Thursday 29 December 2016

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets move sideways in early trade | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets move sideways in early trade | Reuters:
"Gulf stock markets moved sideways in early trade on Thursday with few fresh incentives, after global bourses and oil prices lacked direction overnight.

Saudi Arabia's stock index edged down 0.1 percent in the first 20 minutes after profit taking in some second-tier petrochemical stocks which had surged on Wednesday. Petrochem continued climbing, however, adding 3.0 percent.

The banking sector index outperformed slightly, rising 0.2 percent after money supply data released late on Wednesday showed commercial bank deposits rose to their highest level this year in November - a fresh sign that a liquidity crunch due to low oil prices is easing."

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EGA to expand operation in United States as American demand rises | The National

EGA to expand operation in United States as American demand rises | The National:
"Amid rising demand in the United States, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said yesterday it is expanding its operations in America, where it has doubled its business volume over the past few years.

The move comes ahead of an expected shift in the political mood in the United States to a more protectionist stance when Donald Trump is sworn in as president next month. Mr Trump has pledged to revive American industry such as metals production at the expense of foreign manufacturers.


EGA, one of the world’s biggest aluminium producers, has opened a bigger office in St Louis in Missouri under the Dubal America name, after increasing its workforce five times since launching an office in 2014."

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The emerging markets story will remain relevant | GulfNews.com

The emerging markets story will remain relevant | GulfNews.com:
"Casual observers might think that 2016 was a disappointing year for so-called emerging markets. In fact, some of these countries have delivered the year’s best investment returns, while certain developed-country markets have fared poorly.
If a UK resident who has personal obligations in Brazil had hedged all of his Brazilian real into sterling at the start of the year, he would have lost almost 50 per cent of his investment.
Indeed, Brazil is not the only emerging country whose markets performed better than expected in 2016. But this is easy to miss when, more than 15 years after I coined the BRIC acronym (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), people are still lumping a diverse range of countries into a single “emerging markets” category which confuses more than it illuminates."

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Ten Best Saudi Stocks for Dividends, Picked by Aljazira Capital - Bloomberg

Ten Best Saudi Stocks for Dividends, Picked by Aljazira Capital - Bloomberg:
"With most Saudi Arabian stocks trading near their fair value, investors would do best to target companies set to pay the most in dividends in 2017, according to the equities team at Aljazira Capital.

The Riyadh-based securities firm selected 10 stocks to recommend for dividend investors, after assessing these companies’ cash position, spending plans, debt profile and the latest corporate and industry developments. The team of analysts is led by acting head of research Talha Nazar, whose recommendations outperformed the average among his Saudi Arabian peers in the past year.

The following are Aljazira’s selections, along with the reasons for their inclusion in the list prepared for clients:"

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Saudi bank deposits rise in November as c.bank liquidates foreign assets | Reuters

Saudi bank deposits rise in November as c.bank liquidates foreign assets | Reuters:
"Saudi Arabian commercial bank deposits rose to their highest level this year in November, a sign that a liquidity crunch due to low oil prices is easing as the government liquidates foreign assets to pay its bills, official data showed on Wednesday.

Bank deposits climbed to 1.624 trillion riyals ($433 billion) from 1.610 trillion riyals in October, the fourth straight month-on-month gain, the central bank figures showed.

Deposits fell earlier this year as the government, its revenues shrunk by cheap oil, placed less money with domestic banks. At the same time, it covered part of a huge budget deficit by issuing bonds to the banks."

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MOVES-Four senior staff depart National Bank of Abu Dhabi - sources | Reuters

MOVES-Four senior staff depart National Bank of Abu Dhabi - sources | Reuters:

"Four top managers at National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) are leaving the bank ahead of a merger with First Gulf Bank (FGB) to create one of the Middle East and Africa's biggest banks, according to sources.

Abdulla Mohammed Saleh AbdulRaheem, deputy group chief executive and Qamber al-Mulla, senior managing director and chief executive of Gulf and international, are both departing, the sources said.

Also leaving are Saif al-Shehhi, senior managing director UAE government group and VVIP clients, and Abdulla Bin Khalaf al-Otaiba, senior managing director and group head of global retail & commercial."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf set to consolidate, Saudi money supply data is positive | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf set to consolidate, Saudi money supply data is positive | Reuters:
"Gulf stock markets look set to consolidate on Thursday with few fresh incentives, as global bourses and oil prices have moved little over the past 24 hours.

Saudi Arabian money supply data released late on Wednesday was modestly positive, showing commercial bank deposits rose to their highest level this year in November - a fresh sign that a liquidity crunch due to low oil prices is easing.

This could encourage a modest rise by the Saudi stock index , which remains in short- and longer-term technical uptrends after this week's climb to a fresh year-high in active volume.

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2017 in a minute: european equities