Banking & Finance Commodity stocks drag FTSE 100 lower Commodity stocks and banks led a near 2 percent drop in London’s FTSE 100 on Monday as fears of a global economic slowdown sapped sentiment at the start of a week loaded with corporate earnings. After falling as much as 2.4 percent, the blue-chip index pared some losses to close down 1.9 percent at its […] April 25, 2022
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
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
Markets Oil drives rise in Gulf stock markets Major Gulf bourses closed higher on Wednesday, with a rise in oil prices driving the Saudi index up more than one per cent, while geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment in Egypt. Oil prices rose 1.4 per cent on a drop in US oil inventories and concern over tighter supplies from Russia and Libya. Saudi Arabia’s […] 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
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
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
Banking & Finance Egypt private sector activity shrinks as Ukraine war takes toll Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector shrank in March at its fastest since the earlymonths of the coronavirus pandemic as fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine hit businesses and fuelled costs, a survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index slid to 46.5 from February’s 48.1, its 16th month below the […] April 5, 2022
Banking & Finance Saudi non-oil private sector maintains solid growth Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector kept up its solid pace of growth in March as output expanded at the fastest rate in over four years, a survey showedon Tuesday. The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the whole economy rose to 56.8 in March from 56.2 in February, exactly […] April 5, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt’s net foreign assets turned sharply negative in February Egyptian net foreign assets (NFAs) went sharply negative in February, declining by 60 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.29 billion) to minus EP 50.3 billion, central bank data showed on Sunday. It was their fifth month of declines. An outflow of foreign currency helped prompt the central bank to devalue the pound by 14 percent on March […] April 3, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt plans to issue first sovereign sukuk Egypt plans to issue its first sovereign sukuk before the end of the current fiscal year ending in June, Finance Minister Mohamed Maiit said in a statement onSaturday. Maait also said that Egypt plans to tap the Japanese market by offering new issues in the future. Last month, Egypt issued 60 billion yen ($489.84 million) […] April 2, 2022
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia deposits $5bn in Egypt’s central bank Saudi Arabia has deposited $5 billion in Egypt’s central bank, the Saudi state news agency reported on Wednesday, and the kingdom is expected to invest further as the Ukraine war adds to the pressure on the Egyptian economy. Last week Egypt said it was in talks with the International Monetary Fund for potential funds and […] April 1, 2022
