Doubts over Piketty inequality data - YouTube: ""
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Friday, 23 May 2014
Russia ready to accept from Ukraine gas debt for at least first quarter but not payment yet | Russia Beyond The Headlines
Russia ready to accept from Ukraine gas debt for at least first quarter but not payment yet | Russia Beyond The Headlines:
"Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated that the risks regarding Russian natural gas supplies to Europe arose through the fault not of Russia but of Ukraine, which has refused to pay for the supplied gas.
"The situation is paradoxical. While Ukraine recognizes the effective contract signed in 2009, it refuses to pay under it, insisting on allowances not envisaged by the contract," he said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Understanding Ukraine's difficult economic situation, Russia tried to help by granting a $3 billion of credit and a discount for the first quarter of 2014, provided it settles the accumulated debt and pays the current bills, Putin said."
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"Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated that the risks regarding Russian natural gas supplies to Europe arose through the fault not of Russia but of Ukraine, which has refused to pay for the supplied gas.
"The situation is paradoxical. While Ukraine recognizes the effective contract signed in 2009, it refuses to pay under it, insisting on allowances not envisaged by the contract," he said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Understanding Ukraine's difficult economic situation, Russia tried to help by granting a $3 billion of credit and a discount for the first quarter of 2014, provided it settles the accumulated debt and pays the current bills, Putin said."
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BBC News - Donald Trump: 'Dubai is a solid investment'
BBC News - Donald Trump: 'Dubai is a solid investment':
"
Property tycoon Donald Trump is one of the most controversial figures on the global corporate stage.
When his plan to build a huge new tower in Dubai was scrapped three years ago because of the property crash, it provoked comment around the world.
However, the property billionaire is back in the desert with an ambitious new project - a vast luxury complex on the outskirts of the city.
The BBC's Mark Lobel asked him how confident he is now about growth in Dubai."
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"
Property tycoon Donald Trump is one of the most controversial figures on the global corporate stage.
When his plan to build a huge new tower in Dubai was scrapped three years ago because of the property crash, it provoked comment around the world.
However, the property billionaire is back in the desert with an ambitious new project - a vast luxury complex on the outskirts of the city.
The BBC's Mark Lobel asked him how confident he is now about growth in Dubai."
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Emirate of Sharjah 'A/A-1' ratings affirmed on robust economic growth - Business Intelligence Middle East - bi-me.com - News, analysis, reports
Emirate of Sharjah 'A/A-1' ratings affirmed on robust economic growth - Business Intelligence Middle East - bi-me.com - News, analysis, reports:
"On May 23, 2014, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A/A-1' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Emirate of Sharjah. The outlook is stable.
The affirmation primarily reflects the solid growth in Sharjah's GDP per capita. We also factor in the advantages of membership in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which include low external risks for Sharjah. We believe that, under certain circumstances, Sharjah would receive extraordinary financial support from the UAE if needed. We do not currently anticipate that such a need will arise, however.
As for other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) sovereigns, the ratings on Sharjah are constrained by its underdeveloped political institutions and highly centralized policy-making, which we think can undermine policy predictability."
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"On May 23, 2014, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A/A-1' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Emirate of Sharjah. The outlook is stable.
The affirmation primarily reflects the solid growth in Sharjah's GDP per capita. We also factor in the advantages of membership in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which include low external risks for Sharjah. We believe that, under certain circumstances, Sharjah would receive extraordinary financial support from the UAE if needed. We do not currently anticipate that such a need will arise, however.
As for other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) sovereigns, the ratings on Sharjah are constrained by its underdeveloped political institutions and highly centralized policy-making, which we think can undermine policy predictability."
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Visa, MasterCard to create Russian payment system operator over 1.5 years | Russia Beyond The Headlines
Visa, MasterCard to create Russian payment system operator over 1.5 years | Russia Beyond The Headlines:
"International payment systems Visa and MasterCard have expressed their desire to create a Russian payment system operator, and this process will take around 1.5 years, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"They came to the government with a proposal of a way to mend relations over a 1.5 year [period]," he said after meetings with Visa and MasterCard representatives. This includes creating Russian Visa and MasterCard companies over the next 1.5 years, Siluanov said.
Before this, Siluanov said, the companies will have to cooperate with the Russian payment system."
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"International payment systems Visa and MasterCard have expressed their desire to create a Russian payment system operator, and this process will take around 1.5 years, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"They came to the government with a proposal of a way to mend relations over a 1.5 year [period]," he said after meetings with Visa and MasterCard representatives. This includes creating Russian Visa and MasterCard companies over the next 1.5 years, Siluanov said.
