"The zloty advanced the most in 10 months as Poland’s central bank sold foreign currencies on the market to curb volatility, which set a six-month high.
The central bank’s first market purchases since 2011 helped the zloty advance 1.7 percent to 4.2419 per euro at 7:57 p.m. in Warsaw, the biggest appreciation since Aug. 3, after slumping to a one-year low yesterday. It was the biggest gain among more than 170 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The zloty’s three-month historic volatility jumped to 6.68 today, the highest since Dec. 4."
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Sunday, 9 June 2013
Qatar Index at Highest Since September 2008 on Valuation Allure - Bloomberg
"Qatar’s benchmark stock index soared to the highest in more than four years on investor optimism the shares are catching up with its Gulf Cooperation Council peers as valuations are seen as increasingly attractive.
Barwa Real Estate Co., Qatar’s biggest publicly traded property developer by assets, climbed the most in 18 months. Oil and gas services company Gulf International Services QSC snapped a five-day losing streak and gained the most since May 30. Qatar’s QE Index (DFMGI) advanced 0.5 percent to 9,335.21, the highest close since September 2008.
Shares on Qatar’s benchmark trade at an average price-to-book value of 1.67 times, compared with 1.99 for Saudi Arabia’s gauge. The index (SASEIDX) trades at less than 12 times earnings and at “a very strong” dividend yield of 5 percent, according to Bobby Sarkar, head of research at Qatar National Bank Financial Services."
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Barwa Real Estate Co., Qatar’s biggest publicly traded property developer by assets, climbed the most in 18 months. Oil and gas services company Gulf International Services QSC snapped a five-day losing streak and gained the most since May 30. Qatar’s QE Index (DFMGI) advanced 0.5 percent to 9,335.21, the highest close since September 2008.
Shares on Qatar’s benchmark trade at an average price-to-book value of 1.67 times, compared with 1.99 for Saudi Arabia’s gauge. The index (SASEIDX) trades at less than 12 times earnings and at “a very strong” dividend yield of 5 percent, according to Bobby Sarkar, head of research at Qatar National Bank Financial Services."
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Jet CEO Kardassis Resigns After Pact to Sell Stake to Etihad - Bloomberg
"Jet Airways (India) Ltd. (JETIN) said its Chief Executive Officer Nikos Kardassis resigned, less than two months after the carrier agreed to sell a stake to Etihad Airways PJSC.
Chief Operating Officer Hameed Ali will lead the airline until the board identifies a new chief executive, the Mumbai-based company said in a stock exchange filing yesterday. Kardassis, who became CEO of the carrier for a second time in October 2009, resigned with effect from June 5.
The new CEO faces a challenge to end six years of losses and pare debt at Jet Airways as competition in India is set to intensify with the entry of AirAsia Bhd (AIRA), the region’s biggest discount carrier. Chairman Naresh Goyal in April agreed to sell a 24 percent stake to Abu Dhabi’s Etihad as he seeks funds needed to pay for expansion."
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Chief Operating Officer Hameed Ali will lead the airline until the board identifies a new chief executive, the Mumbai-based company said in a stock exchange filing yesterday. Kardassis, who became CEO of the carrier for a second time in October 2009, resigned with effect from June 5.
The new CEO faces a challenge to end six years of losses and pare debt at Jet Airways as competition in India is set to intensify with the entry of AirAsia Bhd (AIRA), the region’s biggest discount carrier. Chairman Naresh Goyal in April agreed to sell a 24 percent stake to Abu Dhabi’s Etihad as he seeks funds needed to pay for expansion."
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Bahrain bank Al Khair eyes retail push with Khaleeji merger | Reuters
"Bank Al Khair, a Bahrain-based investment bank, expects its potential merger with local player Khaleeji Commercial Bank KHCB.BH to help provide it with retail banking exposure and more stable revenues, a top executive said.
