Tuesday 26 August 2014

Concerns grow over China's property market - YouTube

Concerns grow over China's property market - YouTube: ""



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More Dubai and Abu Dhabi companies should merge, says Al Ansari - ArabianBusiness.com

More Dubai and Abu Dhabi companies should merge, says Al Ansari - ArabianBusiness.com:



"More Dubai and Abu Dhabi corporate giants should consider merging, according to Sameer Al Ansari, one of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s former advisors has said.



“I don’t know about the politics of Dubai and Abu Dhabi but I think there are opportunities for Dubai and Abu Dhabi to do more things together,” Al Ansari told Arabian Business.



Al Ansari served as Group Chief Financial Officer for The Executive Office of Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and was the founding chairman and CEO of Dubai International Capital, the emirate’s defacto sovereign wealth fund."



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The future of investment banking in the GCC | The National

The future of investment banking in the GCC | The National:



"Investment banking in the UAE in particular and the GCC in general experienced an unprecedented jump in activity in the period 2003 through 2008.



After a couple of decades of basic boom-bust IPO activity, the explosion of business in the equity markets triggered a smaller but no less dramatic growth of investment banking that involved the deployment of investment banking teams in new standalone institutions, as well as branches of international banks and divisions in local commercial banks. The global financial crisis that was triggered in late 2008 ended the expansion era.



After six years in the doldrums, there are whispers about the rebirth of investment banking. The opportunities do indeed exist, but not where conventional wisdom is pointing."



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Saudi Aramco’s CEO trumpets investment plans for oil and gas amid falling prices | The National

Saudi Aramco’s CEO trumpets investment plans for oil and gas amid falling prices | The National:



"Saudi Arabia will maintain an ambitious rate of investment in its hydrocarbon sector to meet forecast global demand increases over the next decade, despite the weaker oil prices which have hit its economy this year, according to a leading Saudi oil executive.



Yesterday, the head of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned national oil company, Aramco, said it plans to invest US$40 billion a year over the next 10 years to keep its oil production capacity steady and double gas production.



The Aramco chief executive Khalid Al Falih said he expects more of the company’s capital spending to be directed towards offshore projects and expects rising costs across the oil sector to underpin oil prices, according to Reuters."



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Dubai regulator’s suspension of Depa shares is legacy of Arabtec troubles | The National

Dubai regulator’s suspension of Depa shares is legacy of Arabtec troubles | The National:



"Arabtec continues to cast a shadow over Dubai markets, months after the departure of its former boss. Now its influence over another listed construction company has attracted the scrutiny of regulators.



The Dubai financial regulator yesterday suspended the shares of the interiors specialist Depa in a row over the composition of its board of directors – half of whom came from Arabtec.



The Dubai Financial Services Authority halted trading in the stock on the Nasdaq Dubai from 10am Monday until further notice."



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Norway Open to Rosneft Expansion as Offshore Spending Slides - Bloomberg

Norway Open to Rosneft Expansion as Offshore Spending Slides - Bloomberg:



"Norway is open to OAO Rosneft deepening its involvement in the Nordic country as western Europe’s largest oil and natural gas producer seeks to counter a slowdown in investments and output.



The expansion of Russia’s largest oil producer in Norway comes as the country followed the U.S. and the European Union in imposing sanctions over Russia’s support of separatists in eastern Ukraine. Restrictions include a ban on technology transfer for deepwater, Arctic and shale oil exploration and production, while U.S. sanctions limit Rosneft’s access to financial markets.



“The restrictive measures are directed toward export of goods for use in Russia, and will not be relevant for foreign companies’ participation in petroleum activities or licensing rounds” offshore Norway, Oil and Energy Minister Tord Lien said yesterday in an interview in Stavanger, Norway."



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Kurds Get Seizure Order Thrown Out for Texas Oil Tanker - Bloomberg

Kurds Get Seizure Order Thrown Out for Texas Oil Tanker - Bloomberg:



"The Kurdistan Regional Government can bring $100 million of crude ashore in Texas after a U.S. judge threw out a court order that would have required federal agents to seize and hold the cargo for the Iraqi Oil Ministry until a court there decided which government owns it.