Before this, Siluanov said, the companies will have to cooperate with the Russian payment system."
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UAE Upgraded to MSCI Emerging Market Index | City Index
UAE Upgraded to MSCI Emerging Market Index | City Index:
"Dubai’s stock market has outperformed all of the world’s primary bourses so far this year as it has in 2013. Dubai Financial Market Index is up 44% year-to-date, beating Qatar’s 22% and Saudi Arabia’s 15%. This compares to -2%, -1% and +1% for the Dow Jones Industrials Index, the Dax and the FTSE-100 respectively. A major reason to Dubai’s stellar stock market performance has been Morgan Stanley Capital International’s upgrade of the UAE to its flagship emerging markets benchmark index, prompting EM fund managers around the globe to rush into UAE shares.
There is also chatter about UAE stocks finding more demand from global fund managers in the event that MSCI upgrades Korea or Taiwan (or both) from its EM classification to that of developed market. The announcement is due on June 10.
The UAE is expected to grow at a healthy rate of 3.5%-3.8% in 2014 and 2015, benefiting from low interest rates, stable inflation, productive capital, increased investment and continued security from the volatility and unrest in the neighbouring nations."
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"Dubai’s stock market has outperformed all of the world’s primary bourses so far this year as it has in 2013. Dubai Financial Market Index is up 44% year-to-date, beating Qatar’s 22% and Saudi Arabia’s 15%. This compares to -2%, -1% and +1% for the Dow Jones Industrials Index, the Dax and the FTSE-100 respectively. A major reason to Dubai’s stellar stock market performance has been Morgan Stanley Capital International’s upgrade of the UAE to its flagship emerging markets benchmark index, prompting EM fund managers around the globe to rush into UAE shares.
There is also chatter about UAE stocks finding more demand from global fund managers in the event that MSCI upgrades Korea or Taiwan (or both) from its EM classification to that of developed market. The announcement is due on June 10.
The UAE is expected to grow at a healthy rate of 3.5%-3.8% in 2014 and 2015, benefiting from low interest rates, stable inflation, productive capital, increased investment and continued security from the volatility and unrest in the neighbouring nations."
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Russia, China Agree $25Bln Advance Payment in Gas Supply Deal | News | The Moscow Times
Russia, China Agree $25Bln Advance Payment in Gas Supply Deal | News | The Moscow Times:
"Russia and China have agreed on a $25 billion prepayment under a supply deal signed earlier this week, Alexander Medvedev, chief executive of Gazprom Export, said Friday.
"A prepayment has been agreed, agreed in principle, details are being discussed. It's $25 billion," Medvedev told journalists on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Russia and China signed a 30-year gas supply contract, worth a total of more than $400 billion, earlier this week during President Vladimir Putin's visit to the country."
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"Russia and China have agreed on a $25 billion prepayment under a supply deal signed earlier this week, Alexander Medvedev, chief executive of Gazprom Export, said Friday.
"A prepayment has been agreed, agreed in principle, details are being discussed. It's $25 billion," Medvedev told journalists on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Russia and China signed a 30-year gas supply contract, worth a total of more than $400 billion, earlier this week during President Vladimir Putin's visit to the country."
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World Bank okays $1.5 bln in loans for Ukraine under three new programs #EuroMaidan
World Bank okays $1.5 bln in loans for Ukraine under three new programs: "The
World Bank's Board of Executive Directors on Thursday approved three new projects for Ukraine amounting to $1.48 billion that will help drive forward the essential structural and macroeconomic reforms, the World Bank said in a press release.
"The country's leaders are determined to improve public services and back much-needed reforms, and we're determined to help them," the press release quotes World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim as saying.
The three projects approved by the Board on Thursday are part of the World Bank Group's overall assistance to Ukraine announced in March this year, which aims to provide up to $3.5 billion by the end of 2014."
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World Bank's Board of Executive Directors on Thursday approved three new projects for Ukraine amounting to $1.48 billion that will help drive forward the essential structural and macroeconomic reforms, the World Bank said in a press release.
"The country's leaders are determined to improve public services and back much-needed reforms, and we're determined to help them," the press release quotes World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim as saying.
The three projects approved by the Board on Thursday are part of the World Bank Group's overall assistance to Ukraine announced in March this year, which aims to provide up to $3.5 billion by the end of 2014."
