Saturday 19 April 2014

Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo likely to make MSCI cut; UAE telecoms to miss out | The National

Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo likely to make MSCI cut; UAE telecoms to miss out | The National:



"The UAE’s telecoms providers are likely to miss out on inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, although Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo are likely to make the cut.



And despite investor enthusiasm for the Arabian Gulf airlines, trackers of the index will not gain exposure to Air Arabia, the UAE’s sole publicly-listed airline.



Ooredoo meets all the criteria for inclusion in the index. With a market cap of US$12.11 billion, it is Qatar’s third-largest listed company. Its shares have no foreign ownership limit, are sufficiently liquid and are traded frequently."



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26,000 workers involved in strike action in Dubai last year, report finds | The National

26,000 workers involved in strike action in Dubai last year, report finds | The National:



"Nearly 26,000 workers were involved in 34 labour strikes in the emirate last year because of late payment of wages and demand for higher salaries, according to a report released by the Federal Government.



The National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking said in its annual report that the main reason for strikes, accounting for at least 20, was delayed payment of wages.



Officials said the number of protests had declined from 45 in 2012, when 21,600 workers had downed their tools. However, more workers – 25,788 – were involved in fewer protests last year."



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Iran oil exports rise to 1.2m barrels per day | GulfNews.com

Iran oil exports rise to 1.2m barrels per day | GulfNews.com:



"Iran’s crude oil exports have hit 1.2 million barrels per day, almost doubling from eight months ago when the country elected a new president, a top government official said Friday.



Mansour Moazami, who holds the planning brief among the Islamic republic’s five deputy oil ministers, said the numbers were 20 per cent above forecasts and they would rise further.



“When the government took office, exports were around 700,000 barrels per day,” Moazimi was cited as saying by Mehr, a semi-official government news agency.



He said the updated figure of 1.2 million was supplemented by 200,000 barrels per day of derivative gas products from crude."



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Russia Bonds Rally as Micex Jumps on Ukraine Crisis Accord - Bloomberg

Russia Bonds Rally as Micex Jumps on Ukraine Crisis Accord - Bloomberg:



"Russian stocks rose the most in more than three weeks and bonds gained after talks on Ukraine yielded an agreement aimed at easing the conflict. The ruble weakened after surging the most this month yesterday. 




The Micex Index (INDEXCF) added 2 percent to 1,356.54 by the close in Moscow, the most since March 25 and trimming this week’s decline to 0.4 percent. The yield on Russia’s ruble debt due February 2027 fell 17 basis points to 9 percent, the lowest in a week. The ruble declined 0.1 percent against the central bank’s basket of dollars and euros to 41.6642 by 6 p.m. The currency gained 1.4 percent yesterday.



Talks in Geneva between representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the European Union ended with an agreement to “de-escalate tensions and restore security,” according to a joint statement yesterday. The U.S. and its European allies have threatened to increase sanctions on Russia if it doesn’t act to calm the situation in eastern Ukraine."



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