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Egypt to boost consumer subsidies
June 2, 2011--Egypt's annual budget approved by the cabinet projects a 26% increase in subsidies of consumer commodities such as basic foodstuffs and fuel, Reuters has reported.
The government plans to spend EGP22.4bn ($3.77bn) in the 2011-12 fiscal year to make consumer goods more affordable for the population, according to figures given by finance minister Samir Radwan. Separate fuel subsidies for consumers will rise to EGP99bn, an increase of EGP31.3bn.
Abu Dhabi bourse rises to 2,666 points
June 1, 2011--The ADX index closed one percent higher at 2,666.01 points.
Real estate bellwether Aldar Properties finished flat at Dhs1.40. Dana Gas surged 1.56%, ending at Dhs0.64. Methaq Takaful dived 3.37%, closing at Dhs1.69. Around 101.36m shares valued at Dhs167.55m changed hands in Abu Dhabi.
Qatar market declines 0.58%
June 1, 2011--The QE Index closed 0.58% lower at 8,326.90 points.
Only a small number of insurance firms bucked the trend with significant gains, although the sector index lost the most. Islamic Insurance soared 2.11% to reach QR58. Al Khaleej Takaful surged 1.67%, ending at QR48.80. Qatar National Bank dipped 0.43% and closed at QR137.40.
Oil, news on Greece help Kuwait exchange
June 1, 2011--As most Gulf Arab markets, the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) benefitted from news that the EU mohgt resovle the debt crisis in Greece soon suported the market.
The fact that oil prices (WTI) stabilised above $100 per barrel also helped the market's sentiment. Al Safat Energy Holding Company jumped nearly nine percent, reaching KD0.061. Mena Real Estate Co. lost the most, heading down by 12% to KD0.0365.
Saudi stock market gains slightly over the week
June 1, 2011--The Tadawul bourse failed to jump on the bullish bandwagon and closed only 0.10% higher at 6,741.83 points on Wednesday. Market bellwether Sabic (down 0.23% at SR107), the Kingdom's petrochemical giant, did not advance during the week, after Credit Suisse downgraded Sabic to 'neutral' from 'outperform' at the end of last week.
Citigroup's Chief Economist Middle East Farouk Soussa commented in a study on Saudi Arabia's plans to cap low-qualified expats' stay to 6 years, saying that "We would caution that the cost of moving aggressively on Saudization of the work force will have ramifications for the economy as a whole on at least four fronts: (i) potential failure of a number of private sector companies, (ii) potential productivity loss, (iiI) economic cost of training locals for jobs, and (iv) higher wage bill. Lower competitiveness with pass through to inflation." But Soussa adds that KSA must tackle the problem of youth unemployment now, despite the aforementioned costs. Soussa: "Serious imbalances have been building in the country over decades and that we believe require urgent attention: only 40% of Saudis of working age are in employment, 43% of 20-24-year-olds are officially unemployed, 51% of Saudis are below the age of 21, expat workers make up 90% of the private sector work force." Over the week the Tadawul bourse added 0.27%.
Kuwaiti investment firms now need separate lending licenses
May 31, 2011--The governor of Kuwait's central bank, Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz al-Sabah, has said local investment firms need to have separate licences to operate their lending and investment businesses as the apex bank eliminates regulatory overlap with the newly formed Capital Markets Authority, Reuters has reported.
"The Central Bank of Kuwait requests from investment firms to review their positions, assets and activities, and look into the possibility of fixing their positions, so that it is supervised by only one of the two parties (central bank or Capital Markets Authority)," the central bank governor said in a circular.
Petrochem soars on postponed merger
May 31, 2011-The Saudi Stock Exchange's lead index Tasi ended up 0.04% on Monday, closing at 6,735.98 points. Shares of National Petrochemical Co., known as Petrochem jumped 6.10% to SR24.35 after Saudi Industrial Investment Group (off 0.21% at SR23.65) said it would delay a merger with Petrochem until Petrochem's Project,
"Saudi Polymers Company", starts up and reaches a stable state of production. "This postponement will help provide a better valuation of the companies involved, as it will rely on actual figures," the statement to the Tadawul bourse says. Sixty-one stocks gained, 55 lost and 29 ended flat.
Barwa Real Estate recovers 1.90%
May 31, 2011--The Qatar Exchange Index ended a two-day downturn on Tuesday, closing a quarter percent higher at 8,375.19 points.
Barwa Real Estate surged 1.90% to close at SR29.50. As most real estate shares in Qatar, Barwa suffered heavy loses in May.
Bahrain Bourse closes even
May 31, 2011--The Bahrain Bourse ended flat at 1,346.66 points on Tuesday.
Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) closed flat at $0.125. Earlier in the day GFH reported a profit for the first quarter of $11.93m compared to a loss of $7.5m in the same period of 2010.
Kuwait market finishes flat
May 31, 2011--The KSE Market Index closed 0.06% higher at 6,378.2 points on Tuesday.
Investment company Ekttitab Holding soared 7.54% to close at KD0.0285. National Bank of Kuwait, known as NBK and the largest lender in the northern Gulf state, added 1.69%, closing at KD1.200.
