Monday 25 May 2015

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets little moved but Saudi's Ma'aden surges; Egypt slips | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets little moved but Saudi's Ma'aden surges; Egypt slips | Reuters:



"Gulf stock markets were narrowly mixed on Monday as oil prices moved very little and bourses were shut for public holidays in the United States and much of Europe.



Brent oil inched up early on Monday on strong Asian and U.S. demand but then slipped towards $65 a barrel as the U.S. dollar strengthened.



Saudi Arabia's index inched down 0.1 percent and National Industrialization Co (Tasnee) was the main drag, dropping 2.3 percent after its chief executive told Saudi Arabia's Al-Riyadh newspaper that its petrochemicals business faced increased competition from Chinese producers while the titanium business suffered from lower prices."



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UPDATE 2-MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia edges up on Ma'aden; Egypt slips | Reuters

UPDATE 2-MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia edges up on Ma'aden; Egypt slips | Reuters:



"Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma'aden) lifted the kingdom's bourse in early trade on Monday, while Egypt's market slipped after a rally but stayed well above a technical support level.



The main Saudi index inched up 0.3 percent as Ma'aden jumped 3.4 percent to 45.30 riyals after Al Rajhi Capital raised the stock's target price to 52.00 riyals from 41.00 riyals, citing its growing output and an improving business outlook.



Ma'aden said this month that its massive smelter run jointly with U.S. group Alcoa, which had experienced several technical glitches on start-up, would produce above its initial capacity target this year."



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India's manufacturing future - YouTube

India's manufacturing future - YouTube: ""



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Where next? - YouTube

Where next? - YouTube: ""



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Kuwait’s Global Beats Restructuring Plan on Mideast Buyout Boom - Bloomberg Business

Kuwait’s Global Beats Restructuring Plan on Mideast Buyout Boom - Bloomberg Business:



"Surging buyout activity in the Middle East is helping Global Investment House get ahead of plans to repay creditors after the Kuwaiti financial company restructured $1.7 billion of debt twice in the past five years.



The company generated $122 million from asset sales between July 2013 and the end of last year, exceeding a target of $35 million in its agreement with creditors, Ibrahim Saad, chairman of Global, said in an interview in Dubai. This year, asset sales also continue to be ahead of target, Saad said, declining to provide further details.



Global delisted its shares and created a so-called bad bank owned by creditors including Standard Chartered Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Gulf Bank KSC as part of its second revamp agreement in 2013. The remaining part of the business, in which creditors were given a 70 percent stake, was left debt-free and given the mandate for the sale of assets from the bad bank and return the cash to creditors."



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Saudi Politics Blamed as Market Asks Where Did All the Sukuk Go? - Bloomberg Business

Saudi Politics Blamed as Market Asks Where Did All the Sukuk Go? - Bloomberg Business:



"When King Salman started Saudi Arabia’s biggest political shakeup in at least a decade, the fate of sukuk sales was probably the last thing on his mind.



Saudi companies have yet to market a single security in 2015, making it the country’s quietest start for Islamic sales in nine years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. King Salman has reorganized his cabinet, removed princes from government roles, merged ministries and realigned succession since ascending to the throne in January.



“You’re not going to commit to large-scale spending unless you’re confident the government’s policies will continue,” Emad Mostaque, who travels regularly to Saudi Arabia as a strategist at emerging markets consultancy company Ecstrat Ltd. in London, said by e-mail on May 22. “You had a complete overhaul of the political process, realignment of ministries. There have been a lot of changes. You need some stability before you start looking at sukuk-type issuance.”"



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets dip, tracking oil; Egypt extends gains | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets dip, tracking oil; Egypt extends gains | Reuters:



"Most Gulf stock markets slipped on Sunday after oil prices fell, while Egyptian equities extended gains following the delay of an unpopular capital gains tax. 




Brent oil fell $1.17, or 1.8 percent, to $65.37 a barrel on Friday, declining 2.1 percent on the week as a rallying dollar and profit-taking ahead of a long U.S. holiday weekend cut short a two-day rally.



Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries, whose profits are sensitive to oil prices, dropped 2.5 percent and was the main drag on Saudi Arabia's index which lost 0.4 percent."



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