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Qatar Telecom shares add slightly on Tunisiana acquisition
November 22, 2010--The QE Index ended one percent higher Monday at 8,273.07 points as Qatari shares gained across the board. Shares of Qatar Telecom (Qtel) added 0.05% to finish at QR182.50. Qatar Telecom announced today that it has signed,
via Wataniya Telecom, a 52.5% subsidiary of Qtel, an agreement with a consortium led by Princesse Holding of Tunisia to jointly acquire from Orascom Telecom Holding their 50% shareholding in Orascom Telecom Tunisie. Wataniya has an existing 50% shareholding in Tunisiana.
Kuwait bourse KSE dips insignificantly
November 22, 2010--The KSE market index ended 0.05% to close at 6,964.4 points. Shares of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the largest bank in the emirate, ended in line with the lacklustre trading
flat at KD1.320. Kuwait Investment Company, which rallied since bottoming out in July, lost 6.1% on profit bookings, closing at KD0.152.
Tadawul market ends flat at 6,363 points
November 22, 2010--Early index gains were wiped out at the Saudi bourse Tadawul as banks weighed on the Tasi composite which ended unchanged at 6,363.2. Alinma Bank dipped 0.47% to close at SR10.55.
Saudi Hollandi Bank weakened 1.58%, finishing at SR31.10. But market bellwether Sabic stabilised at SR100.75 (up 0.50%) which prevented the GCC's lead market from falling further.
ADX sees glitches for derivatives
Bourse sees influx of foreign capital and enhanced transparency
November 22, 2010--The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) is still planning to introduce derivatives as part of an ongoing development strategy but the scheme is beset with hurdles, the bourse’s deputy CEO has said.
Rashed Al Baloushi said the 2008 global fiscal distress had hit foreign investment flow into to the emirate and dampened IPO issuance but expected the flow to resurge after the market stabilizes and measures to enhance transparency.
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly View-November 21, 2010
November 21, 2010--It is a short working week in the U.S. next week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and all the economic data of significance therefore is clustered in the Tues-Weds period.
On Tuesday, the data leads off with the second estimate of third quarter GDP. There may be an upward revision as consumer spending was a bit stronger, net exports a bit narrower and inventories bit higher, but it should not look fundamentally different from the advance estimate. The Richmond Fed's Survey of Manufacturing for November will also be released.
The BLS will release two separate labour market reports for October on Tuesday. The data for mass layoff activity should continue to reflect very low levels of layoffs. Employers are reluctant to lose skilled workers, and payrolls that were deeply pared in early 2009 have yet to recover. The numbers for state and regional unemployment will provide some detail for the data behind the national unemployment rate of 9.6%.
On Wednesday, initial claims for the week ended November 20 will be released. New claims are slowly heading lower, if somewhat unevenly. Claims for continuing and extended benefits are taking somewhat larger strides in declines, but remain elevated, as do initial claims. If Congress extends benefits again, these decreases could wane...
UAE rolls out new banking guidelines
November 18, 2010--The UAE's central bank has unveiled new guidelines regarding provisions and loans in line with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision standards, Reuters has reported.
"All banks and other financial institutions are required to make provisions, specific or general, required for this regulation and deduct them from the profit and loss account at the end of each quarter and not delay them till the end of the financial year," the central bank said in a statement. The guidelines will "serve as a catalyst in depicting a truly realistic financial position of banks and other financial institutions," it said.
UAE stock markets will stay calm after Eid break
November 18, 2010--UAE stock markets, which are scheduled to resume trading on Sunday after the Eid holiday, should remain relatively unaffected by worrying global financial news
that dragged down international markets in the last few days, an analyst said.
Dubai market down 0.28%
November 14, 2010--The DFM General Index ended 0.28% lower Sunday, closing at 1,687.00. District cooling specialist Tabreed plummeted 2.38% to finish at Dhs0.41.
Dubai Islamic Bank bucked the trend, gaining 1.82% to close at Dhs2.24. Some 73.67m shares changed hands.
Abu Dhabi bourse dips 0.35% ahead of Eid holidays
November 14, 2010--The ADX market in Abu Dhabi ended 0.35% lower at 2.748.92. Losses in the energy segment weighed on the market. Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., also known as Taqa, plummeted 5.41% to close at Dhs1.42.
Market bellwether Aldar Properties surged 2.65%, finishing at Dhs2.33. United Insurance Co. reported a 9-month net profit of Dhs16.51m, down 11.58% compared to the corresponding period in 2009. The share price is quoted at Dhs4.
Qatar Telecom shares reach new 2010 high
November 14, 2010--The Doha-based Qatar Exchange (QE) ended 0.13% higher at 8,083.87 points. Trading volumes declined 40% (some 5.09m shares changed hands) as investors prepared for Eid holidays.
Qatar Telecom, the former telecom monopolist, closed 1.05% higher at QR182.30, reaching a new high in 2010. Qtel is trading at a price earnings ratio of 9.33. Its dividend yield stands at 3.84%.
