Turtle Beach explores options to defend against hedge fund Turtle Beach Corp is looking at strategic alternatives including a possible sale, the company said, as it seeks to defend itself against a hedge fund which is seeking to replace all of the gaming equipment company’s six board members. Investment advisory firm Donerail Group and Turtle Beach have both made regulatory filings urging the company’s […] April 25, 2022
UnitedHealth to sell claims business for $2.2bn UnitedHealth Group has agreed to sell Change Healthcare’s claims editing business for $2.2 billion in a move some analysts say could ease regulatoryhurdles in the way of an $8 billion merger between the healthcare companies. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) sued to stop the acquisition for giving UnitedHealth access to competitors’ data, forcing the companies to […] April 25, 2022
U.S. asset freezes worsen Afghan women’s suffering The United States, as well as the Taliban authorities, is contributing to the suffering of women in Afghanistan through asset freezes, U.N. independent experts said on Monday. The United Nations and foreign governments, including Washington, have condemned moves by the Taliban to backtrack on women’s rights commitments such as on girls’ education in the months […] April 25, 2022
Energy Iran Guards ‘seize foreign ship’ in Gulf for smuggling fuel Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign vessel in the Gulf for smuggling 200,000 litres of fuel, a senior Guards commander told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday. “The ship was seized in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. Its eight crew have been handed over to legal authorities in the southern […] April 24, 2022
Lebanon rejects latest financial recovery plan The Association of Banks in Lebanon said on Saturday it “completely rejects” the government’s latest draft of a financial recovery plan meant to pull the country out of an economic meltdown. In a statement shared with Reuters, the ABL called the plan “disastrous” and said it would leave banks and depositors shouldering the “major portion” […] April 23, 2022
Markets Aid groups push to feed Yemen’s hungry millions during Ramadan ceasefire A two-month ceasefire has given aid groups a chance to step up aid to Yemen’s hungry millions, but malnutrition ravaging children is projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up. “The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant,” said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen Director for the Norwegian Refugee […] April 22, 2022
Banking & Finance Lights go out on Erdogan rival who refused to pay power bills The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party said on Thursday that he will sit in the dark for a week after power had been cut at his home as he refused to pay his bills in protest of steep hikes in subsidised energy prices. A currency crisis late last year sent inflation soaring and prompted […] April 21, 2022
Real Estate Turkey’s house price index surges 96% annually Turkey’s residential property price index (RPPI) leapt an annual 96.4% in February in nominal terms, central bank data showed on Monday, surging against abackground of rising inflation. In the country’s largest city Istanbul, home to around a fifth of Turkey’s population of 85 million, the index climbed 106.3% on the year. The surge follows a […] April 20, 2022
Banking & Finance India’s HDFC to sell 10% stake in HDFC Capital to ADIA India’s top housing finance firm HDFC Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to sell a 10% stake in unit HDFC Capital to an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for INR 1.84 billion ($24.09 million). The deal comes two weeks after HDFC and HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private-sector lender, floated merger plans to […] April 20, 2022
Banking & Finance World Bank to push ahead with some Afghan projects The World Bank has resumed work on three projects in Afghanistan focused on health, agriculture and livelihoods, but will maintain a hold on some $150 million for education projects, two sources familiar with the decision said Tuesday. The multilateral development bank had put all four projects, valued at around $600 million, on hold in late […] April 19, 2022
UAE summons Israeli ambassador to protest against clashes in Al-Aqsa Mosque The United Arab Emirates has summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest against clashes at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, the Gulf state’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, stressed the need “to immediately stop these events (and) provide full protection for worshippers”, the ministry said in […] April 19, 2022
Real Estate Turkish house sales rise 20.6% in March Turkish house sales rose 20.6% in March on the year to 134,170 houses, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Friday. Sales to foreigners rose 31%, the institute said, with Iranian citizens topping the list. Iraqis and Russians were the next biggest buyers of Turkish properties, it added. Wealthy Russians are pouring money into […] April 15, 2022
Banking & Finance Abu Dhabi bank FAB withdraws offer for Egypt’s EFG Hermes First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has withdrawn its offer for a controlling stake in Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes, citing global market uncertainty. FAB’s non-binding offer in February to buy at least 51 percent of EFG Hermes, valuing Egypt’s biggest investment bank at nearly $1.2 billion, could have secured access to EFG’s strong franchise in […] April 14, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt current account deficit narrows to $3.8bn Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed to $3.8 billion in the October-December quarter from $4.85 billion in the same period a year earlier, boosted by a jump in tourism, the central bank said in balance of payments figures released on Thursday. The figures also showed a sharp outflow of portfolio investment, which shrank to a deficit […] April 14, 2022
Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth to slow to 3.6% this year Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is set to grow 3.6% this year, down from 4% in 2021, the World Bank said on Wednesday, as it warned rising food and energy prices fuelled by Russia’s war in Ukraine could spark civil unrest in the region. While it upgraded the forecast for this year by 0.1 percentage points and […] April 13, 2022
Agriculture EU plans to counter Russia with food diplomacy in North Africa, Middle East The EU aims to address rising wheat and fertilizer prices and expected shortages in the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East with “food diplomacy” to counter Russia’s narrative on the impact of its Ukraine invasion, EU diplomats and officials say. Food insecurity was causing “resentment” in vulnerable countries in these regions, while Moscow was […] April 12, 2022
Egypt’s urban inflation accelerates to 10.5% Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation accelerated in March to 10.5 percent, its highest in nearly three years and faster than analysts had expected, data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Sunday. The inflation figure, up from 8.8 percent in February, was greater than a median forecast of 10 percent in a Reuters […] April 10, 2022
Dubai school operator Taaleem in preliminary talks for IPO Dubai school operator Taaleem is in preliminary talks with banks for an initial public offering in Dubai, two sources told Reuters, a transaction that would test market appetite for UAE’s education sector. The private education sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is recovering from a slowdown during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Schools […] April 8, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt’s foreign reserves drop by $4bn on Ukraine war shock The March reserves figure should have included a $5 billion deposit that Saudi Arabia said it placed with Egypt’s central bank just before the end of March, indicating that the scope of the strain on reserves had been even greater. The pressure on the currency prompted the central bank to devalue the pound by 14 […] April 7, 2022
Tech company iMENA working with banks on IPO plans Middle East technology investment firm iMENA Group, part owned by Abu Dhabi telecom operator e& , is considering an initial public offering in Abu Dhabi and is working with banks on the deal, two sources told Reuters. The company invests in online and mobile businesses in the Middle East and North Africa, with firms including […] April 7, 2022
Agriculture Egypt’s wheat imports from Russia rose in March despite war Egypt received 479,195 tonnes of wheat from Russia in March, up 24 percent from the same month last year, according to freight data seen by Reuters. Ukrainian wheat imports stood at 124,500 tonnes, down 42 percent year-on-year. “Russian ports remained open,” said Mohammed El Gammal, a Cairo-based grains consultant for the UN Food and Agriculture […] April 6, 2022
Energy Dubai utility DEWA to raise $6.1 billion in biggest Gulf IPO since 2019 DEWA will add to growing volume from issuers in the Gulf, where $3.5 billion has been raised from IPOs this year, data from Refinitiv shows, exceeding European listings even as global markets remain volatile after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Dubai’s deputy ruler and finance minister Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed said in a tweet that DEWA […] April 6, 2022