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Dubai market rally halted
January 21, 2013--After the DFM General Index hit a nearly three-year high yesterday, the gauge retreated Monday by 0.29% to close at 1,786.46 points.
Arabtec Construction fell 1.44% to Dhs2.73, while district-cooling energy producer Tabreed dived 4.14% to Dhs1.62. Emaar Properties, the UAE's first developer, showed resilience, closing 2.10% higher at Dhs4.39. Some 223m shares were traded, valued at Dhs305m.
Alba reports growth in value-added sales
January 21, 2013--Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has said it has been able to generate a higher value-added sales volume in 2012, despite challenging market conditions, Daily Tribune has reported.
The company said 2012 value-added sales closed with an average of 65% against 62% in the previous year, while fourth-quarter figures accounted for 64% of the total shipments, compared with 52% in the same quarter in the previous year. "Despite the difficult London Metal Exchange Market conditions, Alba was able to increase value-added sales to boost its profit margins," said Alba chief executive, Tim Murray. "Last year was a record year in production thanks to Alba's commitment to deliver stretch targets."
National Bank of Bahrain gains as net profit increases slightly
January 21, 2013--In Manama, the Bahrain All-Share Index fell 0.61% to 1,074.17 points.
Arab Banking Corp. or ABC (off 9.78%) and Bahrain Telecom (one percent lower) dragged the gauge down. National Bank of Bahrain, known and branded as NBB, bucked the trend by closing 3.77% higher at BD0.55. Earlier in the day, NBB said the net profit for 2012 was BD47.50m ($126.33m), representing an increase of 4.1% over 2011. The board of directors proposed a dividend of 35% (25% cash plus 10% stock) compared to 30% in 2011. NBB's Q4 profit surged 8.1% year-o-year. NBB said that "strong growth in revenue and careful expense management resulted in an operating profit before provisions of BD59.27m ($157.62m) for 2012, an increase of 11.2 % over 2011."
Saudi Economic Review
January 20, 2013--Lower than previously forecasted global economic growth combined with expanding non-OPEC output, especially in North America, will put a gradual downward pressure on oil prices.
The ECB also justified its inaction of the Euro’s appreciation by indicating that exchange rates are not a primary focus on its current agenda, as it has more pressing matters at stake.
Egypt expects sukuk to generate $10bn in revenue
January 20, 2013--Egyptian finance minister El-Morsi Hegazy has said the new Islamic bonds (sukuk) law is expected to generate $10bn for the Egyptian government, Ahram has reported.
Last week, the cabinet approved a draft law to allow sovereign Islamic bonds as the government searches for new ways to finance an unsustainable budget deficit. The legislation still needs to be approved by the upper house of parliament.
UAE economy grew around 4% last year
January 18, 2013--The UAE economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri has said the country's economy is estimated to have grown by around 4% in 2012, little changed from the previous year, and a similar clip is seen in 2013, Reuters has reported.
“I am waiting for the [gross domestic product] figures [from last year] ... but the estimate will be hovering around plus 4%,” said al-Mansouri. In November, al-Mansouri estimated the UAE’s inflation-adjusted GDP would grow by 3.5 to 4% in 2012, below 4.2% in 2011 as the global slowdown, partly due to the Eurozone debt woes, was expected to take its toll.
Egypt: ESE Gains LE 1.1 Billion
January 17, 2013--The Egyptian Stock Exchange (ESE) gained LE1.1 billion on Wednesday 16/1/2013 trading with the main index going up by 0.59 per cent on the
backdrop of massive purchase operations by Arab and foreign investors.
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Launches New Index -Tel-Bond Yields
January 17, 2013--The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) Board of Directors approved the launch of TASE's new "Tel-Bond Yields" index, which will comprise of TASE-traded investment grade corporate bonds rated (BBB-) to (A).
For the first time, bonds rated (BBB+) and below will be included in a Tel-Bond index. Given their lower rating, the yield-to-maturity on these bonds tend to be higher than the yields on the bonds rated (A-) to (AAA), which are currently included in Tel-Bond indices.
Kuwait Finance House in new move to crack old resistance
January 17, 2013--The KSE Market Index added 0.18 percent to reach 6,139.3 points Thursday, driven by gains in telecoms, real estate and basic materials.
Shares of the country's largest Islamic bank Kuwait Finance House or KFH advanced 1.19%, ending at KD0.850. The shares has gained 4.39 percent since Jan. 1 but tried unsuccessfully to shave the resistance level at KD0.850, which used to be a support level in Nov. 2012.
Vodafone Qatar soars on rising revenues, narrowing Q3 net loss
January 17, 2013--The QE Index added 0.51% to reach 8,621.73 points.
Vodafone Qatar shares closed 4.62% higher at QR8.84. Earlier in the day, Qatar's second telecom firm said revenue for the nine-months to Dec. 2012 grew by 20% year-on-year. The third quarter financial results revealed a net loss of QR327m compared to a net loss of QR359m for the corresponding period last year. Vodafone Qatar added it had 1,004,767 mobile customers as of Dec. 31, representing an increase of 26% compared to Dec. 2011.
