Thursday 26 March 2015

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets end well off lows after panic over Yemen | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets end well off lows after panic over Yemen | Reuters:



"Most Middle East stock markets fell on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its allies in the region launched air strikes against Yemen's Houthi militia, but they came well off their lows late in the day as the initial panic subsided.



Saudi Arabia's bourse, which is by far the region's biggest market and closes later than others in the Gulf, finished higher.



Warplanes attacked the Yemeni capital Sanaa's airport and its al Dulaimi military airbase on Thursday after the Houthi militia and its army allies advanced towards the city of Aden a day earlier."



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Missing animal spirits - YouTube

Missing animal spirits - YouTube: ""



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Strategy, management and execution are crucial factors in GCC asset management | The National

Strategy, management and execution are crucial factors in GCC asset management | The National:



"The asset management industry in the GCC has blindly followed developed market dictates. The main focus is listed equities. But the GCC markets have neither the depth nor breadth to allow an active strategy to flourish. And a passive strategy does not need asset managers.



The only other truly active asset class in the region is private equity (PE). PE managers have focused predominantly on what they call late stage investing: buying shares of companies shortly before they list. This strategy has performed well on a few notable deals. However, fund performance has been abysmal.



The problem here is where is the value creation? A firm that buys a company and quickly IPOs it is not an asset management firm but an investment bank that is providing underwriting and equity capital market services."



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Dubai, Essa Kazim, London Stock Exchange, DFM | The National

Dubai, Essa Kazim, London Stock Exchange, DFM | The National:



"Dubai has sold its eight-year-old 17.4 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange, making a 77 per cent gain on its investment.



Essa Kazim, chairman of Borse Dubai, said that the shares had been sold at a price near an all-time record for LSE stock.



“What with currency gains and dividends, we’ve made a good profit. It’s an example of a Dubai overseas investment that has made a profit for the government,” he said."



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Why Bombing This Tiny Oil Producer Is Roiling the Energy Market - Bloomberg Business

Why Bombing This Tiny Oil Producer Is Roiling the Energy Market - Bloomberg Business:



"While Yemen contributes less than 0.2 percent of global oil output, its location puts it near the center of world energy trade.



The nation shares a border with Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, and sits on one side of a shipping chokepoint used by crude tankers heading West from the Persian Gulf. Global oil prices jumped more than 5 percent on Thursday after regional powers began bombing rebel targets in the country that produced less than Denmark in 2013.



Yemen’s government has collapsed in the face of an offensive by rebels known as Houthis, prompting airstrikes led by Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The Gulf’s main Sunni Muslim power says the Houthis are tools of its Shiite rival Iran, another OPEC member, and has vowed to do what’s necessary to halt them."



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U.A.E. Oil Port Beyond Hormuz Sees Expansion on Storage Demand - Bloomberg Business

U.A.E. Oil Port Beyond Hormuz Sees Expansion on Storage Demand - Bloomberg Business:



"Oil storage companies are refinancing debt and planning borrowing to expand terminals at the United Arab Emirates port outside the Hormuz Strait to help traders manage an oil glut with Middle East borrowing rates near a record low.



Fujairah Oil Terminal FZC, a joint venture between China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. and a Singaporean partner, is seeking to refinance a construction loan, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Gulf Petrochem FZC, which operates another storage terminal nearby, is considering financing to expand capacity, according to Paul Nix, general manager for terminal operations.



An oil glut estimated by the U.A.E. at 2 million barrels a day and growing Middle East output of products such as gasoline are boosting demand for storage, benefiting Fujairah, the biggest oil storage port on the Persian Gulf. Refinancing is more attractive with the three-month Emirates interbank offered rate, a benchmark used by banks to price loans, at 0.677 percent last month, matching the lowest since at least 2006."



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Dubai Stocks Lead Mideast Rout as Coalition Bombs Yemeni Targets - Bloomberg Business

Dubai Stocks Lead Mideast Rout as Coalition Bombs Yemeni Targets - Bloomberg Business:



"Dubai stocks led regional equity markets lower after a Saudi-led coalition started air strikes against Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels.



The DFM General Index lost 3.7 percent at 12:19 p.m. local time to 3,306.82, the lowest since Dec. 18, bringing its two day losses to 5.7 percent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index fell as much as 4.2 percent before trading 0.3 percent lower. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, a gauge of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s top 200 equities, fell to the weakest level since Jan. 13.



Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar said they responded to a request for help from Yemen’s President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi, according to a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco and Jordan are also part of the operation, according to Al Arabiya TV, bringing the total number of aircraft involved to 185. The air strikes come after forces loyal to the rebel group marched on the southern port city of Aden, Hadi’s stronghold."



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