February, 2019

• 10 February

  Saudi’s $3.1b plan to ease expat fee costs

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has approved a plan to ease levies businesses pay on foreign workers to help revive economic growth. Authorities will exempt some companies from paying the 2018 fees or reimburse those that have already paid, according to the official-Saudi Press Agency. To qualify for the aid, businesses need to have made strides in hiring more Saudi …

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• 10 February

  UK eyes free trade pact with GCC countries in future, says minister

  

  Dubai / WAM Rt Hon Liam Fox, UK Secretary of State for International Trade, has said that the UK enjoys strong trading relations with GCC countries and is looking forward to have a free trade agreement with the bloc in the right time. He also said that the World Government Summit is very indicative of the UAE getting increasingly outward …

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• 10 February

  Lockheed Martin to display advanced portfolio at Idex

  

  Emirates Business Lockheed Martin, the United States-based global technology leader, is set to showcase its latest advanced technology solutions at the 14th edition of the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (Idex), the only one in the Mena region, to be held in Abu Dhabi from February 17-21. At Idex, the defense and security firm will highlight a diverse portfolio of …

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• 10 February

  67 govt entities participate at SLC Legislative Week

  Dubai / WAM The Legislative Week, organised by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Legislation Committee of the Emirate of Dubai (SLC), was launched on Sunday, with the opening of the “Legislation Lab”, an interactive platform that gave representatives from 67 government entities the opportunity to discuss current and emerging challenges and to explore ways to further develop government legislation, …

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• 10 February

  Equal opportunity recovery weans the S&P 500 of its megacap habit

  

  Bloomberg As stock rebounds go, this one has been big, sudden, and decidedly broad, with signs megacap titans are relaxing the stranglehold in which they’ve held the S&P 500 for two years. While the rally took a breather last week, it remains the best annual start for US equities in almost three decades, with $1.7 trillion added to share values. …

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• 10 February

  Bond traders facing deja vu of risks from shutdown to inflation

  

  Bloomberg Treasuries traders may get a feeling of deja vu next week — they’ll be contending with some familiar geopolitical risks as they also absorb key economic data that could help solidify expectations for Federal Reserve policy. Brexit negotiations, trade talks and the specter of another US government shutdown loom against the backdrop of growing concern over the global economy. …

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• 10 February

  SocGen to shrink trading unit, cut costs after market rout

  

  Bloomberg Societe Generale SA is shrinking its markets business and cutting an additional 500 million euros ($567 million) of costs to combat the market rout that sent trading revenue tumbling. The Paris-based bank is replacing global markets head Frank Drouet and cutting about 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) of risk-weighted assets. SocGen will review less profitable fixed-income and currencies activities …

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• 10 February

  Romania extends rate pause amid ‘greed tax’ paralysis

  

  Bloomberg Romania left borrowing costs unchanged as the central bank complains that surprise tax measures to shore up the budget are restricting its ability to function. The benchmark was kept at 2.5 percent for a sixth straight meeting, matching the predictions of all but one economist surveyed by Bloomberg. The fiscal package, which triggered the country’s biggest market crash since …

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• 10 February

  Powell planted clue to policy U-turn with 2017 inflation pledge

  

  Bloomberg The secret behind Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s surprise U-turn on monetary policy can possibly be found in comments he made in New York a year and a half ago. Asked how he’d respond to what was then a hypothetical scenario of below target price rises and low unemployment, Powell replied: “My own view would be that we have …

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• 10 February

  Standard Chartered mulls options for Malaysia Islamic banking unit

  

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc is considering options for its Islamic banking unit in Malaysia, including a potential sale, people with knowledge of the matter said. The London-based lender has been gauging interest from potential buyers for the business, known as Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd, according to the people. It is weighing an exit from Malaysia’s Islamic banking market as fierce …

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