Sunday 16 April 2017

UAE exchange houses told to do 'cross-check' on security | GulfNews.com

UAE exchange houses told to do 'cross-check' on security | GulfNews.com:

"Businesses facilitating money remittances from the UAE have been advised to take precautionary measures following unfounded reports that the funds transfer system in the region has been compromised. An official from the Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (Ferg) in the UAE said on Sunday that exchange houses need to ensure that the firewall protection they use is safe from intrusion by hackers, and that no outsider emails are opened in PCs intended for cash transactions. “As the amounts involved are very large, it is important to cross-verify the security features of the firewall using some other company. Emails, specifically incoming with attachments, need to be separated from the PC that is used for processing remittances,” Rajiv Raipancholia, Ferg treasurer told Gulf News. “Regular updates of the virus scanners are required to keep your PCs clean."



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Abu Dhabi state fund considers venture with property firm Eshraq | Reuters

Abu Dhabi state fund considers venture with property firm Eshraq | Reuters:

"Abu Dhabi government fund Mubadala is considering forming a venture with loss-making real estate developer Eshraq Properties in the latest example of Abu Dhabi state money coming to the aid of a local company that has run into difficulties. Mubadala and Eshraq are exploring opportunities to establish a joint real estate development venture in Abu Dhabi, they said in a statement on Sunday. The proposed venture would develop plots of land in Abu Dhabi owned by Mubadala on Al Maryah Island and by Eshraq on Al Reem Island. "



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Iran Boosts Gas-Output Capacity With New Projects at Giant Field - Bloomberg

Iran Boosts Gas-Output Capacity With New Projects at Giant Field - Bloomberg:

"Iran, holder of the world’s biggest natural gas reserves, boosted output by inaugurating six projects at the giant South Pars offshore field. The country raised total production capacity at South Pars to 570 million cubic meters a day of gas, putting it almost on par with neighboring Qatar, which produces from an adjacent portion of the same deposit, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Sunday at a ceremony in the port city of Assaluyeh. Iran invested $20 billion to complete the six projects, or phases, President Hassan Rouhani said at the event. Iran is on track to out-produce Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, at the Persian Gulf deposit. Iranian officials want to gain market share for gas shipments and attract foreign investment, even as U.S. President Donald Trump ratchets up confrontational rhetoric against Iran. "



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MOVES-Dubai's Arabtec appoints Peter Pollard as Group CFO-sources | Reuters

MOVES-Dubai's Arabtec appoints Peter Pollard as Group CFO-sources | Reuters:

"Dubai-listed builder Arabtec Holding has appointed Peter Pollard as group chief financial officer (CFO), sources told Reuters on Sunday.

Pollard's appointment comes days ahead of the company's shareholder meeting on Tuesday, in which Arabtec will be seeking investor approval for its 1.5 billion dirhams ($408.39 million) rights issue.

Pollard, who will be overseeing the company's recapitalisation programme, will succeed acting group CFO Ravi Murthy, according to three sources, declining to be identified because the matter is not public."



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Exclusive: Saudi to shelve, reform billions of dollars of unfinished projects - sources | Reuters

Exclusive: Saudi to shelve, reform billions of dollars of unfinished projects - sources | Reuters:

"Saudi Arabia's government is ordering its ministries and agencies to review billions of dollars' worth of unfinished infrastructure and economic development projects with a view to shelving or restructuring them, government sources said. Riyadh's Bureau of Capital and Operational Spending Rationalization, set up last year to make the government more efficient, is compiling a list of projects that are under 25 percent complete, the sources told Reuters. Many of these projects are relics of a decade-long boom of high oil prices and lavish state spending, which ended when oil began sliding in mid-2014, making it increasingly difficult for Riyadh to find the money needed to complete their construction."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi banks down on 9/11 lawsuit, real estate weighs on Abu Dhabi | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi banks down on 9/11 lawsuit, real estate weighs on Abu Dhabi | Reuters:

"Saudi Arabia's two largest listed banks were the main drag on the index on Sunday on news that U.S. insurers have filed a lawsuit against the lenders over the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, while real estate shares and troubled Dana Gas weighed on Abu Dhabi. Shares of Al Rajhi Bank dropped 2.3 percent and, National Commercial Bank (NCB) lost 2.4 percent after the lawsuit was filed late on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, by more than two dozen U.S. insurers affiliated with Travelers Cos, in the latest effort to hold entities in Saudi Arabia liable for the attacks. The two banks, and companies affiliated with Osama bin Laden's family and several charities are being sued for at least $4.2 billion."



