Oil Slides Amid Saudi-Russia Discord on OPEC+ Production Cuts - Bloomberg

Oil Slides Amid Saudi-Russia Discord on OPEC+ Production Cuts - Bloomberg:

Oil slipped amid a split between Saudi Arabia and Russia over whether deeper production cuts are required to offset the demand hit from the coronavirus epidemic.

Futures fell 0.9% in New York Wednesday. The first day of OPEC+’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting culminated in Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak leaving the gathering amid disagreement on the scope of proposed oil production curbs.

Riyadh has pushed for a supply reduction as big as 1.5 million barrels a day, while Moscow favors maintaining output at current levels through to the end of the second quarter. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the committee made a “wonderful” recommendation but declined to provide details. OPEC+ ministers will discuss the recommendation at talks in Vienna on Thursday and Friday.

“OPEC’s meeting falling apart hurt the momentum oil had built,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. “The market is going to need production cuts if it is ever going to stabilize.”

NMC Health Cut From FTSE 100 Index After Muddy Waters Criticism - Bloomberg

NMC Health Cut From FTSE 100 Index After Muddy Waters Criticism - Bloomberg:

NMC Health Plc is getting booted from the U.K.’s benchmark FTSE 100 Index in another setback for the troubled hospital operator, which has been in freefall since short seller Muddy Waters Capital LLC accused it of financial improprieties in December.

NMC will be relegated to the mid-cap FTSE 250 Index when trading resumes, according to a statement from London Stock Exchange Group Plc, which owns equity index provider FTSE Russell. NMC shares slumped 64% in a little more than two months after Muddy Waters’ report, and then were suspended from trading last week. The two other companies to be relegated are travel company TUI AG and home-improvement retailer Kingfisher Plc.

Fresnillo Plc, Intermediate Capital Group Plc and Pennon Group Plc will be promoted to the FTSE 100 Index from the FTSE 250 Index, according to the results published Wednesday. The index changes will take effect March 23.

Oil gives up gains even as OPEC works on big output cut - Reuters

Oil gives up gains even as OPEC works on big output cut - Reuters:

Crude oil prices ended lower, giving up early gains as major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, struggled to bring Russia on board for deeper supply cuts to try to offset a slump in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

As the outbreak has spread, oil has dropped sharply, and rebounds have been short-lived. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled down 73 cents, or 1.4%, to $51.13 a barrel, after reaching a high of $53.03 in the morning. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 ended down 40 cents to $46.78 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are seeking to persuade Russia to join in large additional oil output cuts to prop up prices. The group, known as OPEC+, has already cut 2.1 million bpd in supply, helping to shore up the price of crude.

The group wants to cut at least 1 million more bpd in supply from the market, OPEC sources told Reuters. Russia, which is not an OPEC member, is known for holding out on such deals until the last minute. As of Wednesday, a panel of several ministers from the group had not locked down an agreement.

Oil gives up gains even as OPEC works on big output cut - Reuters

Oil gives up gains even as OPEC works on big output cut - Reuters:

Crude oil prices were mixed, giving up early gains despite expectations that major producers were closing in on an agreement to cut supply aimed at offsetting a slump in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Since the outbreak worsened, oil has dropped sharply, and rebounds have been short-lived. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 26 cents at $51.60 a barrel at 11:43 a.m. ET (1643 GMT), after hitting $53.03. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 was up 2 cents to $47.22 a barrel.

U.S. oil inventories grew less than anticipated, the U.S. Energy Department said, and gasoline and diesel stocks fell more than expected. While the report seemed supportive, selling continued.

“The market is going to be weighed down by the coronavirus impact on demand destruction,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. “I do not see oil demand recovering to pre-virus levels for several months, as additional outbreaks in Europe and the U.S. are going to cause travel and meeting disruptions and demand destruction.”

Will NMC’s health hit #UAE Exchange Centre? | Banking – Gulf News

Will NMC’s health hit UAE Exchange Centre? | Banking – Gulf News:

The problems at NMC Health could well spill over into Finablr, the financial services holding company that was launched by Dr. B.R. Shetty and which listed on London Stock Exchange in May 2019.

Finablr’s stock price is going through some turmoil - down 27 per cent just in the last five days - as more revelations pile up about NMC’s financial health. But that’s not all.

Highly placed sources say that UAE Exchange Centre, the cashcow at the centre of Finablr’s holdings, has been conducting an internal review at its local operations in recent days. There has been no official word from UAE Exchange Centre about whether such a review is going on.

“Both NMC and UAE Exchange Centre/Finablr have a shared lineage and heritage in the form of Dr. Shetty - problems at one cannot be insulated from the other,” said a banking industry source with close association with both entities.

