December, 2017

• 27 December

  The sovereign-debt doom loop still threatens banks

  The world’s central banks recently signed off on the Basel III rules for bank capital. The new system, years in the making, is a step forward: It will make banks stronger and safer. But there are several loose ends. One of the most important concerns the treatment of sovereign bonds on banks’ balance sheets. Banks that hold large, concentrated portfolios ...

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• 27 December

  Big three market themes of 2017 will remain in 2018

  

  With 2017 mostly said and done, it’s instructive to put the bond market in perspective so we know what to reasonably expect in 2018. Recall that at the start of the year there was no shortage of calls for the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note to soar to 3 percent — or even 4 percent — by ...

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• 27 December

  Apple should take iBundles out for spin

  

  Apple Inc. says it’s more resilient than a typical hardware company. This is more hype than reality, but I can’t ignore the potential upside if Apple is serious about web video, digital music, and its other internet-centric software. Technology watchers know that Apple has been stressing how many people who own iPhones, Macs and iPads are also buying from its ...

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• 27 December

  The year when the internet collides with reality

  

  The onset of a new year brings plenty of predictions, and so I will hazard one: Many of the biggest events of 2018 will be bound together by a common theme, namely the collision of the virtual internet with the real ‘flesh and blood’ world. This integration is likely to steer our daily lives, our economy, and maybe even politics ...

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• 27 December

  When the richest got $1trn richer

  

  The richest people on earth became $1 trillion richer in 2017, more than four times last year’s gain, as stock markets shrugged off economic, social and political divisions to reach record highs. The 23 percent increase on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people, compares with an almost 20 percent incre-ase for both the ...

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• 27 December

  FX winners for 2018: A tour through some bullish calls

  

  Bloomberg Following the dollar’s worst year in more than a decade, foreign-exchange strategists see few signs of optimism for the US currency in 2018. Yet they remain divided as to which of its major peers to be bullish on. While most say monetary policy is set to drive FX movements in the months ahead, just how that translates into market ...

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• 26 December

  ‘UAE as largest foreign aid donor a realisation of leadership’s vision’

  

  DUBAI / WAM Dr Hanif Hassan Al Qasim, Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, has said that the UAE’s international success in occupying the first position as the world’s largest foreign aid donor in 2016, according to the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a practical realisation of the vision of an ...

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• 26 December

  Saudi expects oil revenue to surge 80% by 2023

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia expects oil revenue to jump about 80 percent by 2023 to help the kingdom record its first budget surplus in a decade, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Under a six-year program to balance the budget, officials predict rising oil prices and output will push income from oil sales to 801.4 billion riyals ($214 billion) ...

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• 26 December

  Danube awards contracts worth AED381 million

  

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Danube Properties, a major Dubai-based property developer, has awarded five construction-related contracts with a combined value exceeding AED381 million in 2017 — a year it started delivering homes — part of the AED2.84 billion portfolio. These construction contracts include an AED221-million main construction contract awarded to Naresco Contracting LLC to deliver Miraclz Tower near Miracle Gardens ...

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• 26 December

  Brazil’s fertiliser imports from Arab states up 38%

  

  DUBAI / WAM The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) lauded the growing economic ties between Brazil and Arab countries after recent statistics — released by the Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services — showed the cou-ntry importing 5.9 million tonnes of fertiliser from January to November this year. The number accounted for 24.4 percent of Brazil’s total global ...

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