Development Israel’s Knesset set to dissolve, triggering snap election Israel is heading for its fifth election in less than four years, plunging it deeper into political uncertainty as it grapples with rising living costs and renewed international efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett moved last week to dissolve parliament after infighting made his ruling coalition no longer tenable. […] June 29, 2022
Energy Iran, US hold nuclear talks with EU in separate Doha hotel rooms Indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington started on Tuesday in Doha, Iranian state media reported, as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator met with European Union envoy Enrique Mora, who will shuttle between the American and Iranian sides. Based in separate rooms in a hotel in Qatar’s capital, Iran’s Ali Bagheri Kani and US Iran special […] June 29, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt can no longer depend on foreign money, says minister Egypt’s finance minister said on Monday the government could no longer depend on foreign purchases of treasuries to finance its budget, but must work to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) instead. “The lesson we have learned (is that) you cannot depend on this type of investment. It is coming just to get high yields, and […] June 28, 2022
Retail Nike Q1 forecasts downbeat, despite higher Middle East sales Nike Inc forecast first-quarter revenue below estimates as it expects to discount more and wrestles with pandemic-related disruptions in China, its most profitable market. The company’s shares fell 3 percent to $107 after the bell. Analysts are mixed about Nike’s prospects in China this year even as strict COVID-19 lockdowns have been lifted in several […] June 28, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar pledges $100m to recover distressed assets The Qatar Financial Center (QFC) said on Monday that it has pledged $100 million to fund a new platform aimed at recovering distressed assets. Atlas Merchant Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by former Barclays Plc chief Bob Diamond, will advise the new platform on strategy and the new vehicle will seek to coordinate with […] June 28, 2022
Markets Drop in commodity prices puts Gulf markets in the black Most Gulf markets extended gains on Monday, tracking global shares as a drop in commodity prices allayed fears of accelerating inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes. Dubai’s main share index gained 0.5 percent, led by a 2.7 percent rise in top lender Emirates NBD. Dubai business park operator TECOM Group said on Monday it had […] June 28, 2022
Dubai takes roadshow to Africa, India and Europe to court startups Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy has launched a new roadshow series in Africa to attract global startups to the city, with plans to expand the initiative to India and Europe. The first roadshow took place in Ethiopia and Kenya where a delegation from the Chamber met with 20 promising African scaleups specialising in advanced technologies […] June 27, 2022
Iraqi PM in Iran to push for revival of Tehran-Riyadh talks Iran and Iraq have agreed to seek stability in the Middle East, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in Tehran on Sunday, a day after he visited Saudi Arabia in a bid to revive talks between the regional rivals to ease years of hostility. Iran and Saudi Arabia, the leading Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim powers […] June 27, 2022
Construction Dubai’s Emaar says it’s aware of report CEO detained in India Dubai’s Emaar Properties is aware of a media report that its Group Chief Executive Amit Jain has been detained in India, a spokesperson for the company said on Saturday. “Emaar is aware of reports regarding the Group CEO Amit Jain, over an issue relating to the company’s work in India. The issue has now been […] June 25, 2022
Tourism Sanctioned Russian’s superyacht docked in Dubai A luxurious superyacht belonging to a sanctioned Russian billionaire parliamentarian featuring six suites, an elevator, its own beach club and a helicopter pad is anchored in Dubai where Russians have sheltered wealth since the invasion of Ukraine. Andrei Skoch’s blue and white “Madame Gu” was docked at Port Rashid on Friday, where Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh […] June 25, 2022
Aung San Suu Kyi moved to solitary confinement in jail Myanmar military authorities have transferred deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to a prison in the capital from an undisclosed location where she had been held since she and her government were ousted in a coup last year, a military spokesman said. The Nobel laureate, who turned 77 on Sunday, had been moved to the […] June 24, 2022
Retail British shoppers continue to cut back as retail sales fall in May British consumers cut back on shopping in May in the face of fast-rising inflation, and an increase in sales in April was revised down sharply, according to data that on Friday provided further evidence of a cost-of-living squeeze. The Office for National Statistics said May sales volumes fell by 0.5 percent on the month, a […] June 24, 2022
Qatar’s Tamim to visit Egypt for first time since boycott Qatar’s ruler will visit Egypt on Friday, his first trip to the country since Egypt and Qatar agreed last year to end a long-running regional feud, diplomatic sources said. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who last visited Egypt in 2015, will hold a formal meeting with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on […] June 24, 2022
Egypt says rising inflation will be ‘temporarily tolerated’ Egypt’s central bank kept its overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying that for the next six months it would tolerate elevated inflation, caused mainly by the Ukrainian conflict, as the economy grows more slowly than expected. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) held its lending rate steady at 12.25 percent and its deposit rate […] June 24, 2022
Lebanon’s Mikati named PM, urges action to secure IMF deal Lebanon’s Najib Mikati was named prime minister on Thursday, urging fractious politicians to set aside differences to secure an IMF deal which he said was the only chance to save the country from financial collapse. Facing a politically difficult path to agreeing on a new cabinet, the billionaire tycoon who led three previous governments said Lebanon […] June 24, 2022
Bahrain in advanced talks for cloud computing deals Bahrain is in advanced talks for investment deals with cloud computing companies from the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates, an Economic Development Board executive said, as the country seeks to diversify its oil-based economy. Cloud computing and foreign direct investment are key planks of Bahrain’s economic recovery programme that aims to grow […] June 24, 2022
Markets UAE to raise $3bn from dollar bonds as demand tops $13.5bn The United Arab Emirates was set to raise $3 billion with a two-tranche US dollar-denominated bond sale comprising a 10-year tranche and 30-year Formosa portion, a bank document showed on Thursday. The bonds, for which demand topped $13.5 billion, will offer investors 100 basis points over US Treasuries (UST) for the 10-year paper and 175 […] June 24, 2022
Exclusive UK-GCC talks must extend beyond tariffs, say top diplomats The newly-commenced free trade agreement talks between the UK and the GCC have been welcomed by senior diplomats. Lord Udny-Lister, co-chair of the UAE-UK Business Council and a former strategic advisor to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, hailed the FTA discussions as “great news”, but called for a wide and nuanced set of agreements that […] June 24, 2022
Markets Qatar shares suffer biggest weekly drop in two years June 23 (Reuters) – Qatari shares led declines in the Gulf on Thursday to post their biggest weekly decline in more than two years, as investors worried that further rises in interest rates to quell decades-high inflation would tip economies into a recession. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the central bank […] June 23, 2022
Banking & Finance UAE eyes dollar bonds to fill $600m 2022 budget deficit The United Arab Emirates is in the market with a two-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated bond sale comprising a 10-year tranche and 30-year Formosa portion, a bank document showed on Thursday. Initial price guidance was around 125 basis points (bps) over U.S. Treasuries (UST) for the 10-year paper and around 200 bps over UST for the Formosa […] June 23, 2022
Court challenge puts spotlight on sharia law in Nigeria A Nigerian court on Thursday will hear a challenge against sharia law in the mostly Muslim northern state of Kano, in a case that is set to reignite debate on the place of religious laws in a country whose constitution is neutral on religion. Nigeria is divided between the largely Christian south and mostly Muslim […] June 23, 2022
Markets Fed chief backs another interest rate increase Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans on Wednesday signaled he would likely back another big interest rate hike in July unless inflation data improves, saying the Fed’s top priority is to “take the steam” out of price pressures. “Seventy-five (basis points) is a very reasonable place to have a discussion,” Evans told reporters after […] June 23, 2022
