Friday 19 September 2014

Lionel Barber on the Scottish result - YouTube

Lionel Barber on the Scottish result - YouTube: ""



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Scottish referendum relief rally - YouTube

Scottish referendum relief rally - YouTube: ""



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The benefits of getting rid of cash - YouTube

The benefits of getting rid of cash - YouTube: ""



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No repayment from failed Abu Dhabi development, despite court order | The National

No repayment from failed Abu Dhabi development, despite court order | The National:



"In 2008, my husband and I invested in some off-plan hotel-serviced apartments with a major developer based in Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately the developer decided not to go ahead with the project, building normal residential towers instead. The developer would not offer compensation or any refund to us, so we had no choice but to take legal action. Four years ago we won our case in the Abu Dhabi courts, which then gave an execution order for the developer to pay back our money. Four years on we still have not received a dime and the developer is still operating and has now finished building some of these residential towers on Al Reem island. Our lawyer based in Abu Dhabi is no longer pursuing the matter and is not replying to our phone calls or emails. I have been in touch with others in a similar situation who also won their court case but have not received any money back. The amount of money owed to us is substantial. What can I do now to enforce the court’s execution order? MD, Abu Dhabi"



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Sberbank Chief: Russian Economy Seeing Growth Difficulties Amid Sanctions | Russia | RIA Novosti

Sberbank Chief: Russian Economy Seeing Growth Difficulties Amid Sanctions | Russia | RIA Novosti:



"It will be hard for Russia to sustain economic growth under intensifying Western sanctions, the head of Russia's biggest bank Sberbank Herman Gref said Friday in a live interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.



"We have to realize that under conditions of increasing sanctions, it will be very hard to raise the economy, to maintain economic growth. This is why it is very important to borrow home resources on the one hand, and to stabilize the situation in every way on the other," he said.



Gref added that the circumstances surrounding the bank's sources of finance have not changed dramatically since the Western economic sanctions against Russia had been introduced."



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UPDATE 1-UAE's Ithmar Capital picks CS, Deutsche for $436 mln Dubai float-sources | Reuters

UPDATE 1-UAE's Ithmar Capital picks CS, Deutsche for $436 mln Dubai float-sources | Reuters:



"United Arab Emirates-based private equity firm Ithmar Capital has picked Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to manage the flotation of a vehicle it hopes to list on the Dubai bourse by year end, sources close to the matter told Reuters.



Ithmar is aiming to list a so-called special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which lists and then uses the cash raised from the flotation to make private equity-style investments, several sources said.



The listing will aim to raise around 1.6 billion dirhams ($436 million), with proceeds to be used to invest in healthcare and education assets, including buying stakes in firms which Ithmar currently owns - most notably some of its 20 percent holding in Al Noor Hospitals."



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Kuwait Investment Authority says to expand Germany investments | Energy & Oil | Reuters

Kuwait Investment Authority says to expand Germany investments | Energy & Oil | Reuters:



"The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds and a long-term investor in German auto maker Daimler AG , wants to ramp up investments in Europe's largest economy.



Speaking on Thursday at a ceremony in Stuttgart to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of Kuwait's investment in Daimler, His Excellency Anas K. Al-Saleh, minister of finance of the State of Kuwait and chairman of the board of the Kuwait Investment Authority, said the KIA would continue to increase its investments in Germany.



Kuwait has invested almost $18 billion in Germany."



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Etihad on track to raise $2b in 2014 | GulfNews.com

Etihad on track to raise $2b in 2014 | GulfNews.com:



"Etihad Airways is on track to raise $2 billion by years end to pay for aircraft deliveries and investments in other airlines, chief financial officer James Rigney said on Thursday.



“The primary focus of that money is aircraft related and also for investments we have made in our equity partners,” he told reporters in Abu Dhabi.



Earlier this year, Etihad executives met with prospective lenders in London and New York."



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Russia Wealth Fund at Risk on Sanctions Relief: Chart of the Day - Bloomberg

Russia Wealth Fund at Risk on Sanctions Relief: Chart of the Day - Bloomberg:



"

Russia risks wiping out half its $85 billion wealth fund if companies facing international sanctions ask the government for cash to repay maturing debt. 




Russian companies have been frozen out of international debt markets for two months as the U.S. and European Union escalate sanctions over President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine. Those affected by the penalties are eligible to receive support from the National Wellbeing Fund, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Sept. 12.



The CHART OF THE DAY shows that sanctioned companies, including OAO Rosneft, OAO Gazprom, OAO Sberbank and OAO Lukoil, have $45.8 billion in bonds and loans maturing in the next 12 months. Rosneft, the world’s biggest listed oil company by output, tops the list with $27.6 billion of debt coming due, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."



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Arab Bank Assailed at Trial for Serving Terrorism ‘Stars’ - Bloomberg

Arab Bank Assailed at Trial for Serving Terrorism ‘Stars’ - Bloomberg:



"Arab Bank Plc, Jordan’s biggest lender, was the “bank of the stars” for the terrorism world and willingly aided the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a lawyer told New York jurors in a bid to recover damages on behalf of hundreds of victims of the group’s attacks.



The bank was sued in a potentially landmark case for allegedly doing business with more than 150 Hamas leaders and operatives linked to two dozen attacks in Israel, mostly suicide-bombings.



The plaintiffs, victims of the attacks or their relatives, seek to hold the Amman-based lender responsible for assaults which occurred in the early 2000s amid a wave of violence, including deadly explosions in buses and restaurants."



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Russia Demands More Changes to EU-Ukraine Trade Deal | News | The Moscow Times

Russia Demands More Changes to EU-Ukraine Trade Deal | News | The Moscow Times:



"Russia has demanded changes to a free-trade deal between Ukraine and the European Union, underlining that Moscow was not satisfied by a last-minute concession from the EU to delay implementing the pact at the heart of the conflict in Ukraine.



In a letter to the EU trade commissioner, seen by Reuters on Thursday, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Moscow wanted three-way negotiations to amend the EU's treaty with Kiev, which Russia says will hurt its own economy. 




Ulyukayev renewed threats to curb Ukraine's access to vital Russian markets, showing that a concession Brussels made to Russia on Friday — to delay the pact's implementation for 15 months — had failed to ease Moscow's concerns."



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Court rejects EU’s freeze on assets of Iran central bank - FT.com

Court rejects EU’s freeze on assets of Iran central bank - FT.com:



"The EU’s initial freeze on the assets of Iran’s central bank has been struck out in court, calling into question the bloc’s use of confidential sources to support its international sanctions.



The Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that the case against the Iranian central bank from January 2012 was based on confidential evidence from one unidentified member state, against which Tehran could not mount a defence.



“The reasons relied on are so vague and lacking in detail that the only possible response was in the form of a general denial,” the court said. “Those reasons therefore do not comply with the requirements of the case-law.”"



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