Friday 21 October 2011

Court removes delay in Harmon tower lawsuit - Business - ReviewJournal.com

The Nevada Supreme Court has ended a nearly yearlong delay in a lawsuit between developers of CityCenter and Perini Building Co., potentially setting the stage for implosion of the unfinished Harmon tower.

The ruling signed Wednesday came in a case that will determine whether Perini or CityCenter developer MGM Resorts International is financially responsible for damages to the troubled building. While limited, the ruling clears away an issue that has delayed resolution of the legal battle and, ultimately, the fate of the building.

Six of the seven justices overturned Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez's decision that disqualified part of CityCenter's legal team, leaving the case in limbo. The justices said the lawyers, who had been involved in another lawsuit against Perini, could also represent CityCenter. Justice Kris Pickering recused herself from the case.

Dubai World division committed to financial restructuring

DryDocks World, the shipbuilding division of Dubai World, has said it is committed to complete the financial restructuring of the company in shortest possible time.

In a statement to Khaleej Times, the Dubai-based firm regrets that one of its creditors has decided to take a legal action against the company for un-clear reasons.

The New York-based investment firm Monarch Alternative Capital LP on October 6 filed a claim of about $45.5 million in London High Court against Drydocks World LLC.

Qatar banks beat estimates - The National

UAE banks rallied as Qatar's banking sector blew past earnings estimates and the big UAE banks prepared to report next week on financials for the third quarter.

Qatar Islamic Bank's third-quarter earnings, released after Doha's market closed on Wednesday, reported profit 34 per cent above last year's third-quarter figure at 407.2 million rials, beating estimates. The shares rallied 0.2 per cent to 80.1 rials in trading yesterday.

Doha Bank made the biggest gains on the Qatari market, rising 1.3 per cent to 62.50 rials, while HSBC analysts upgraded much of the country's banking sector yesterday, with Qatar National Bank raised to "neutral" and Qatar Islamic Bank rated "overweight".

Kuveyt Turk prices $350 mln sukuk at par - leads | Reuters

Kuveyt Turk, the Turkish arm of Kuwait Finance House , has priced its $350m five-year sukuk, lead managers said in a document on Thursday.

The paper priced at par with a spread of 447.5 basis points over midswaps and carried a profit rate of 5.875 percent.

HSBC Bank , Liquidity Management House and Standard Chartered were bookrunners on the transaction, with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Commerzbank joining the trade in a lead manager capacity.

gulfnews : UAE remains resilient amid turmoil

The UAE's economic growth is projected to remain resilient in the face of global economic upheavals and regional political turmoil, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in a report yesterday.

"We expect growth to accelerate in 2011 on the back of rising oil production. Most indicators of economic activity have registered a significant rise in real terms in the first three quarters of this year. We have projected a slight slowdown in growth in 2012 because of the potential impact of lower oil prices," said George T.Abed, senior counsellor and director of the IIF's Africa Middle East Department.

The IIF has forecast GDP growth of 4.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent for 2011 and 2012, respectively.

IIF sees widening gulf in Arab economies - FT.com

The fallout from a year of Arab revolts will further deepen divergent economic outcomes for the region’s oil exporters versus importers, according to a report released on Thursday.

The Institute for International Finance said oil-exporting Arab states would see growth speed up to 6.5 per cent by the end of the year on higher crude prices, but that the region’s oil-importers – including Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco – would face an average contraction of 0.4 per cent.

Serious difficulties surrounding transitions into post-revolutionary eras in Egypt and Tunisia were undermining economic performance, prompting the need for governments to deepen economic reforms and limit fiscal deficits, according to the IIF, an association of global financial institutions.

Egypt: a $3.7bn gleam in the dark | beyondbrics – FT.com

Ahmed Heikal, one of Egypt’s best-known financiers, is pressing ahead with a $3.7bn refinery investment despite the political uncertainty surrounding the country.

But he started five years ago and has already invested considerable time, effort and money into the government-backed project. “It would be more difficult to start now,” he said, in a comment which speaks volumes about Egypt’s investment climate.

Heikal is founder and chairman of the Cairo-listed investment company Citadel Capital, which has seen its shares fall by 63 per cent this year on the stock market, far in excess of the 39 per cent drop in the Cairo 30-share index.

MENA stock markets close - October 21, 2011

ExchangeStatus IndexChange
TASI (Saudi Stock Market)
6106.74-0.71%
DFM (Dubai Financial Market)
1366.340.22%
ADX (Abudhabi Securities Exchange)
2444.07-0.07%
KSE (Kuwait Stock Exchange)
5895.80.20%
BSE (Bahrain Stock Exchange)
1144.29-0.24%
MSM (Muscat Securities Market)
5531.67-0.01%
QE (Qatar Exchange)
8362.59-0.16%
LSE (Beirut Stock Exchange)
1215.19-0.26%
EGX 30 (Egypt Exchange)
4264.890.02%
ASE (Amman Stock Exchange)
1957.440.46%
TUNINDEX (Tunisia Stock Exchange)
4636.670.23%
CB (Casablanca Stock Exchange)
11392.10.26%
PSE (Palestine Securities Exchange)
484.24-0.05%