U.S. District Judge Gray Miller in Houston said he lacked authority under federal laws governing property stolen at sea to decide the dispute. Both Iraq’s central government and the regional government claim control of 1 million barrels of Kurdish crude waiting in a tanker moored in international waters off the Texas coast for almost a month.



Miller ruled yesterday that Iraq’s national oil ministry lost control of the crude when the Kurdish government pumped it without authorization from oilfields in the northern part of the country. Iraq failed to convince Miller that the oil was misappropriated when it was loaded into a tanker in the Mediterranean Sea after being pumped across Turkey in an Iraq-owned pipeline."



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Ukraine moves step closer to default - Fitch — RT Business

Ukraine moves step closer to default - Fitch — RT Business:



"The Fitch ratings agency has downgraded Ukraine one step closer to default grade, as the Ukrainian currency the hryvnia hits a record low, and the economy balances on the brink of a collapse.



Fitch cut the long-term local currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Ukraine from B-,signifying a default risk, to CCC, where default is a real possibility, and affirmed its long-term foreign currency IDR at CCC, it said in a statement on Friday.



The downgrade came amid deteriorating economic outlook due to the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine."



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Stock News: Banks Support Qatar, Most Markets Edge Up » Gulf Business

Stock News: Banks Support Qatar, Most Markets Edge Up » Gulf Business:



"Conventional and Islamic lenders lifted Qatar’s bourse in early trade on Monday while stock markets in the United Arab Emirates rose slightly on the back of mid- and small-cap stocks, and Egyptian property developers continued their uptrend. 




Qatar’s benchmark rose 0.6 per cent, led by Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan and Qatar National Bank, up 1.1 per cent each.



Qatar Islamic Bank added 1.6 per cent and Qatar International Islamic Bank was up 2.7 per cent."



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BBC News - How Norway has avoided the 'curse of oil'

BBC News - How Norway has avoided the 'curse of oil':



"Hugged by mountains and perched on a stunning coastline of fjords, Bergen, Norway's second-largest city, has picture-postcard views.



As the centre of Norway's booming oil and gas industries, it is also a very wealthy place.



Yet there are few displays of ostentatious spending - there are no supercars with tinted windows, no designer handbag shops, and no queues of people outside exclusive nightclubs."



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Saudi Stocks Decline Most Since June Led by Bank Albilad - Bloomberg

Saudi Stocks Decline Most Since June Led by Bank Albilad - Bloomberg:



"Shares in Saudi Arabia dropped the most in more than eight weeks, led by banking stocks, after some investors capitalized on gains as the Arab world’s biggest bourse prepares to open to foreigners.



The Tadawul All Share Index (SASEIDX) declined 0.6 percent, the most since June 29, to close at 10,842.78. The benchmark measure has advanced 11 percent since the country announced plans to allow investors outside the Gulf Cooperation Council to access the bourse. Bank Albilad tumbled 4.6 percent, the most since March 17. Alinma Bank erased an increase of 9.5 percent to close 1.7 percent lower as more than 120 million shares changed hands, accounting for about a quarter of all shares traded.



“Retail investors are heavily invested in Alinma Bank,” Khaled Albraikan, head of asset management at NCB Capital, said by phone. “When there’s profit taking in a stock that has been rallying,” it affects the whole market, he said. Alinma Bank advanced 21 percent in the six days through yesterday."



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UPDATE 3-MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi bourse pulls back on profit-taking; turnover rises | News by Country | Reuters

UPDATE 3-MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi bourse pulls back on profit-taking; turnover rises | News by Country | Reuters:



"Saudi Arabia's main stock index pulled back because of profit-taking on Monday after earlier in the day breaking through the psychologically important level of 11,000 points for the first time since January 2008.



The main Saudi index was nearly flat in the early afternoon after rising 1.4 percent to 11,051 points and then dipping as much as 0.4 percent. The benchmark had gained in the six previous sessions.



"It's normal profit-taking," said Maged Ali Hasan, head of brokerage EFG Hermes in Riyadh."



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S&P 500 reaches new milestone - YouTube

S&P 500 reaches new milestone - YouTube: ""



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