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Lacklustre Qatari market closes even
July 15, 2013--The QE 20 Index ended unchanged at 9,399.30 points on Monday.
Trading turnover picked up slightly but remained low. United Development Company or UDC, the developer of the man-made peninsula The Pearl Qatar, gained the most (up 3.68% at QR22.84). Mannai Corporation posted the biggest deceline (down 4.61% at QR84.80).
Gulf funds to Egypt may be converted into bonds
July 13, 2013--A legal expert has said Egypt could convert part of the $12bn of loans and grants pledged by Gulf nations last week into tradable bond securities, Reuters has reported.
"The contributions from non-Qatar states are certainly capable of being represented by notes issued through the programme," said James Healy, a partner at law firm Skadden, which represented Egypt in connection with the establishment of the programme. "The key advantage is the potential tradability of these securities, which would suggest Qatar might have considered trading them before maturity," said Healy. [AMEInfo.com]
Israel's version of exchange-traded funds has become a major factor in the bourse
KSM is the segment's dominant player.
July 12, 013--KSM, Israel's biggest manager of exchange-traded funds, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.
The company is so closely linked to ETFs, or as they are known in Israel index-linked certificates (teudot sal in Hebrew), that for most investors KSM’s decade also marks the 10th anniversary of ILCs themselves.
IMF Executive Board Concludes 2013 Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia
July 12, 2013--Saudi Arabia has been one of the best performing G-20 economies in recent years, and has supported the global economy through its stabilizing role in the global oil market. Generous financial support has also been provided to countries in the Middle East region.
The Saudi economy grew by 5.1 percent in 2012, benefitting from high oil prices and output, strong private sector growth, and government spending. Inflation has risen over the past year to 3.8 percent in May 2013, driven by higher food prices and housing costs. High oil prices and production led to large fiscal and current account surpluses, and international reserves rose further. Credit growth has remained strong, and the banking system is well-capitalized and profitable, with Basle III capital standards implemented in January 2013. Following an expansionary fiscal stance in 2011, government expenditure growth slowed in 2012 and the non-oil deficit began to narrow.
UAE markets gain on the first day of Ramadan
July 11, 2013--The UAE markets continued their upward trend on the first day of Ramadan amid lower volumes, with Dubai's General Index gaining for the fourth straight day
and the Abu Dhabi Securities Index advancing for three consecutive days.
Bank Al Jazira joins Saudi earnings spree
July 11, 2013--The Tadawul All-Share Index lost 0.20% on Thursday, closing at 7,690.38 points.
Earlier in the day, National Bank of Abu Dhabi said annual core inflation in KSA eased to 2.9% y-o-y from 3.2% y-o-y. However, annual inflation in the food category in the Kingdom is the fastest in the GCC region, but eased to +6.1% y-o-y - still more than double the pace in other GCC economies. Bank Al-Jazira rose 0.73% to hit SR27.70. Earlier in the day, the Jeddah-based Islamic bank said the net profit for the first six month rose 14.71% to hit SR312m. The reason for the surge was growth in the core banking activities and increase in operating income, said Al Jazira (not related to the Qatari news channel). The realatively volatile share gained around 20 percent in the last 12 months. Sabic, the petrochem giant, stood for the second day steadfast at SR95.
QNB convinces market with half-year earnings
July 11, 2013--The QE 20 Index surged 0.93% to hit 9,419.97 points on Thursday.
Qatar National Bank, better known as QNB, added 1.25%, closing at QR161.50. Earlier in the day, the biggest GCC lender by market capitalisation said or in the first half of 2013 its net profit was QR4.7bn ($1.3bn), up by 15.1% compared to the same period last year. These results include the financial results of NSGB in Egypt, in which the Group concluded the acquisition of a controlling stake amounting to 97.12% in March 2013. Total assets increased by 30.4% from June 2012 to reach QR431 billion ($118.5bn), the highest ever achieved by QNB
Oil, the grease for the Abu Dhabi bourse
July 11, 2013--The ADX General Index added 0.10% to reach 3,705.65 points on Thursday, the 5th gain in a row and the longest winning streak in a month.
Oil prices (DME Oman crude) shave a 3-month high by adding $0.44 to reach $104.11 per barrel. Nine percent of the UAE's oil and 8% of the world's known oil reserves are located beneath the seas and sands of Abu Dhabi. RAK Ceramic, the world'd biggest producer of ceramics, gained the most (up 9.89% at Dhs2.00). Aldar Properties as the most liquid share finished unchanged at Dhs2.35.
Union Properties hit 6-week high
July 11, 2013--The DFM General Index gained the 6th day straight on Thursday, closing at 2,391.63 points.
Shares of Union Properties jumped 2.91% to reach Dhs0.423. Dubai Islamic Bank was the most liquid shares, ending 0.60% higher at Dhs3.39. Logistic company Aramex lost the most (off 2.95% at Dhs2.63) after the IMF cut the global growth forecast slightly.
Batelco shares even, firm launches s 4G LTE Mobile Broadband
July 11, 2013--The Bahrain All-Share Index slipped 0.04% to 1,189.82 points on Thursday in dull trading.
Bahrain Telecom or Batelco closed even at BD0.36. Earlier in the day, Batelco said it was was following up on the hugely successful launch of its superfast 4G LTE Network by introducing 4G LTE Mobile Broadband for use with any WiFi device at home. "Batelco is first in Bahrain to present a 4G LTE Router for home use, which is now available for its customers as part of a great package deal featuring unlimited usage, priced at only BD18 ($47.75) per month inclusive of the 4G LTE router device."