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Will the UAE stock market correction give real estate a boost as it did in 2006-8? « ArabianMoney
Will the UAE stock market correction give real estate a boost as it did in 2006-8? « ArabianMoney:
"The link between local stock market and real estate cycles is pretty strong. Speculators tend to choose one or the other and ramp up prices.
We can remember that happening in Dubai in 2006 after the stock market crash of that year. Money came out of stocks and into Dubai real estate to fuel up the final 18 months of the boom that went spectacularly bust in late 2008."
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"The link between local stock market and real estate cycles is pretty strong. Speculators tend to choose one or the other and ramp up prices.
We can remember that happening in Dubai in 2006 after the stock market crash of that year. Money came out of stocks and into Dubai real estate to fuel up the final 18 months of the boom that went spectacularly bust in late 2008."
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Etihad says it receives government loans, not subsidies | GulfNews.com
Etihad says it receives government loans, not subsidies | GulfNews.com: "Etihad
Airways said on Thursday that loans from the Abu Dhabi government do not amount to government subsidies, responding to an Australian media report that the Abu Dhabi ruling family is propping up the airline.
“We have received financial support from our shareholder, in the form of equity capital and shareholder loans, which is perfectly normal for any start-up business,” an Etihad Airways spokesperson told Gulf News in an emailed statement.
Etihad had access to a long-term interest free $3 billion (Dh11 billion) loan from the Abu Dhabi ruling family, that does not require payment until 2027, the Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday citing leaked documents that have since been published online."
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Airways said on Thursday that loans from the Abu Dhabi government do not amount to government subsidies, responding to an Australian media report that the Abu Dhabi ruling family is propping up the airline.
“We have received financial support from our shareholder, in the form of equity capital and shareholder loans, which is perfectly normal for any start-up business,” an Etihad Airways spokesperson told Gulf News in an emailed statement.
Etihad had access to a long-term interest free $3 billion (Dh11 billion) loan from the Abu Dhabi ruling family, that does not require payment until 2027, the Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday citing leaked documents that have since been published online."
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Putin’s Singapore Dream Costs Crimea Banks and Burgers - Bloomberg #EuroMaidan
Putin’s Singapore Dream Costs Crimea Banks and Burgers - Bloomberg:
"President Vladimir Putin is trying to transform Crimea into the Singapore of the Black Sea. That effort so far has cost Russia’s newest republic its entire banking system and all three of its McDonald’s.
After Putin annexed Crimea in March, the government in Kiev banned all lenders operating under Ukrainian law from the region. Now almost every bank on the peninsula, from billionaire Igor Kolomoisky’s Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest, to Italy’s UniCredit SpA (UCG) has been shuttered. Unlike UniCredit, which is refunding deposits, Privatbank simply pocketed the cash, leaving its clients to seek compensation from Russia.
“Thank God they decided to return my money,” said Alla Anisomova, a retiree in her 60s who gets by on less than $300 a month. Anisomova is among the thousands of people who have flocked to the former Privatbank branch on Lenin Street in Kerch, a city on the eastern edge of Crimea, to apply for redress from Russia’s Deposit Insurance Agency. The agency, which now controls the building, has pledged to return deposits of as much as 700,000 rubles ($20,000)."
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"President Vladimir Putin is trying to transform Crimea into the Singapore of the Black Sea. That effort so far has cost Russia’s newest republic its entire banking system and all three of its McDonald’s.
After Putin annexed Crimea in March, the government in Kiev banned all lenders operating under Ukrainian law from the region. Now almost every bank on the peninsula, from billionaire Igor Kolomoisky’s Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest, to Italy’s UniCredit SpA (UCG) has been shuttered. Unlike UniCredit, which is refunding deposits, Privatbank simply pocketed the cash, leaving its clients to seek compensation from Russia.
“Thank God they decided to return my money,” said Alla Anisomova, a retiree in her 60s who gets by on less than $300 a month. Anisomova is among the thousands of people who have flocked to the former Privatbank branch on Lenin Street in Kerch, a city on the eastern edge of Crimea, to apply for redress from Russia’s Deposit Insurance Agency. The agency, which now controls the building, has pledged to return deposits of as much as 700,000 rubles ($20,000)."
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Sberbank Drops as CEO Says Russia’s Economy Stagnating - Bloomberg
Sberbank Drops as CEO Says Russia’s Economy Stagnating - Bloomberg: "OAO
Sberbank (SBRCY) fell for the first time in four days, helping lead declines in Russian stocks trading in the U.S., as the lender’s chief executive officer said the Ukraine crisis is hurting the economy more than he expected.
