MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia underperforms Gulf as banks slide on fee worries | Reuters:
"Most Middle East stock markets edged up on Monday, but banks and petrochemicals dragged down Saudi Arabia because of concern about regulatory intervention and weak oil prices.
Oil continued to drop as Iran and six world powers tried to reach a deal that could add oil to the market if sanctions against Tehran are lifted. The two sides aim to reach a preliminary agreement by Tuesday.
The main Saudi stock index fell 1.3 percent as petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Co edged down 0.7 percent. Ex-dividend Savola Group and Sahara Petrochemical Co, down 1.7 and 7.1 percent respectively, were also among the main drags."
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Monday, 30 March 2015
UPDATE 1-MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets diverge on mixed news, dividends | News by Country | Reuters
UPDATE 1-MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets diverge on mixed news, dividends | News by Country | Reuters:
"Middle East stock markets were mixed by midday on Monday, driven by weaker oil and company-specific news as well as stocks going ex-dividend.
Oil prices extended losses from the previous session as Iran and six world powers tried to reach a deal that could add oil to the market if sanctions against Tehran are lifted. The two sides aim to reach a preliminary agreement by Tuesday.
The main Saudi index slipped 0.2 percent as petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Co edged down 0.4 percent. Another major drag was ex-dividend Savola Group, which dropped 2.0 percent."
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"Middle East stock markets were mixed by midday on Monday, driven by weaker oil and company-specific news as well as stocks going ex-dividend.
Oil prices extended losses from the previous session as Iran and six world powers tried to reach a deal that could add oil to the market if sanctions against Tehran are lifted. The two sides aim to reach a preliminary agreement by Tuesday.
The main Saudi index slipped 0.2 percent as petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Co edged down 0.4 percent. Another major drag was ex-dividend Savola Group, which dropped 2.0 percent."
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Guest post: seven reasons why India will cut rates on April 7 | beyondbrics
Guest post: seven reasons why India will cut rates on April 7 | beyondbrics:
"The general drift in the financial trenches is that Governor Raghuram Rajan of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will stay on hold at the bank’s April 7 policy meeting. After all, he just cut rates – in a second consecutive out-of-meeting action – in early March. What’s more, consumer price inflation moved up in February; this will constrain the RBI from easing. Finally, following the surprise rate cut in January, the RBI had stayed on hold at its February policy meeting; it will repeat this behaviour next month.
For these reasons, hardly anyone expects a rate cut next week. However, valid as these arguments are, they are overshadowed by factors that make a stronger case for another cut.
The debate is not really about whether Rajan will cut rates at least once more. The key point is the timing of his next move. The governor has three options: cut rates again on April 7; announce another out-of-policy move; or wait for the RBI’s June policy meeting."
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"The general drift in the financial trenches is that Governor Raghuram Rajan of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will stay on hold at the bank’s April 7 policy meeting. After all, he just cut rates – in a second consecutive out-of-meeting action – in early March. What’s more, consumer price inflation moved up in February; this will constrain the RBI from easing. Finally, following the surprise rate cut in January, the RBI had stayed on hold at its February policy meeting; it will repeat this behaviour next month.
For these reasons, hardly anyone expects a rate cut next week. However, valid as these arguments are, they are overshadowed by factors that make a stronger case for another cut.
The debate is not really about whether Rajan will cut rates at least once more. The key point is the timing of his next move. The governor has three options: cut rates again on April 7; announce another out-of-policy move; or wait for the RBI’s June policy meeting."
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Swiss banking model is ‘dead’, says Abu Dhabi finance centre chief - FT.com
Swiss banking model is ‘dead’, says Abu Dhabi finance centre chief - FT.com:
"Abu Dhabi intends to set itself up as a new hub for wealth management, with the head of its nascent international financial centre declaring Switzerland’s old model of private bank secrecy to be “dead”.
Abu Dhabi Global Markets is an expression of world ambition, intended to elevate the oil-and-gas-rich emirate to the tables of the most influential global institutions, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Group of 20 Nations, using Singapore rather than Switzerland as its model, its chairman told the Financial Times.
“Innovation is coming from this new, emerging market. This is why Asian financial centres are sitting on Basel committees and legislating for the west, because they didn’t make one mistake in 15 years,” Ahmed Ali al-Sayegh said in London as he set out ADGM’s stall to banks. “We have a similar ambition.”"
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"Abu Dhabi intends to set itself up as a new hub for wealth management, with the head of its nascent international financial centre declaring Switzerland’s old model of private bank secrecy to be “dead”.
Abu Dhabi Global Markets is an expression of world ambition, intended to elevate the oil-and-gas-rich emirate to the tables of the most influential global institutions, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Group of 20 Nations, using Singapore rather than Switzerland as its model, its chairman told the Financial Times.
“Innovation is coming from this new, emerging market. This is why Asian financial centres are sitting on Basel committees and legislating for the west, because they didn’t make one mistake in 15 years,” Ahmed Ali al-Sayegh said in London as he set out ADGM’s stall to banks. “We have a similar ambition.”"
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MAF counts on bonds and sukuk to double in size in five years | The National
MAF counts on bonds and sukuk to double in size in five years | The National:
"Majid Al Futtaim plans to use bonds and sukuk to finance its ambitious plan to double in size within five years, the conglomerate’s chief executive said yesterday.
