Oil prices down but log third weekly rise on trade hopes - Reuters:
Oil prices fell on Friday, but both benchmarks logged a third straight weekly gain amid the easing of U.S.-Chinese trade tensions, which has boosted business confidence and the outlook for global economic growth.
Brent LCOc1 crude futures settled at $66.14 a barrel, down 40 cents, or 0.6%, but marked a weekly rise of around 1.4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures settled at $60.44 a barrel, falling 40 cents, or 1.21%, while gaining about 0.6% on the week.
Progress in the trade dispute between the world’s two biggest oil consumers has raised expectations of higher energy demand next year.
“(The focus) continues to be the developments around the U.S.-China trade situation, with a sufficient amount of positive spin all week,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York.
Friday 20 December 2019
NMC’s Muddy Waters vaccine needs a booster shot
NMC Health is trying the adrenaline-shot-to-the-heart defence against short-sellers. Following a duffing-up from short-seller Muddy Waters on Tuesday, the FTSE 100-listed hospital group’s shares have halved. But while it has rightly issued a swift rebuttal, NMC’s investors could yet do with a disclosure booster shot.
NMC’s vulnerability to shorts had already been flagged: its shares fell sharply in August when Muddy Waters, led by Carson Block, targeted litigation finance firm Burford Capital, an entirely separate company. On Tuesday Block questioned the value of NMC’s assets and cash balance as well as its reported profit and debt, accusing the company of overpaying for large assets. On Wednesday, NMC called the criticism of its financial statements “baseless”. On Thursday, it addressed the accusations point by point.
History suggests NMC Chief Executive Prasanth Manghat is right to offer detail. Shares in China Internet Nationwide Financial Services have fallen more than 95% since it failed to sufficiently refute detailed allegations regarding sham counterparties in a summary of an independent review in April 2018. In being more open, Manghat will hope NMC investors see it as more like chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, whose products were last year accused by Viceroy Research of having security vulnerabilities. AMD acknowledged some flaws and said it would fix them quickly with software updates. Its shares are now at record highs.
Billionaire Clan Under Fire From Muddy Waters Loses $700 Million - Bloomberg
Billionaire Clan Under Fire From Muddy Waters Loses $700 Million - Bloomberg:
It’s been a long week for the Shetty family.
The billionaire clan behind hospital operator NMC Health Plc and financial services firm Finablr Plc has seen its fortune drop by about $700 million since short-seller Carson Block issued a report Tuesday criticizing the medical company’s accounts and disclosing a short position.
NMC shares tumbled 32% on Tuesday in response to the report -- which the company called “principally unfounded” -- and fell an additional 11% Thursday after a buy-back program failed to convince investors. Shares of Finablr have dropped 18% since Block’s Muddy Waters Capital launched its attack on NMC, prompting the firm to confirm it’s on track to hit expected financial results.
Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, 77, founded NMC in 1975 after moving to Abu Dhabi from his native India. It’s now the United Arab Emirates’ biggest private health-care provider. He created Finablr in 2018 to consolidate his finance brands and listed the company on the London Stock Exchange this year. The family’s stakes in Finablr are worth about $1 billion.
It’s been a long week for the Shetty family.
The billionaire clan behind hospital operator NMC Health Plc and financial services firm Finablr Plc has seen its fortune drop by about $700 million since short-seller Carson Block issued a report Tuesday criticizing the medical company’s accounts and disclosing a short position.
NMC shares tumbled 32% on Tuesday in response to the report -- which the company called “principally unfounded” -- and fell an additional 11% Thursday after a buy-back program failed to convince investors. Shares of Finablr have dropped 18% since Block’s Muddy Waters Capital launched its attack on NMC, prompting the firm to confirm it’s on track to hit expected financial results.
Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, 77, founded NMC in 1975 after moving to Abu Dhabi from his native India. It’s now the United Arab Emirates’ biggest private health-care provider. He created Finablr in 2018 to consolidate his finance brands and listed the company on the London Stock Exchange this year. The family’s stakes in Finablr are worth about $1 billion.
Emirates Squeezes Profits From a Two-Hour Flight to Riyadh - Bloomberg
Emirates Squeezes Profits From a Two-Hour Flight to Riyadh - Bloomberg:
Over 35 years, Emirates has built itself into the world’s largest airline, its Airbus double-deckers and Boeing 777s raining down on Dubai around the clock from every corner of the world and helping turn the desert outpost into a vibrant metropolis. But one of its most profitable routes is a two-hour hop to neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Each Sunday morning, the departure hall in Concourse B at Dubai International Airport comes alive with the buzz of business travelers kitted out with dark suits, compact suitcases, and white wireless earbuds. Long lines form at the start of every week for EK 819, the most popular of four daily Emirates flights that pack in a total of about 1,600 seats. The destination is Riyadh, and the cargo is business consultants who live in Dubai on weekends but work for the Saudi government during the week in sectors ranging from education to transport to energy.