Unlisted Al Khair and Khaleeji, both Islamic banks, set up a committee to study the feasibility of a merger, with any agreement subject to due diligence and approvals by shareholders and the regulator, Khaleeji said in a bourse filing earlier this month.
A merger would create an entity with paid-up capital of about $500 million and assets in the range of $600 million to $1 billion, Jonathan Holley, Bank Al Khair's acting chief executive and head of investment banking, said in an interview on Sunday."
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Unlisted Al Khair and Khaleeji, both Islamic banks, set up a committee to study the feasibility of a merger, with any agreement subject to due diligence and approvals by shareholders and the regulator, Khaleeji said in a bourse filing earlier this month.
A merger would create an entity with paid-up capital of about $500 million and assets in the range of $600 million to $1 billion, Jonathan Holley, Bank Al Khair's acting chief executive and head of investment banking, said in an interview on Sunday."
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Saudi Arabia’s big elephant in the room - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
"The Arab world is drastically changing every day due to the pressure of the youth who have become the majority. Turkish youth have also taken to the streets, urging the government to listen to them. And so, I believe that the Saudi government should listen to its young men and women. I guess that the government has done so, because there are massive changes going on in the Saudi scene after a campaign that vigorously urged the country to rely on local workers by imposing different legislations for the “improvement of work conditions.” It was an attempt by the Saudi government to revive the country again.
Before accusing me of exaggerating, the picture is deeper than just hundreds of Pakistanis, Filipinos, Bengali and other foreign nationalities, gathered in the early morning in front of their embassies to settle or complete their papers in order to be safely deported to their home countries."
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Before accusing me of exaggerating, the picture is deeper than just hundreds of Pakistanis, Filipinos, Bengali and other foreign nationalities, gathered in the early morning in front of their embassies to settle or complete their papers in order to be safely deported to their home countries."
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Qatar land prices rise 15% this year - Real Estate - ArabianBusiness.com
"Land prices in Qatar rose by 15 percent this year, compared to last year, due to increasing demand for residential, commercial, tourist and services facilities, according to research by real estate consultancy firm CBRE.
“Every single asset class is seeing growth, and there is a potential for oversupply but at the moment the market is stable,” Matthew Green, head of research at real estate consultancy firm CBRE, was quoted as saying.
“If you take the office market you have 4m sqm square meters of stock at the moment and you are going to have another 2m sqm by 2016-2017, so a 50 percent increase just in that period."
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“Every single asset class is seeing growth, and there is a potential for oversupply but at the moment the market is stable,” Matthew Green, head of research at real estate consultancy firm CBRE, was quoted as saying.
“If you take the office market you have 4m sqm square meters of stock at the moment and you are going to have another 2m sqm by 2016-2017, so a 50 percent increase just in that period."
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Qatar to Invest $500 Million in India After Bush Acquisition - Businessweek
"Hassad Food Co., the agricultural investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to invest $500 million in India after buying Bush Foods Overseas Ltd.
The investment will be in the production of rice, coffee, cardamom and “ready-made foods,” Chairman Nasser Mohamed Al Hajri told reporters today in Doha. Hassad said on April 3 that it agreed to buy a majority stake in Bush, which owns basmati rice brands Neesa, Himalayan Crown and Indian Star.
Hassad is seeking to secure supplies for Qatar through buying agricultural land and investing in food-production companies abroad. The company has focused on ventures in Asia and Africa and owns sheep farms in Australia. Qatar, the richest country in the world per capita, imports most of its food.
Hassad’s future focus will be on North America, South America and Europe, Al Hajri said. “There will be something invested in Canada for grain production,” he said, adding that he hopes for an investment this year or early next."
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The investment will be in the production of rice, coffee, cardamom and “ready-made foods,” Chairman Nasser Mohamed Al Hajri told reporters today in Doha. Hassad said on April 3 that it agreed to buy a majority stake in Bush, which owns basmati rice brands Neesa, Himalayan Crown and Indian Star.
