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IMF Country report-Israel: 2017 Article IV Consultation
March 28, 2017--Israel is enjoying strong economic growth, estimated at 4 percent in 2016, supported by strong domestic demand-partly due to high vehicle sales ahead of a tax increase-and an export rebound.
Unemployment declined to 4.4 percent in Q4 2016 and wage increases have picked up. Nonetheless, inflation remained below the 1-3 percent target range of the Bank of Israel (BOI), reflecting external factors and government measures to reduce the cost of living. The BOI has held the policy rate at 0.1 percent since February 2015 and stated that monetary policy in Israel will remain accommodative for a considerable time. Strong revenues contained the fiscal deficit to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2016 and the public debt ratio declined to 62 percent of GDP.
Saudi bourse to start new settlement period, short-selling on April 23
March 24, 2017--Saudi Arabia's stock exchange said it would extend the period for settling trades and introduce short-selling on April 23, reforms that may help the market join international equity indexes, attracting billions of dollars of fresh investment.
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UAE indices in tight range as volumes tumble
March 23, 2017--UAE indices traded sideways yesterday with lack of volumes as traders awaited the first quarter results from early April.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.38 per cent lower at 3,461.43.
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Oil nears $50, dents sentiment in Gulf
March 22, 2017--Dubai's index fell 1.0 per cent
Abu Dhabi's index, which was the top performer on Tuesday, retreated 1.1 per cent
In Qatar, the index fell 0.8 per cent as some of the previous day's chief gainers retreated
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Egypt leads Middle East higher while GCC equities underperform
March 16, 2017--Middle Eastern stock markets rose on Thursday, led by Egypt, after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked interest rates as expected but signalled no acceleration in the pace of monetary tightening.
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UAE stock markets gain $1.71bln in weekend trading
March 16, 2017--The UAE financial markets closed with a profitability in weekend trading with heavy stocks, which strengthened their gains for the second straight session, amid continued buying by some corporations.
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Non-Saudi firms seek Tadawul listing
March 15, 2017--The market regulator has received interest from GCC companies to list shares on Saudi Tadawul.
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Qatar exchange awaiting shareholder approval for IPO-CEO
March 14, 2017--The Qatar Stock Exchange is awaiting the approval of its shareholders to conduct an initial public offer of its own shares, the exchange's chief executive Rashid Ali al-Mansoori told reporters on Tuesday.
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Qatar Exchange has healthy pipeline of IPOs, to launch ETFs
March 14, 2017--The Qatar Stock Exchange has a healthy pipeline of initial public offerings (IPOs), along with a couple of exchange traded funds (ETFs) ready for launch, a senior official said on Tuesday.
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BlueStar Indexes Monthly Update: How does Israel perform in the OECD Economic outlook?
March 9, 2017--Israeli Global Equities, as measured by BIGI(R), gained 3.5% in January and 6.2% for 2017 as of March 8.
BIGI(R) outpaced US equities for the second month in a row and outpaced Global Developed and Emerging Market equities as measured by the MSCI EAFE and EM indexes in February. Like January, Israeli pharmaceuticals stocks rallied throughout the first half of the month but only to be hit with another wave of selling toward the end of the month.