Saturday 14 April 2012

Business : UAE banks are in ‘good position’

The UAE Central Bank on Saturday declared a Dh3.7 billion net profit for the fiscal year 2011.
Banks in the country are in a good position and should not be negatively impacted by the recent turmoil in international markets, the Central Bank said in a statement issued after the board of directors’ meeting.

The board also discussed drafts of financial laws and instructed introduction of some ‘major amendments’ to them. The board stressed that these laws should reflect the independence of the Central Bank and the independence of monetary policy, as per the international standards issued by the Financial Stability Board and Basle Committee standards.

Local bourses riding out global storm - The National

A bruising time for world markets did not spare the Emirates last week, but investors and economists are optimistic that the region will remain resilient this week.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended last week down 0.4 per cent, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index fell 0.3 per cent, its second week of declines.

Despite the losses, the UAE's markets outperformed many global market barometers, holding up better than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which fell 0.9 per cent during the week.

gulfnews : GCC Focus: Kuwait must reduce dependence on oil

If anything, recently published results relating to fiscal year 2011-12 that ended in March suggest a continuation of ultra-conservative fiscal practices in Kuwait. For the 13th year in a row, the budget ended in a surplus.
In fact, the rule of thumb remains that of having a reversed formula at the end of the day, with a projected deficit turning into a surplus on the back of rising oil income.
Similar to that of Qatar, the fiscal year in Kuwait starts in April, though with no obvious advantages.

Saudi Stock Market close - April 14, 2012

General Index
Intraday  3 month  
 Daily Statistics
 Date14/04/2012
 General Index7524.36
 Change (%)-0.65%
 Change-48.92
 T. Volume479211179
 T. Companies 154
   Advanced54
   Declined83
   Unchanged10
   UnTraded7


STOCKS NEWS MIDEAST-Saudi stocks close lower after oil price fall - Yahoo! News UK

The Saudi bourse ends lower, weighed by the petrochemical and banking sectors following a fall in oil
prices.
The all-share index dips 0.7 percent to 7,524 points, falling for the sixth session in seven.
The petrochemical sector index loses 0.9 percent, with Saudi Fertilizers dropping 4.9 percent.

U.A.E. Central Bank Seeks Amendments to Draft Financial Laws - Bloomberg

The board of directors of the United Arab Emirates’ central bank called for “major amendments” to be made to draft financial laws in the Gulf country, according to an e-mailed statement from the lender.
The laws “should reflect the independence of the central bank,” the bank said today, without providing details of any suggested amendments.
One of the draft laws is Law No-10 of 1980 for the central bank, the monetary system and organization of banking, while another pertains to the organization of financial services, according to the statement.

STOCKS NEWS MIDEAST-Saudi stocks trading flat - Yahoo! News UK

Saudi shares are trading largely flat after opening lower, dragged down by the petrochemical and banking sectors following a fall in oil prices fell.
The all-share index is up just 0.01 percent at 7,574 points, while the petrochemical index eases 0.1
percent.
Oil prices dipped on Friday and posted a weekly loss after data showed that first-quarter economic growth in China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, was the weakest in nearly three years, reinforcing concerns about slowing demand for petroleum.
The banking index eases 0.2 percent.