#SaudiArabia Wants to Grow Sovereign Wealth Fund to $2 Trillion by 2030, Middle East, Economy - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Wants to Grow Sovereign Wealth Fund to $2 Trillion by 2030, Middle East, Economy - Bloomberg:



Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and chairman of Saudi Aramco, talks about growth plans for the fund. He appears on the latest episode of "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations." This interview was recorded on Feb. 27 in Berlin. (Source: Bloomberg)

' #Saudi Is Open for Business,' Says Wealth Fund Head - Bloomberg

'Saudi Is Open for Business,' Says Wealth Fund Head - Bloomberg:



Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and chairman of Saudi Aramco, talks about how the economy is becoming more business-friendly and open. He appears on the latest episode of "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations." This interview was recorded on Feb. 27 in Berlin. (Source: Bloomberg)

Gulf Gets ‘Gift From Fed’ But Fiscal Stimulus Can Be Gamechanger - Bloomberg

Gulf Gets ‘Gift From Fed’ But Fiscal Stimulus Can Be Gamechanger - Bloomberg:

Policy makers in the Gulf followed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s emergency move on Tuesday, lowering interest rates in response to the coronavirus outbreak as the focus shifts to the need for fiscal stimulus to offset the damage to regional economies.

Central banks in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain all matched the Fed’s half-percentage point cut, after Chairman Jerome Powell said the fallout from the virus had increased risks to the U.S. economic outlook. Kuwait, which maintains a peg to a basket of currencies, reduced its benchmark by 25 basis points.

#SaudiArabia Plans $6 Billion Surge in Mortgage Refinancing - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Plans $6 Billion Surge in Mortgage Refinancing - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia’s first mortgage refinancing firm aims to raise its holdings of home-loan portfolios by 10 times this year, as a government push to boost home ownership spurs lending.

The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company -- the state-owned equivalent of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the U.S. -- plans to buy more than 23 billion riyals ($6.1 billion) of mortgage portfolios from banks in 2020, Housing Minister Majed Al-Hogail said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Riyadh. That’s a sharp jump from the 2.25 billion riyals it held at the end of last year. 

The target reflects “huge growth” in mortgage lending as officials try to raise home ownership from 62% to 70% by 2030, a goal of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic overhaul plan. Housing is a politically sensitive issue in Saudi Arabia, where some citizens complain about the costs of renting or being unable to afford a family home.

“We want to ensure that access to finance,” Al-Hogail said. “We see more mortgage loans in the personal loans and that’s all helping the whole market to move and close any shortage.”

#UAE's flydubai reports full-year profit as Boeing compensation helps - Reuters

UAE's flydubai reports full-year profit as Boeing compensation helps - Reuters:

United Arab Emirates carrier flydubai swung to a profit of 198.2 million dirham ($54 million) last year, helped by a compensation agreement with Boeing over the worldwide 737 MAX grounding. 

The Dubai state-owned airline is one of the world’s biggest MAX customers, though only operated around 14 of the jets when they were grounded in March 2019.

However, its fleet size shrank by more than a quarter to 45 jets last year as it retired older aircraft and new MAX jets were also grounded.

“We have had to manage a number of unprecedented issues faced by the aviation industry,” Chief Executive Ghaith al-Ghaith said in a statement on Wednesday.

#Kuwait lowers discount rate to 2.5% - central bank tweet - Reuters

Kuwait lowers discount rate to 2.5% - central bank tweet - Reuters:

Kuwait’s central bank lowered its discount rate to 2.5% from 2.75%, it said in a tweet on Wednesday, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s emergency rate cut.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states have cut key interest rates tracking an emergency move by the Fed to soften the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

#Lebanon Debt News: Government Has a Plan to Avoid Default - Bloomberg

Lebanon Debt News: Government Has a Plan to Avoid Default - Bloomberg:

Lebanon’s government is lurching from one extreme solution to another as it wrangles over whether to repay $1.2 billion of notes maturing in five days.

In the latest twist of its effort to avoid a default, it may revive an offer for a debt swap with local holders of its Eurobonds. At a meeting with bankers Tuesday, the finance minister suggested that Lebanese banks swap their entire Eurobond holdings for new debt with lower coupons, a person familiar with the talks said.

The government would, under this scenario, pay around $3.5 billion in principal and interest this year to foreign bondholders, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the information isn’t public.

Lebanon has not submitted a proposal to bondholders to move into new longer-dated notes with lower coupons, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said in a statement Wednesday.

Oil rises $1 as OPEC, allies work on big output cut - Reuters

Oil rises $1 as OPEC, allies work on big output cut - Reuters:

Brent oil prices rose on Wednesday on expectations that major producers have moved closer to an agreement to enact deeper output cuts aimed at offsetting the slump in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up by 91 cents, or 1.7%, at $52.77 a barrel at 1442 GMT. 


U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 was up by $1.03, or 2.2%, at $48.21 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members are seeking to persuade Russia on Wednesday to join them in large additional oil output cuts to prop up prices which have tumbled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mideast Stocks: Middle East shares decline as coronavirus fears overshadow stimulus | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast Stocks: Middle East shares decline as coronavirus fears overshadow stimulus | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Stock markets in the Middle East retreated on Wednesday, as an emergency rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve failed to quell investor nerves over the coronavirus's widening global economic fallout.

The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday of a global shortage and price gouging for protective equipment to fight the fast-spreading virus. It asked companies and governments to increase production by 40% as the death toll from the respiratory illness mounted. 

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose currencies are pegged to the dollar, cut their key rates by 50 basis points on Tuesday, tracking the U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency move. 

