A number of financial experts in Qatar have said ditching the riyal’s peg to the dollar would not have any major effect on soaring inflation rates, reported the Peninsula. The weak dollar has hiked up import costs but one of the key inflationary pressures in Qatar is the high level of rents and property prices. The formation of a GCC common market would bring down the price of locally-produced consumer goods. [AMEInfo.com]
Rising inflation levels across the Gulf are eroding the purchasing power of residents and the situation is likely to continue for several years according to experts cited by the Gulf News. Antonina Antonova, an analyst with Societe Generale Asset Management, said the biggest cost-of-living increases have occurred in the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar and have outstripped wage gains by between 9 and 14%. [AMEInfo.com]
Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Kuwait’s Gulf Insurance Company, the parent company and a core operating entity of the composite insurer the Gulf Insurance Group, from stable to positive. The outlook revision is due to a substantial reduction in Gulf Insurance’s risk profile following the sale of its largest equity holding. Standard and Poor’s also expects Gulf Insurance to strengthen its enterprise risk management. [AMEInfo.com]
Shares in Northern Rock PLC dropped more than 7 percent Friday on claims that the struggling mortgage lender has borrowed almost 8 billion pounds (US$16.3 billion; €11.5 billion) from the Bank of England since it sought emergency funding two weeks ago.
Simon Ward, senior economist at the fund management group New Star, calculated the size of […]
The Tadawul All Share Index (Tasi) started the trading week with a 0.8% fall today. The Tasi closed on 7,868.9 points, a decline of 60.8 points; the market is now also 0.8% down on its level at the end of 2006. The day’s best performing stock was the Banque Saudi Fransi which gained 6.9% to close on SR78. [AMEInfo.com]
Europe’s economic outlook darkened Friday as business and consumer confidence plunged in the face of a surging euro, record oil prices and volatile financial markets.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) has stated that the value of shares and bonds bought by foreign investors last week reached $427.8m, comprising 35.2% of the total value of stocks traded. The value of stocks sold by foreign investors over the course of the week reached $322.3m, comprising 26.5% of the total value. Therefore, net foreign investment totalled $105.5m. [AMEInfo.com]
Prices of U.S. Treasury notes rose Thursday after a government report showed that the pace of new home sales fell more than forecast and demand in an auction of five-year notes exceeded expectations.
“There’s real investor demand at these yield levels,” said Dan Orlando, head of U.S. Treasury trading in New York at Deutsche Bank, one […]
The annual report of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has revealed that the kingdom’s economy grew by 4.3% last year, according to Gulf News. The study also stated the private sector expanded by 6.4% last year, its highest growth rate in 25 years, while the public sector advanced by 6.1%. Increased local and foreign investment as well as continued high hydrocarbon revenues were cited as positive factors. [AMEInfo.com]
The Tadawul All Share Index (Tasi) gained 0.6% last week, closing on 7,929.7 points, up from 7,885.5 points at the end of the previous week, reported Arab News. Trading was quite thin, with turnover hitting $5.4bn, down from $7.5bn the week before. The Tasi is currently 0.1% down on its level at the turn of the year. [AMEInfo.com]
