Tuesday 9 February 2016

70% of Dubai projects facing delays: analyst | GulfNews.com

70% of Dubai projects facing delays: analyst | GulfNews.com:

"Amid slowing market conditions, government spending cuts and continued oil price decline, a number of realty projects in the UAE won’t be completed as scheduled this year, an industry consultant has said.

Real estate investment and advisory firm JLL estimated that the delivery of some 18,200 residential units in Dubai won’t come as originally anticipated due to a number of issues. The figure represents 70 per cent of the 26,000 units earlier planned for completion in 2016.

“[The] information received from developers is that 26,000 [residential] units are expected to be delivered in 2016 within 136 projects. Of these figures, based on previous years, we expect around 30 per cent of these to be completed as scheduled,” Craig Plumb, JLL head of research for Middle East and North Africa, told Gulf News."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Bourses join global market rout; Egypt tumbles 2.8 pct | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Bourses join global market rout; Egypt tumbles 2.8 pct | Reuters:

"Stock markets in the Middle East fell on Tuesday, erasing the prior session's gains, as risk appetite diminished following a slump in global shares.

Egypt's main index tumbled 2.8 percent to 6,004 points, erasing the prior session's gains as foreign funds redeemed shares, bourse data showed.

Commercial International Bank, a stock favoured by international fund managers, retreated 3.3 percent. Palm Hills Development declined 4.3 percent in heavy trade, after the real estate developer posted strong quarterly earnings early this week."



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Iran to keep most unfrozen overseas assets in foreign banks - FT.com

Iran to keep most unfrozen overseas assets in foreign banks - FT.com:

"Iran plans to keep most of the $100bn in assets it holds in foreign banks out of the country now the funds have been unfrozen, in a bid to fend off inflationary pressure from a sudden injection of cash into its economy, according to the country’s vice-president.



“The money will not come to Iran,” says Mohammad-Bagher Nobakht as he outlined plans for how the government would deal with the assets released following Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers last year. Instead, he said, “we will use it the same way as oil revenues”, with the central bank opening letters of credit for domestic companies, taking their payment in rials and paying overseas creditors in hard currency.

Despite high levels of public debt, analysts say, Tehran plans to direct the funds at infrastructure projects and the purchase of capital goods in a bid to end a recession that has seen negative growth in most years since 2011 and sent youth unemployment to 25 per cent."



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A chance for Putin | beyondbrics

A chance for Putin | beyondbrics:

"In the spring of 1987, I flew to Moscow with a team of several dozen US officials to negotiate what would become the last trade and economic agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. In reality, it became a bit of a blueprint in addressing the privatisation of the Russian economic system under then General Secretary of the Soviet Socialist Republics Mikhail Gorbechev. Over the course of several days the Soviet and US teams addressed most sectors of the economy from finance and tourism to legal structures and manufacturing. Although our approach was far from perfect, it laid a foundation, along with perestroika and glasnost, that allowed Russia to prosper for more than 25 years.

Since that time, I have watched as Russia has gone from state-centric decay, to black-market driven. I have seen the system devolve from broken socialist idealism, to rampant capitalist greed run amok.

For a brief period in the mid-2000s it seemed as though the Russian economy and Russian people would have a chance at a diversified, market-driven economy. Russia was open for business. Reforms were being instituted. State control seemed to be moving towards balanced regulation of standards and away from kleptocratic enrichment of the few. But it was not to be."



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Banks' bear market | Authers' Note - YouTube

Banks' bear market | Authers' Note - YouTube: ""



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Global oil glut to worsen as deal to cut production unlikely, says IEA | The National

Global oil glut to worsen as deal to cut production unlikely, says IEA | The National:

"The world will store unwanted oil for most of 2016 as declines in US output take time and Opec is unlikely to cut a deal with other producers to reduce ballooning output, the International Energy Agency said.

The agency, which coordinates energy policies of industrialised countries, said that while it did not believe oil prices could follow some of the most extreme forecasts and fall to as low as US$10 per barrel, it was equally hard to see how they could rise significantly from current levels.

The Paris-based IEA trimmed its forecast for 2016 oil demand growth, which now stands at 1.17 million barrels per day (bpd) following a five-year high of 1.6 million in 2015."



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The man, the facade and The Address Downtown Dubai fire | The National

The man, the facade and The Address Downtown Dubai fire | The National:

"Shaji Ul Mulk is the man behind the facades of a thousand towers.

The billionaire Indian businessman runs the world’s biggest maker of aluminium panels found on skyscrapers worldwide.

One of those was The Address Downtown Dubai, which on New Year’s Eve took minutes to erupt in a spectacular ball of flames. It was the latest in a string of high-rise facade fires linked to the use of highly flammable aluminium cladding panels."



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Oman plans to borrow $10b to fund deficit | GulfNews.com

Oman plans to borrow $10b to fund deficit | GulfNews.com:

"Oman plans to borrow between $5 billion (Dh18.36 billion) and $10 billion from abroad to help finance a budget deficit caused by low oil prices, central bank executive president Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali told Al Arabiya television on Monday.

Al Zadjali said the government might issue eurobonds by the middle of this year, but did not comment on the size of any eurobond offer or give further details of the foreign borrowing plan.

He also said the government planned to issue 600 million rials ($1.56 billion) of domestic bonds this year, or about 100 million rials every two months. It is currently marketing a 100 million rial, five-year issue with a coupon of 3.5 per cent; the bonds will be auctioned on February 16."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt tumbles, follows global market rout; Saudi slips | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt tumbles, follows global market rout; Saudi slips | Reuters:

"Egypt's stock market fell more than 2 percent in early trade on Tuesday, following global shares lower, while Riyadh's index slipped as local traders cashed out of speculative shares.

Egypt's main index tumbled 2.1 percent. Palm Hills Development was down 3.0 percent and was the most heavily traded stock, after the real estate developer posted strong quarterly earnings early this week.

Commercial International Bank, an Egyptian share favoured by international fund managers, retreated 3.7 percent."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf bourses fall, following global shares lower | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf bourses fall, following global shares lower | Reuters:

"Gulf stock markets fell in early trade on Tuesday, erasing the prior session's gains as risk appetite diminished following a slump in global shares.

Dubai's index fell 2.2 percent with blue chips Emaar Properties and Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest bank by market value, each tumbling more than 3.0 percent.

Abu Dhabi's benchmark was down 0.4 percent after closing flat on the previous day; large-cap lender First Gulf Bank fell 0.9 percent. Dana Gas retreated 2.1 percent after gaining for three days."



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