctions on its economy. The Islamic republic’s Guardians Council approved the budget for Iran’s calendar and fiscal year to March 2013 at 5,560,000 billion rials ($453 ... Read More
DIFC Investments has not yet sold software company SmartStream
Sunday, 20 May 2012
DIFC Investments, the investment arm of the company running Dubai’s financial free zones, has not sold software company SmartStream Technologies but the process is under way, the chief executive of the Investment Corporation of Dubai said on Friday. “No deal has been made yet. It is in the middle of the process,” Mohammed ... Read More
Italy jewelry export set for new fall after 2011 drop
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Jewelry export from Italy, Europe’s top producer and exporter, is set fall by about 12 percent this year as it did in 2011, as a debt crisis in Europe and concerns about the global economy sap demand, a senior industry official said. Jewelry demand is one of the main drivers on world precious metal markets and is keenly ... Read More
EBRD Bank approves one billion euro investment for Arab regions
Saturday, 19 May 2012
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced Saturday that it had approved an investment of 1.0 billion euros ($1.28 billion) for expansion into North Africa and the Middle East. After years of investing in mainly private-sector enterprises across mostly ex-communist nations in Europe and ... Read More
Aramco launches Jizan, bidders revise Rabigh offer
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Saudi Aramco has invited bids for the construction of a new refinery in Jizan, an underdeveloped province bordering Yemen, industry sources said. Aramco has also asked for revised offers for one of nine construction packages to expand the Rabigh petrochemical complex with Sumitomo Chemical, they said on Thursday. The ... Read More
Saudi non-oil exports rise 31 percent: paper
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rose 31 percent in 2011 to 176.6 billion riyals ($47.1 billion) compared to 2010, Arab News reported on Saturday citing the Central Department of Statistics. Petrochemicals and plastics combined accounted for 114.9 billion riyals, Arab News reported, reflecting last year’s surging commodities ... Read More
Hoodie-wearing Zucherberg kicks off Facebook IPO
Friday, 18 May 2012
Mark Zuckerberg, wearing his trademark hooded sweatshirt, remotely rang the bell to open the Nasdaq Friday, marking a historic share offering for Facebook that confirms the growing importance of the social network giant. Amid a crowd at Facebook’s California headquarters, Zuckerberg and hundreds of employees ... Read More
Shell’s Majnoon deal highlights Iraq oil target verdict
Friday, 18 May 2012
Shell is pressing ahead with talks over final development of Iraq’s Majnoon oilfield, a senior executive told Reuters, and a lower, more realistic oil production target is a core part of discussions. Majnoon is one of four southern super giant fields that are vital to Iraq’s ambition to at least double its oil output and put ... Read More
Iraq’s southern oil exports fall from record in May
Friday, 18 May 2012
Iraq’s oil exports from its southern ports have slipped by 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) so far in May, according to shipping data tracked by Reuters, although Iraq remains hopeful of sustaining shipments at April’s record rate. Exports from the Basra oil terminal, Khor al-Amaya and two new Gulf outlets have averaged 1.94 ... Read More
Eurozone crisis drives down stocks before G8
Friday, 18 May 2012
World stock markets mostly fell on Friday and the euro hit another four-month dollar low, slammed by a ratings downgrade for Greece and warnings for 16 Spanish banks, ahead of a crucial G8 meeting. In late morning deals, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.96 percent to 5,286.83 points, Frankfurt’s DAX ... Read More
Facebook prices at top of range in landmark IPO
Friday, 18 May 2012
Facebook Inc priced its initial public offering at the top of its target range to raise more than $16 billion, as strong demand, particularly from retail investors, fuels anticipation of a big pop in the stock when it begins trading Friday on the Nasdaq. Predictions of how much the stock will rise on its first day of trade ... Read More
Syria scours more trade routes in search for grain
Friday, 18 May 2012
Syria is casting a wide net in a frantic bid to secure grain for its population as a sanctions-induced trade finance freeze scuppers big deals and forces the country to meet its needs with smaller deals, sources say. The European Union, the United States and other Western countries have imposed sanctions on President ... Read More
Turkish gold sales to Iran soar as sanctions bite
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Turkish gold sales to Iran in March soared over 30 times and gold companies said Iranians were turning to gold for savings and possibly trade as Western sanctions tighten. Sanctions to force Iran to curb its nuclear program have targeted its energy and banking sectors and new measures from both the United States and ... Read More
London Islamic bank eyes Middle East expansion
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Sharia-compliant Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME) is targeting the thousands of rich Gulf residents who have ties to the UK to boost its corporate and private banking business. Britain’s largest standalone sharia bank was set up in London in 2006 and does not have a presence in the Middle East, although ... Read More
New French government to hand itself 30 percent pay cut
Thursday, 17 May 2012
French leader Francois Hollande’s new Socialist government got down to work on Thursday with the first order of business a symbolic 30 percent pay cut for the president and ministers. With the cabinet set to hold its first meeting, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the top item on the agenda would be the ... Read More
Egypt’s cabinet approves new budget: minister
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Egypt's government submitted its final draft budget for 2012/2013 to the state's military rulers on Wednesday, increasing spending by 17.7 billion Egyptian pounds from a previously announced figure earlier this month. Once approved by the army that took over power after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak last year by an ... Read More
Iran’s parliament approves $462 billion budget
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Iran’s parliament has approved $462 billion budget bill for the current Iranian year, which ends March 2013. It’s about 9 percent less than the budget approved in the previous calendar year. This is a result of the new official exchange rate of the U.S dollar, which has increased to 12,260 rials to the ... Read More