Dubai's main share index ended 2.2% lower, dragged down by a 3.8% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.5% drop in Emirates NBD Bank.

The Abu Dhabi index slid 2.8%, with First Abu Dhabi Bank tumbling 5%, reaching its lowest level since July 2018. The UAE's largest lender traded ex-dividend.

Flydubai returns to profit in 2019, but says growth 'significantly impacted' by Max grounding - Gulf Business

Flydubai returns to profit in 2019, but says growth 'significantly impacted' by Max grounding - Gulf Business:

Dubai-based airline flydubai has reported a full-year profit for 2019, after it posted a loss in 2018, although revenues were weighed down by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.

The airline reported a profit of Dhs198.2m, compared to a loss of Dhs159.8m in 2018. However, revenues fell to Dhs6bn, down 2.6 per cent from Dhs6.2bn in 2018.

The total number of passengers carried also fell to 9.6 million, a decline of 12.7 per cent from 11 million in 2018.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO at flydubai, blamed the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX for heavily impacting operations.

Muscat Airport City expects $1.5bn in foreign investment - Arabianbusiness

Muscat Airport City expects $1.5bn in foreign investment - Arabianbusiness:

Part of the Sultanate’s National Aviation Strategy 2030, Muscat Airport City will be established in several phases, according to Oman Aviation Group.

The recently announced Muscat Airport City could attract investments of over $1.5 billion over the next 20 years, according to officials.

Part of the Sultanate’s National Aviation Strategy 2030, Muscat Airport City will be established in several phases, according to Oman Aviation Group.

“The plan aims to achieve the highest levels of utilisation of the new airport’s high capacity and the increasing air traffic,” Oman Aviation Group said. “It also takes advantage of the land area surrounding the airport to create a stimulating environment for the establishment of aviation-related projects.”

Speaking to reporters last week, Oman Aviation Group CEO Mustafa Al Hinai said as that “as per the estimates, the total investment in all the phases [of Muscat Airport City] would easily exceed $1.5 billion, which will span over a period of years.”

#Dubai, #AbuDhabi to Shut Schools as Virus Spreads in Middle East - Bloomberg

Dubai, Abu Dhabi to Shut Schools as Virus Spreads in Middle East - Bloomberg:

The United Arab Emirates, the Middle East’s business hub, will shut schools for four weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

All public and private schools and higher education institutions will be closed from March 8. A pilot program for distance education will be implemented during the last weeks of the period.

• Education ministry will sterilize school, university facilities and buses 
• Ministry on March 2 started pilot stage of distance learning initiative for all government schools 
• NOTE: Kuwait, Bahrain have already shut schools  

Foreigners make up about 85% of the U.A.E.’s population, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi are home to major global financial institutions. The country has already restricted travel to China, Iran and Saudi Arabia as it races to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

#UAE banks promise to assist customers impacted by coronavirus | ZAWYA MENA Edition

UAE banks promise to assist customers impacted by coronavirus | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Banks in the UAE have confirmed that, in compliance with the latest directive from the Central Bank, they will provide support to customers affected by the coronavirus by deferring loan payments and reducing banking charges.

The country’s regulator urged financial institutions on Saturday to come up with measures to mitigate the “adverse effects” of the virus on the UAE economy, such as “re-scheduling of loan contracts, granting temporary deferrals on monthly loan payments and reducing fees and commission” for affected customers. 

It has also established a special committee engaging the UAE Banks Federation to assess the situation and identify possible solutions.

The virus that started in Wuhan, China in December has now spread to every continent, with more than 92,000 cases reported globally, including 27 in the UAE. Analysts have warned that the outbreak could slow down the global economy, as businesses and factories temporarily shut down, airlines cancelled flights and governments enforced travel bans to contain the spread of the virus.

Oil steadies as OPEC, allies work on big cut - Reuters

Oil steadies as OPEC, allies work on big cut - Reuters:

Brent oil prices steadied on Wednesday, paring early gains as markets assessed whether deeper output cuts by major producers would be enough to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down by 1 cent at $51.85 a barrel at 0915 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 was up by 8 cents at $47.26 a barrel. The contract had gained 98 cents earlier in the session.

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members will seek to persuade Russia on Wednesday to join them in large additional oil output cuts to prop up prices which have tumbled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf stocks slide as virus fears outweigh stimulus measures | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf stocks slide as virus fears outweigh stimulus measures | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Major Gulf stock markets fell sharply in early trade on Wednesday after stimulus measures failed to soothe investors worried about the global economic impact from the coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose currencies are pegged to the dollar, cut key rates by 50 basis points on Tuesday, tracking the U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency move to soften the impact of the epidemic.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have begun to feel the virus' impact on exports and tourism as growth in their private sectors slipped in February, according to a survey by IHS Markit.

Major concerts and sporting events have also been cancelled or postponed in Gulf Arab states, where more than 2,400 cases of the virus, mostly in Iran have been reported.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 1.7%, with financials and petrochemical shares leading declines.

Al Rajhi Bank declined 2.8%, while the country's largest lender National Commercial Bank shed 2.3%.