February, 2019

• 17 February

  UAE Space Agency, Australia sign cooperation agreement

  ADELAIDE / WAM The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the Australian Space Agency, which aims to promote the exchange of best practices, knowledge sharing and enhance cooperation and collaboration between both parties in support of space research and technology The MoU was signed at the Australian Space Agency in Lot Fourteen, Adelaide, …

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• 17 February

  UAE signs AED4.97b defence deals at Idex

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE Armed Forces awarded AED4.971 billion in contracts on the first day of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (Idex 2019), and Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition (Navdex 2019), with the lion’s share of deals going to national companies. Speaking at a press conference Staff Brigadier-General Mohammed Al Hassani, Official Spokesperson of Idex 2019, …

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• 17 February

  Saudi, France enter deal to build warships in kingdom

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabian Military Industries and France’s Naval Group SA entered a joint venture (JV) to develop vessels in the kingdom, which seeks to promote local manufacture of armaments. The Saudi government-backed firm will hold a 51 percent stake and the French naval defense company will have the rest. The new company will develop, engineer and manufacture frigates, corvettes and possibly …

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• 17 February

  East Canada LNG edges towards decision on $7.5 billion plant

  

  Bloomberg A $7.5 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in East Canada focussed on Europe is seeking to get the go-ahead this year. Pieridae Energy Ltd is targeting the milestone known as a final investment decision after having lined up buyers for the fuel, mainly in Europe. If approved it would add to LNG supplies into northwest Europe, which has …

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• 17 February

  Bond traders set to get big update on Fed’s portfolio

  

  Bloomberg In the wake of last month’s Federal Reserve gathering, traders have been left with as many questions as answers when it comes to the fate of the central bank’s balance sheet. Next week may finally provide some clues on where the runoff goes from here. The holiday-shortened week will be light on economic data but heavy on Fed signals. …

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• 17 February

  Stocks staring down earnings recession fuel Wall Street clash

  

  Bloomberg The debate over the trajectory for corporate profits reached a crescendo this week, with two widely followed Wall Street strategists clashing over whether an earnings recession is imminent. Just days after Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson announced the S&P 500 profits would turn negative for the first six months of 2019, Brian Belski at BMO Capital Markets said such fears …

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• 17 February

  Deutsche Bank reverses pledge to help distressed homeowners

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG has decided that none of the more than $4 billion it promised to spend on consumer relief after the global mortgage crisis will go to distressed US homeowners, according to a report by the monitor of the 2017 settlement. Instead, the consumer-relief money will be spent on originating new loans, according to the February 13 report …

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• 17 February

  StanChart, BNP among banks to be added to Aramco bond

  

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc and BNP Paribas SA are among about a dozen banks likely to be added as co-managers for Saudi Aramco’s landmark international bond sale, people with knowledge of the matter said. Two Japanese lenders — Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc. — as well as Samba Financial Group and Gulf International Bank BSC are …

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• 17 February

  Italian state bank mulls doubling Telecom Italia stake

  

  Bloomberg The Italian state lender that’s backing Elliott Management Corp. in a battle for the future of Telecom Italia SpA is considering doubling its stake in the former phone monopoly, people familiar with the matter said. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA was authorized by its board to buy as much as 10 percent of Telecom Italia’s stock if a management …

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• 17 February

  Greece set to subsidise mortgage payments to tackle bad loan crisis

  

  Bloomberg Greece plans to pump as much as 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) into its banks over the next five years by subsidizing a part of households’ mortgage repayments. Under the plan, some households unable to repay their home loans will restructure their debts with the banks, with the state then paying part of the remaining monthly installments, according to …

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