The news came as a report said that the UAE’s Sharia finance sector is poised for robust growth in the coming years. The report, from the consultancy Ernst & Young, said that Sharia-compliant assets in the UAE are on track to reach a value of US$263 billion by 2019, more than double last year’s value of $127bn.
The UAE is already the third-largest Islamic banking market by value after Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, the consultancy said."
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"Majid Al Futtaim plans to use bonds and sukuk to finance its ambitious plan to double in size within five years, the conglomerate’s chief executive said yesterday.
The news came as a report said that the UAE’s Sharia finance sector is poised for robust growth in the coming years. The report, from the consultancy Ernst & Young, said that Sharia-compliant assets in the UAE are on track to reach a value of US$263 billion by 2019, more than double last year’s value of $127bn.
The UAE is already the third-largest Islamic banking market by value after Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, the consultancy said."
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Rebuilding Iraq’s oil industry |GulfNews.com
Rebuilding Iraq’s oil industry |GulfNews.com:
"Adil Abdul Mahdi was born 1942 in Baghdad. He is a trained economist who left Iraq in 1969 for exile in France. He worked for French think tanks and edited magazines in French and Arabic. He was educated in France. His father was a minister during the royal era in Iraq. He attended high school at Baghdad College, an elite American Jesuit secondary school.
A politician and an economist, he became vice-president of Iraq from 2005 to 2011. He was formerly the finance minister in the interim government after 2003.
Iraq has the world’s fifth largest proven petroleum reserves in the world with an estimated 115 billion barrels, although a large amount of its reserves are undeveloped."
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"Adil Abdul Mahdi was born 1942 in Baghdad. He is a trained economist who left Iraq in 1969 for exile in France. He worked for French think tanks and edited magazines in French and Arabic. He was educated in France. His father was a minister during the royal era in Iraq. He attended high school at Baghdad College, an elite American Jesuit secondary school.
A politician and an economist, he became vice-president of Iraq from 2005 to 2011. He was formerly the finance minister in the interim government after 2003.
Iraq has the world’s fifth largest proven petroleum reserves in the world with an estimated 115 billion barrels, although a large amount of its reserves are undeveloped."
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Iran Reserves Again Coveted by Big Oil After Decades of Conflict - Bloomberg Business
Iran Reserves Again Coveted by Big Oil After Decades of Conflict - Bloomberg Business:
"Outside the boardroom of BP Plc’s headquarters on London’s swanky St. James’s Square, a display case houses the geological data from Masjid-i-Solaiman, Iran’s first oil well.
The discovery of crude in 1908 laid the foundations for the company that would become British Petroleum and opened one of the richest opportunities that western oil companies have ever enjoyed in the turbulent Middle East. Since then, the industry’s history in Iran is intertwined with CIA-backed coups, colonial exploitation and the anti-western resentment surrounding the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Now, as Iran and the U.S. enter 11th hour negotiations to reach a nuclear deal and ease sanctions, the Middle Eastern country is emerging again as a potential prize for western oil companies such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Eni SpA and Total SA. The Chinese can also be expected to enter the race, while U.S. companies, more burdened by sanctions and legacy, will be further down the pack."
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"Outside the boardroom of BP Plc’s headquarters on London’s swanky St. James’s Square, a display case houses the geological data from Masjid-i-Solaiman, Iran’s first oil well.
The discovery of crude in 1908 laid the foundations for the company that would become British Petroleum and opened one of the richest opportunities that western oil companies have ever enjoyed in the turbulent Middle East. Since then, the industry’s history in Iran is intertwined with CIA-backed coups, colonial exploitation and the anti-western resentment surrounding the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Now, as Iran and the U.S. enter 11th hour negotiations to reach a nuclear deal and ease sanctions, the Middle Eastern country is emerging again as a potential prize for western oil companies such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Eni SpA and Total SA. The Chinese can also be expected to enter the race, while U.S. companies, more burdened by sanctions and legacy, will be further down the pack."
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EU referendum will play havoc with business, Ed Miliband warns | Politics | The Guardian
EU referendum will play havoc with business, Ed Miliband warns | Politics | The Guardian:
"Ed Miliband will attempt to win over a reluctant business community on Monday by warning that an EU referendum proposed by David Cameron would trigger a bitter two-year campaign in which a re-elected Tory party would tear itself apart over whether the UK should remain in Europe.
As the Labour leader launches the party’s business manifesto, aides are suggesting the proposed referendum would be a recipe for chaos as would-be successors to Cameron fight for support from an overwhelmingly sceptical party membership.
The attack has been launched as Cameron prepares to see the Queen on Monday afternoon to seek the dissolution of parliament, signalling the official start of the general election campaign."
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"Ed Miliband will attempt to win over a reluctant business community on Monday by warning that an EU referendum proposed by David Cameron would trigger a bitter two-year campaign in which a re-elected Tory party would tear itself apart over whether the UK should remain in Europe.
As the Labour leader launches the party’s business manifesto, aides are suggesting the proposed referendum would be a recipe for chaos as would-be successors to Cameron fight for support from an overwhelmingly sceptical party membership.
The attack has been launched as Cameron prepares to see the Queen on Monday afternoon to seek the dissolution of parliament, signalling the official start of the general election campaign."
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