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OPEC Sees a World That Still Has Too Much Oil - Bloomberg Gadfly

OPEC Sees a World That Still Has Too Much Oil - Bloomberg Gadfly:

"The oil market is tipping slowly from glut to equilibrium, as output cuts from OPEC and 11 non-OPEC countries start to reduce crude flows.It's not quite there yet. Indeed, the grand "re-balancing" of supply and demand has yet to take place, although the International Energy Agency does at least believe "that the market is already very close to balance," according to its latest monthly report."



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The Oil Major Hiding Inside BHP Billiton That Paul Singer Wants Spun Off - Bloomberg

The Oil Major Hiding Inside BHP Billiton That Paul Singer Wants Spun Off - Bloomberg:

"The usual suspects have planted their flags along the dusty byways of the Permian Basin, declaring where they’ve staked claims. There are names like Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Pioneer Natural Resources Co. And, on signs fronting a barbed-wire fence, BHP Billiton Ltd.

For the world’s largest mining company, the heart of the U.S. shale boom in West Texas might seem to be strange territory, a very long way from the iron-ore deposits of Australia or the copper mines of Chile’s Atacama desert. But BHP actually has been in the oil business for years, with operations stretching from Texas to the North Sea. Its U.S. assets alone are so valuable that activist investor Paul Singer urged the company to spin them off -- a suggestion BHP rejected Monday, setting the stage for a tussle with the billionaire."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-U.S. 9/11 lawsuit against Saudi banks main drag, NBK up on Q1 earnings beat | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-U.S. 9/11 lawsuit against Saudi banks main drag, NBK up on Q1 earnings beat | Reuters:

"Saudi Arabia's two largest listed banks were the main drag on the index in early trade on Sunday on news that U.S. insurers have filed a lawsuit against the lenders over the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, while National Bank of Kuwait rose on strong first quarter results. Shares of Al Rajhi Bank were down 1.5 percent and, National Commercial Bank down 2.1 percent on news that the lawsuit was filed late on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, by more than two dozen U.S. insurers affiliated with Travelers Cos, in the latest effort to hold entities in Saudi Arabia liable for the attacks. The two banks, and companies affiliated with Osama bin Laden's family and several charities are being sued for at least $4.2 billion."



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Hackers release files indicating NSA monitored global bank transfers | Reuters

Hackers release files indicating NSA monitored global bank transfers | Reuters:

"Hackers released documents and files on Friday that cybersecurity experts said indicated the U.S. National Security Agency had accessed the SWIFT interbank messaging system, allowing it to monitor money flows among some Middle Eastern and Latin American banks.

The release included computer code that could be adapted by criminals to break into SWIFT servers and monitor messaging activity, said Shane Shook, a cyber security consultant who has helped banks investigate breaches of their SWIFT systems.

The documents and files were released by a group calling themselves The Shadow Brokers. Some of the records bear NSA seals, but Reuters could not confirm their authenticity.

"



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Dubai SWIFT service provider denies being hacked | GulfNews.com

Dubai SWIFT service provider denies being hacked | GulfNews.com:

"A Dubai-based provider of SWIFT services on Saturday denied that it had been hacked. The statement from EastNets comes one day after documents were released on online that suggesting the National Security Agency (NSA) had penetrated the SWIFT banking network and monitored a number of Middle East banks. “The reports of an alleged hacker-compromised EastNets Service Bureau (ENSB) network is totally false and unfounded. The EastNets Network internal Security Unit has ran a complete check of its servers and found no hacker compromise or any vulnerabilities,” it said. SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications and provides a messaging network for financial institutions to “quickly, accurately, and securely send and receive information such as money transfer instructions.”"



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Most oil producers want extension of output cuts: Iran minister | Reuters

Most oil producers want extension of output cuts: Iran minister | Reuters:

"Most oil producers support an extension of output cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries, and Iran would also back such a move, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying.

"(Zanganeh) stressed that most countries want OPEC's decision to be extended," the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.

"Iran also supports such a decision and if others comply, so would Iran," Zanganeh told reporters late on Saturday, according to ISNA."



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