Saudi Arabia fights for European oil market - FT.com

Saudi Arabia fights for European oil market - FT.com:

"Saudi Arabia’s state oil company has cut its official selling prices to Europe, as the world’s largest exporter of crude attempts to retain its share of an oversupplied market.
The de facto leader of Opec, which produces more than one in every ten barrels of oil in the world, has been squeezed in Europe over the past year as rival producers have sent more oil to the region.
Shipments to Europe made up more than 13 per cent of Saudi oil exports last year, according to data from the Opec cartel, but that number has slipped to just 10 per cent in the past six months, ship-tracking data shows."



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S&P downgrades slew of Saudi banks | The National

S&P downgrades slew of Saudi banks | The National:

"The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded a slew of Saudi Arabian banks, following its cut to the kingdom’s credit rating earlier in the week.

The National Commercial Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, Samba Financial Group, The Saudi Investment Bank and Riyad Bank have all had their ratings cut as the low oil price threatens to hurt the health of banks’ balance sheets, the credit agency said.

These banks, plus Banque Saudi Fransi, Arab National Bank and the Saudi British Bank, were also placed on negative outlook, which means that the agency will consider whether to further downgrade their credit ratings within the next 24 months."



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Emirates Group, airline profit up 65% to $1b | GulfNews.com

Emirates Group, airline profit up 65% to $1b | GulfNews.com:

"Emirates reported on Thursday a 65-per cent jump in both half-year Group and airline profit.

Emirates Group, the parent company of the airline and dnata, made Dh3.7 billion ($1 billion) in profit the six months to September 30, 2015, compared with Dh2.2 billion a year ago, according to an emailed statement.

A strong US dollar against many major currencies pushed Group revenue down 2.3 per cent to Dh47.2 billion."



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Saudi Pressure Points Shown in Four Charts After S&P Rating Cut - Bloomberg Business

Saudi Pressure Points Shown in Four Charts After S&P Rating Cut - Bloomberg Business:

"The pressure is building in Saudi Arabian markets.
Interbank lending rates are creeping up, bonds are sliding and the cost of insuring against a debt default is rising as the Arab world’s biggest economy adjusts to a collapse in the price of oil, which generates at least 80 percent of government revenue. Standard & Poor’s lowered the country’s credit rating last week, citing a budget deficit that it forecasts will increase to 16 percent of gross domestic product this year."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi slips, real estate firms boost Dubai and Egypt | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi slips, real estate firms boost Dubai and Egypt | Reuters:

"Saudi Arabia's stock market fell on
Thursday after oil prices slipped again, as real estate
developers boosted the Dubai and Egyptian bourses.

Brent crude tumbled nearly 4 percent overnight, to
back below $50 a barrel. This undermined petrochemical stocks
including Saudi Basic Industries, which lost 1.5
percent.

Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem)
dropped 2.9 percent after saying it might not pay a dividend for
the second half of 2015, despite seeing results from a
restructuring intended to cope with cheap oil. "



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