Arab states present demands to Qatar to end blockade
June 23, 2017--Doha has been given 10 days to comply with list of 13 demands handed over by Kuwait
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have issued Qatar with a list of 13 demands that it must comply with within 10 days if it wants them to lift their diplomatic and economic blockade, according to news agency reports.
Source: Zawya.com
Markets lose faith in OPEC as oil falls deeper into bearish territory
June 22, 2017--The ongoing fall in oil prices has driven risk-off sentiments across all asset classes.
U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday despite the unexpected rise in home resales.
Source: AMEInfo.com
Saudi extends rally on new crown prince, MSCI; foreign funds boost Doha
June 22, 2017-- Saudi Arabia's stock market extended on the previous session's rally on Thursday as investors focused on shares likely to benefit from economic reforms and from MSCI's decision while Qatar rebounded as foreign funds were net buyers.
Source: Zawya.com
"Unlawful" sukuk threaten Dubai's Islamic finance ambitions
June 21, 2017-- Dubai's ambitions to become a global hub for Islamic finance may have been dented by the decision of Dana Gas to declare $700 million of its Islamic bonds "unlawful", and thus suspend payments on the debt.
Source: Zawya.com
Islamic finance in 2018: slow growth is the new normal
June 20, 2017--S&P Global Ratings believes the Islamic finance industry will continue to expand this year, but lose some momentum in 2018.
The industry's assets reached $2 trillion at year-end 2016, slightly below our September forecast.
Source: AMEInfo.com
TASE Launches A New Index: The Tel-Bond-Global Index
June 18, 2017--The index will include bonds of foreign companies with no Israeli orientation, that are traded on the TASE
In its meeting on Thursday (June 15), the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) Board of Directors approved the launch of a new index, Tel Bond-Global, based on shekel bonds of foreign companies traded on the TASE.
Source: TASE
Global Growth Bodes Well For Israel in 2H 2017 But Mid-June Tech Swoon is a Setback
June 16, 2017--Israeli Global Equities, as measured by BIGI(R), gained 2.65% in May and 13.42% in 2017 to-date. BIGI(R) outpaced US equities for the fifth month in a row, and has performed in-line with other Global Developed Market equities in 2017 to-date.
In May, the top performing Israeli stocks belonged to the consumer staples and energy sectors. Notably, BIGI(R) is also outperforming the MSCI Israel and TA-125 Indexes since the start of 2017 by 7.5 and 4.5 percentage points...
Source: Blue Star Indexes
Oil price fall has mixed impact on Gulf, Doha extends recovery
June 15, 2017--Stock markets in the Gulf were mixed on Thursday with Qatar and Dubai rising despite a fall in crude oil prices, while Saudi Arabia's decline was cushioned by hopes it will be put on review for possible emerging market status next week.
Source: Zawya.com
New Report Projects Modest Growth in GCC with Increased Activity in the Non-Oil Sector
June 15, 2017--A new World Bank report projects growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will gradually recover from 1.3% in 2017 to 2.6% in 2019.
The first edition of the Gulf Economic Monitor, which will be produced half-yearly by the World Bank, indicates that, although overall growth will remain weighed down by oil production cuts, growth in the non-oil sector has bottomed out. With oil prices expected to stabilize at close to current levels, the pace of fiscal austerity slowing and with major reforms planned in the region, spending and sentiment in the non-oil sector are expected to slowly lift.
view the Gulf Economic Monitor Issue 1, June 2017: Sustaining Fiscal Reforms in the Long-term
Source: World Bank
Oil prices on the back foot despite OPEC cut extension
June 13, 2017--Surveying the oil markets at the start of May, when prices were under pressure and ranging between $49-$51 per barrel (bbl), OPEC ministers could be forgiven for believing that a decision to extend their six-month production cut agreement for an additional nine months, to March 2018, would be just the prescription to boost the oil price.
Source: AMEInfo.com