April, 2021

• 11 April

  UK’s longest-maturity bond offer has buyers waiting to pounce

  

  Bloomberg UK bond investors eager for the government to sell more of its longest-dated debt appear to have gotten their way. A bond auction on Tuesday will include a 1 billion-pound ($1.37 billion) offering of gilts maturing in 2071 with more scheduled for sale in June. Minutes of a conference call with the Debt Management Office last month revealed investors ...

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• 11 April

  Daimler CEO sees solid returns on e-car

  Bloomberg Daimler AG’s new flagship electric sedan will generate “reasonable” returns right from the start as the vehicle features top-line technology, Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius said. The Mercedes EQS, which debuts this week, will produce attractive profits while still lagging the returns of its combustion engine-powered sibling, the S-Class, due to the higher cost of electric-car components, Kallenius said ...

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• 11 April

  Costa Rica’s president says cutting deficit will be his legacy

  

  Bloomberg Costa Rica’s president says he’ll bring an end to years of excess government borrowing, even if it hurts his popularity. With just over a year left in office, Carlos Alvarado is fighting to pass spending cuts and tax increases, and narrow the fiscal deficit which brought the country to the brink of crisis two years ago. He’s also pushing ...

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• 11 April

  Asia’s positive stock outlook clouded by Chinese selloff

  

  Bloomberg The allure of Asian stocks is fading after beating global peers last year. While 2021 began with investors expecting regional stocks to continue leading the global equity rebound as vaccine rollouts gather pace, that conviction now seems to be in short supply owing to a selloff in Chinese shares and concerns over dollar strength. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index ...

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• 11 April

  Stock bulls bet it all on earnings guesses with troubled record

  

  Bloomberg You’re never sure what earnings seasons will bring. Hence their volatility. But one thing is certain about the first-quarter results about to be disclosed. They couldn’t matter less to the market’s current valuations. And while it’s a Wall Street cliche that “the guidance is what matters,” that view is being taken to absurd extents right now, when the S&P ...

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• 11 April

  Sheikh Mohammed announces first female Arab astronaut

  

  DUBAI / WAM In a new step that translates to the UAE’s relentless pursuit towards global leadership in the field of space exploration, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the names of the two new Emirati astronauts who will form the second batch of the ...

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• 11 April

  Dubai’s non-oil external trade reaches AED1.182trn in 2020

  

  DUBAI / WAM Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade strongly rebounded from the challenges posed by the global economic repercussions of Covid-19 and the suspension of business activity by countries across the world in the first half of last year to record high growth in 2020. Boosted by its resilience to global headwinds, as well as its rapid economic recovery and revitalised ...

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• 11 April

  Sheikh Khalifa restructures board of UAE central bank

  ABU DHABI / WAM President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a Federal Decree restructuring the Board of Directors of Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) under the chairmanship of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. Pursuant to the Decree, the Board of Directors of the CBUAE ...

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• 11 April

  Saudi’s Aramco signs infra investment deal of $12.4b

  

  DHAHRAN / WAM Aramco has signed a deal with a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG), one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure investors, to optimise its assets through a lease-and-lease-back agreement involving its stabilised crude oil pipeline network. Upon closing, Aramco will receive upfront proceeds of around $12.4 billion, further strengthening its balance sheet through one of ...

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• 11 April

  Masdar-led group reaches financial close on 300MW Jeddah solar plant

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The consortium led by Masdar and EDF Renewables, both global leaders in renewable energy, and Nesma Company, announced on Saturday it has reached financial close on a 300-megawatt (MW) utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Jeddah and is starting construction. The Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy awarded the ...

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