Hassad is seeking to secure supplies for Qatar through buying agricultural land and investing in food-production companies abroad. The company has focused on ventures in Asia and Africa and owns sheep farms in Australia. Qatar, the richest country in the world per capita, imports most of its food.
Hassad’s future focus will be on North America, South America and Europe, Al Hajri said. “There will be something invested in Canada for grain production,” he said, adding that he hopes for an investment this year or early next."
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Times of Oman | News :: Oman’s GDP growth may ‘ease marginally’ in 2014
Given a global growth forecast of 3.2 per cent in 2012 — the slowest pace since the 2009 recession — 3.3 per cent in 2013, and 4.0 per cent in 2014, based on world oil prices per barrel of $105.0 in 2012, $102.6 in 2013, and $97.6 in 2014, Oman's GDP growth had been projected at 5.0 per cent for 2012, 4.2 per cent for 2013, and 3.5 per cent 2014, respectively."
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Property firms form venture for huge Dubai project | Reuters
"Two of Dubai's biggest real estate developers have formed a joint venture to build a huge residential and commercial area near the city's downtown, the companies said on Saturday.
Emaar Properties EMAR.DU and Meraas Holding, both backed by the Dubai government, plan construction of a commercial center, low- and mid-rise residences, an 18-hole golf course and other facilities over 11 million square metres (2,700 acres).
The project will be a cornerstone of a planned tourism and retail district announced last November by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Over the past year, the emirate's property market has begun recovering strongly from its 2008-2010 crash."
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Emaar Properties EMAR.DU and Meraas Holding, both backed by the Dubai government, plan construction of a commercial center, low- and mid-rise residences, an 18-hole golf course and other facilities over 11 million square metres (2,700 acres).
The project will be a cornerstone of a planned tourism and retail district announced last November by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Over the past year, the emirate's property market has begun recovering strongly from its 2008-2010 crash."
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Khalifa Port touted to reshape Abu Dhabi's economy - Khaleej Times
"Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port Container Terminal, which was opened in September last year, has proven itself and has trade experts and academics saying that the project will reshape the economy.
The most obvious and immediate benefit the terminal offered was much-needed extra capacity to accommodate Abu Dhabi’s growth."
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The most obvious and immediate benefit the terminal offered was much-needed extra capacity to accommodate Abu Dhabi’s growth."
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Egypt’s Economy: Before And After | @REBELECONOMY
"How did Egypt’s economy survive before the revolution considering it was a ticking time bomb?
Why have energy subsidies, which swallow a fifth of the budget, only become a financial burden now?
What has changed?
"
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Why have energy subsidies, which swallow a fifth of the budget, only become a financial burden now?
What has changed?
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Morsi adviser blames IMF for delaying Egypt $4.8bn loan agreement - FT.com
"A leading adviser to Egypt’s president said Cairo had met all the requirements for a $4.8bn loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund and suggested the multilateral body was holding up the deal.
Essam al-Haddad, the closest aide to Mohamed Morsi, said that required measures, including a phased-out subsidies plan and a sales tax law, were now part of a programme sent to the fund."
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Essam al-Haddad, the closest aide to Mohamed Morsi, said that required measures, including a phased-out subsidies plan and a sales tax law, were now part of a programme sent to the fund."
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RWE, Gazprom Talks Fail | Business | The Moscow Times
"Direct talks between RWE and Gazprom on an out-of-court settlement in a dispute over gas price contracts have failed, two people familiar with the matter said.
Supply contracts are vital for European utilities, which buy gas from Gazprom or Norway's Statoil under long-term deals linked to oil prices while having to sell it to customers at lower retail prices linked to the freely traded spot market."
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Supply contracts are vital for European utilities, which buy gas from Gazprom or Norway's Statoil under long-term deals linked to oil prices while having to sell it to customers at lower retail prices linked to the freely traded spot market."
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