First- and business-class seats sell out months in advance. A round-trip economy ticket shoots up to 4,000 dirhams ($1,089) on average during the narrow commuting window and exceeds 5,000 for a last-minute booking, making it costlier than a round-trip ticket to London. The fare then falls to 1,500 dirhams after the morning rush and into the week. Come Thursday night, Dubai beckons, and the procession of passengers winds its way back to the city, with the price skyrocketing again.
Over 35 years, Emirates has built itself into the world’s largest airline, its Airbus double-deckers and Boeing 777s raining down on Dubai around the clock from every corner of the world and helping turn the desert outpost into a vibrant metropolis. But one of its most profitable routes is a two-hour hop to neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Each Sunday morning, the departure hall in Concourse B at Dubai International Airport comes alive with the buzz of business travelers kitted out with dark suits, compact suitcases, and white wireless earbuds. Long lines form at the start of every week for EK 819, the most popular of four daily Emirates flights that pack in a total of about 1,600 seats. The destination is Riyadh, and the cargo is business consultants who live in Dubai on weekends but work for the Saudi government during the week in sectors ranging from education to transport to energy.
First- and business-class seats sell out months in advance. A round-trip economy ticket shoots up to 4,000 dirhams ($1,089) on average during the narrow commuting window and exceeds 5,000 for a last-minute booking, making it costlier than a round-trip ticket to London. The fare then falls to 1,500 dirhams after the morning rush and into the week. Come Thursday night, Dubai beckons, and the procession of passengers winds its way back to the city, with the price skyrocketing again.
Oil steady near three-month highs on trade deal progress; set for third weekly rise - Reuters
Oil steady near three-month highs on trade deal progress; set for third weekly rise - Reuters:
Oil prices were steady close to three-month highs on Friday, heading for a third consecutive weekly rise, on the back of easing Sino-U.S. trade tensions that have weighed on demand as well as the global economic growth outlook.
Brent futures LCOc1 were up 6 cents, or 0.09%, to $66.60 a barrel by 0732 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $61.12 per barrel.
Progress in a long-running trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest oil consumers, has boosted expectations for higher energy demand next year.
China on Thursday announced a list of import tariff exemptions for six oil and chemical products from the United States, days after the world’s two largest economies announced an interim trade deal set to be signed at the beginning of January.
Oil prices were steady close to three-month highs on Friday, heading for a third consecutive weekly rise, on the back of easing Sino-U.S. trade tensions that have weighed on demand as well as the global economic growth outlook.
Brent futures LCOc1 were up 6 cents, or 0.09%, to $66.60 a barrel by 0732 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $61.12 per barrel.
Progress in a long-running trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest oil consumers, has boosted expectations for higher energy demand next year.
China on Thursday announced a list of import tariff exemptions for six oil and chemical products from the United States, days after the world’s two largest economies announced an interim trade deal set to be signed at the beginning of January.
NMC held talks to raise €200m in off-balance sheet debt to fund growth | Financial Times
NMC held talks to raise €200m in off-balance sheet debt to fund growth | Financial Times:
NMC Health has held talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars of off-balance sheet debt to fund new hospitals, despite the FTSE 100 healthcare provider having faced increased scrutiny from short-sellers over the scale of its borrowing.
The Middle Eastern healthcare group, which is controlled by a small group of United Arab Emirates-based billionaires, was previously one of the star performers on the London stock market with its shares starting the year up more than 1,000 per cent from its 2012 initial public offering.
But the company’s shares dropped as much as 42 per cent on Tuesday after short-seller Muddy Waters raised “serious doubts” about NMC’s finances in a 34-page report, taking more than £2.3bn off its market value.
The Abu Dhabi-based company has faced mounting questions from analysts, investors and short-sellers this year about its apparent use of off-balance sheet financing techniques, which do not count to its official debt levels. It is one of the most heavily shorted stocks in the FTSE 100, with about a quarter of its free float out on loan for use by hedge funds.
NMC Health has held talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars of off-balance sheet debt to fund new hospitals, despite the FTSE 100 healthcare provider having faced increased scrutiny from short-sellers over the scale of its borrowing.
The Middle Eastern healthcare group, which is controlled by a small group of United Arab Emirates-based billionaires, was previously one of the star performers on the London stock market with its shares starting the year up more than 1,000 per cent from its 2012 initial public offering.
But the company’s shares dropped as much as 42 per cent on Tuesday after short-seller Muddy Waters raised “serious doubts” about NMC’s finances in a 34-page report, taking more than £2.3bn off its market value.
The Abu Dhabi-based company has faced mounting questions from analysts, investors and short-sellers this year about its apparent use of off-balance sheet financing techniques, which do not count to its official debt levels. It is one of the most heavily shorted stocks in the FTSE 100, with about a quarter of its free float out on loan for use by hedge funds.
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