Shares of the country’s biggest bank, which holds about half of Russia’s deposits, fell 0.8 percent to $10.01 in New York yesterday, pushing its loss this year to 20 percent. The Bloomberg Russia-US Equity Index of the most-traded Russian shares in the U.S. fell 0.4 percent, ending four days of gains.
Herman Gref, a former economy minister who has been Sberbank’s CEO since 2007, said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum yesterday that Russia is facing stagnation this year as international sanctions linked to the six-month standoff in Ukraine curb growth. His comments came as data showed that a slump in fixed-capital investment extended into a fourth month and increases in wages trailed economists estimates. The International Monetary Fund said last month that the $2 trillion economy may already be in recession."
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Sberbank (SBRCY) fell for the first time in four days, helping lead declines in Russian stocks trading in the U.S., as the lender’s chief executive officer said the Ukraine crisis is hurting the economy more than he expected.
Shares of the country’s biggest bank, which holds about half of Russia’s deposits, fell 0.8 percent to $10.01 in New York yesterday, pushing its loss this year to 20 percent. The Bloomberg Russia-US Equity Index of the most-traded Russian shares in the U.S. fell 0.4 percent, ending four days of gains.
Herman Gref, a former economy minister who has been Sberbank’s CEO since 2007, said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum yesterday that Russia is facing stagnation this year as international sanctions linked to the six-month standoff in Ukraine curb growth. His comments came as data showed that a slump in fixed-capital investment extended into a fourth month and increases in wages trailed economists estimates. The International Monetary Fund said last month that the $2 trillion economy may already be in recession."
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Dubai Housing Index Pushes Inflation Rate to Five-Year High - Bloomberg
Dubai Housing Index Pushes Inflation Rate to Five-Year High - Bloomberg:
"Dubai’s inflation rate climbed to the highest since August 2009, led by a rise in the cost of housing, the biggest component on the consumer price index.
Prices were up 3 percent in April from a year earlier, the Dubai Statistics Center said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Gas and housing climbed 15 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, raising the housing sub-index 4.9 percent. Dubai’s inflation rate is rising as the economy is forecast to expand at the fastest rate since 2007.
Domestic output will expand 5.1 percent, according to International Monetary Fund estimates, on growth in the hospitality and trade industries. Dubai’s benchmark index climbed 44 percent in 2014, the fastest pace globally, while passenger traffic in its international airport may beat London’s Heathrow this year."
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"Dubai’s inflation rate climbed to the highest since August 2009, led by a rise in the cost of housing, the biggest component on the consumer price index.
Prices were up 3 percent in April from a year earlier, the Dubai Statistics Center said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Gas and housing climbed 15 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, raising the housing sub-index 4.9 percent. Dubai’s inflation rate is rising as the economy is forecast to expand at the fastest rate since 2007.
Domestic output will expand 5.1 percent, according to International Monetary Fund estimates, on growth in the hospitality and trade industries. Dubai’s benchmark index climbed 44 percent in 2014, the fastest pace globally, while passenger traffic in its international airport may beat London’s Heathrow this year."
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China Boom Spurs $1 Trillion Gain in Gulf Economies, HSBC Says - Bloomberg
China Boom Spurs $1 Trillion Gain in Gulf Economies, HSBC Says - Bloomberg:
"The surge in oil prices driven by Chinese demand has added $1 trillion to output in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries over 10 years, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
The six-member bloc’s gross domestic product increased to $1.7 trillion between 2003 and 2013, bringing per capital GDP to an average of $35,000, HSBC said in a report on the effect of a “globalizing China” on the Middle East and Africa released today.
The wealth has helped countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spend hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure, and buy assets overseas including English soccer champion Manchester City. The Gulf’s non-oil economy is also growing 2 percentage points faster than it did before Chinese demand began to rise, HSBC said."
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"The surge in oil prices driven by Chinese demand has added $1 trillion to output in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries over 10 years, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
The six-member bloc’s gross domestic product increased to $1.7 trillion between 2003 and 2013, bringing per capital GDP to an average of $35,000, HSBC said in a report on the effect of a “globalizing China” on the Middle East and Africa released today.
The wealth has helped countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spend hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure, and buy assets overseas including English soccer champion Manchester City. The Gulf’s non-oil economy is also growing 2 percentage points faster than it did before Chinese demand began to rise, HSBC said."
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