Saturday 12 May 2012

gulfnews : All eyes on Oman's economic surge

Times could not be better for Oman's economy as evidenced by sharp growth of its gross domestic product (GDP), though not at the expense of inflation as well as registration of notable budgetary surplus, all in 2011.
Official statistics point to a robust 22.7 per cent growth in nominal GDP arriving at a record $72.7 billion (Dh266.8 billion). This surge strengthens ranking of Oman's economy as the fifth strongest among fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. At $26 billion, Bahrain's GDP in nominal terms falls considerably behind that of Oman's.
Certainly the credit for positive developments in Oman's economy is goes to movements within the petroleum industry, particularly matters related to crude oil. Crude oil alone accounts for 62 per cent of treasury income.

Saudi Stock Market close - May 12, 2012

General Index
Intraday  3 month  
 Daily Statistics
 Date12/05/2012
 General Index7233.2
 Change (%)0.16%
 Change11.70
 T. Volume352064740
 T. Companies 154
   Advanced64
   Declined69
   Unchanged17
   UnTraded4


Our emigrants flood to Dubai - News, Frontpage - Herald.ie

DUBAI has become the new hotspot for Irish emigrants in search of work.

The Irish Embassy has seen a 10pc rise in the numbers making their home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the past year.

Official numbers at the embassy show that 500 Irish citizens have moved to the area -- which includes Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

STOCKS NEWS MIDEAST-Saudi bounces back to begin week slightly higher - Yahoo! News UK

Saudi Arabian stocks close 0.2 percent up after trading down for much of the session following a dip in oil prices and a retreat on global equities markets.
The all-share index of the Arab world's biggest stock market ends at 7,233 points, with the petrochemical index
gaining 0.4 percent while the banking index, sheds 0.4 percent.
Among gainers, Savola Group adds 1.2 percent, and Saudi Cable climbs 3.3 percent.

gulfnews : Rothschild to trim Gulf presence

Financial advisory firm NM Rothschild and Sons is cutting its Middle Eastern staff by more than half in a significant change of strategy in the face of dwindling deal volumes, four sources told Reuters.
The cutbacks signal the extent to which some global banks are struggling to win business in the region, after launching ambitious plans during the boom years.
"For a pure play financial advisory like Rothschild, double- digit staffing in the region is clearly not making sense given activity has slowed so much," one of the sources said.
Rothschild's staffing in the region has come down to eight, from 17 bankers in the past 12 months, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Saudi Shares Fall to Two-Month Low on Oil, Europe Concern - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s shares slumped for a second day after oil dropped to a 2012 low on concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen and after China’s industrial growth unexpectedly slowed in April.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world’s largest petrochemicals maker known as Sabic, fell 2 percent. Al-Rajhi Bank (RJHI), the country’s largest lender by market value, declined to the lowest intraday level since February. The Tadawul All Share Index (SASEIDX) lost 2.3 percent to 7,059.1 at 11:58 a.m. in Riyadh, the lowest since Feb. 25. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) yesterday retreated 1 percent.
“The drop is definitely headline driven, as we’ve seen a correction in oil prices, and on top of that, there are resurfacing concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis,” said Asim Bukhtiar, an equity analyst at Riyad Capital. “The correlation between Saudi’s market and international markets is tightening. I expect the performance of the measure in the coming days to reflect what’s happening internationally.”

Saudi Inflationary Pressure to Continue Through Second Quarter - Bloomberg

Inflationary pressure in Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, will continue in the second quarter in areas such as rent, food and beverages and commodities, the kingdom’s central bank said in a quarterly report posted on its website May 10.