March, 2016

• 14 March

  Solving Syria strife riddled with hurdles

  Agreeing on political transition in Syria remains an uphill task as the huge government-opposition divide will likely complicate a settlement. The fate of President Bashar al-Assad, presidential elections and the type of new government are main obstacles that need to be addressed for peace to prevail across Syria. Syria’s conflict, which began on March 15, 2011 with a peaceful protest ...

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• 14 March

  Why sanctions won’t stop North Korea

  Jack Hands SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS It was Libya in 2011 – the uprising against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the subsequent shocking scenes of a bloodied dictator reduced to waiting on his fate in a dusty street just west of Sirte – that reinforced North Korea’s long-held belief that the only way to truly deter an outside attack would be ...

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• 14 March

  What the Fed will & won’t do this week

  

  The Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week will be closely watched, particularly after the stimulative measures taken by the European Central Bank last week. Here are some steps that U.S. central bankers will and won’t take, and particularly those of greatest interest to financial markets: n Fed officials will note the continued recovery of the U.S. economy, led by strong ...

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• 14 March

  Stocks higher ahead of key central bank meet

  

  TOKYO / AFP European stock markets rose on Monday, with Frankfurt hitting levels above 10,000 points, following a strong start to the week across Asia as traders looked ahead to more central bank action. The Bank of Japan started a two-day meeting on Monday, while the Federal Reserve and Bank of England also gather this week to decide over the ...

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• 14 March

  Swiss holds fire as Franc resists ECB for second time

  

  BERN / Bloomberg For the second time in less than four months, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) president has seen the franc weaken rather than strengthen in the wake of new European Central Bank stimulus. That relief means Jordan and his fellow policy makers won’t cut rates on March 17, according to the majority of economists in a Bloomberg survey. ...

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• 14 March

  Deutsche bank chiefs cite govt on mistrust issue

  

  BERLIN / Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is partly to blame for market mistrust in Deutsche Bank AG because it spearheaded implementation of new liability rules for bondholders in a law passed last year, the lender’s Co-Chief Executive Officers John Cryan and Juergen Fitschen told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). While the government has solved the problem of liability capital, ...

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• 14 March

  Alibaba to set fees for banks on loan of upto $4 billion

  

  BEIJING / BLOOMBERG Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has set the fees it’s offering to banks on its loan of upto $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. China’s largest online emporium is offering 60 basis points to lenders committing $200 million and above to the facility, which banks are starting to market from $3 billion, according to the ...

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• 14 March

  Morgan Stanley says bonds set to surge in 2016

  

  NEW YORK / Bloomberg Morgan Stanley, one of the Wall Street banks that deals directly with the Federal Reserve, cut its bond yield forecasts for 2016 and said the US central bank will wait until December before raising interest rates. “The global backdrop for rates markets looks so supportive that 2016 may become known as the ‘Year of the Bull,’” according ...

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• 14 March

  China Overseas buys Citic’s property assets for $4.8 bn

  Bloomberg China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. said it will buy the Chinese residential property assets held by Citic Ltd. for about 31 billion yuan ($4.8 billion), as it expands its presence across the nation’s cities amid surging land prices. China Overseas will sell 1.1 billion shares at HK$27.13 each to the Citic companies as part of the transaction, it ...

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• 14 March

  Anbang expands US hotel foray with $6.5 bn deal

  

  Bloomberg Anbang Insurance Group Co.’s $6.5 billion agreement to buy 16 U.S. luxury resorts and hotels from Blackstone Group LP marks a record transaction for Chinese buyers of American real estate, showing the strong appetite for high-profile properties viewed as stable investments. The pending acquisition of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. will give Anbang ownership of trophy properties across the ...

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