December, 2017

• 25 December

  Gulf quiet as Abu Dhabi’s Dana soars

  

  Reuters Gulf stock markets were mostly quiet in moderate trading volumes on Monday as Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas jumped ahead of a court hearing on its effort to avoid redeeming $700 million of Islamic bonds. Abu Dhabi’s index edged up 0.3 percent as Dana jumped 13.2 percent; it was the market’s most heavily traded stock by far. A court in ...

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• 25 December

  Kremlin sees ‘unbearable’ risk to US relations in new sanctions

  

  Bloomberg The Kremlin is “concerned” about the possibility the US might further expand sanctions on Russia, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “We don’t want to be in a situation where our bilateral relations, which are already in a rather pitiful state, could face even bigger and possibly unbearable risks and dangers,” Peskov told conference call on Monday. “We have concerns ...

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• 25 December

  Bahrain convicts six to death on terrorism charges

  Reuters A Bahraini military court sentenced six Shi’ite Muslim men to death and revoked their citizenship after they were convicted on charges of forming a terrorist cell and plotting to assassinate a military official, Bahrain news agency BNA reported on Monday. The men, including one soldier, were accused of several militant attacks and of attempting to assassinate a commander of ...

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• 25 December

  Egypt foreign minister plans Ethiopia visit

  Reuters Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will visit Addis Ababa next week for talks with his Ethiopian counterpart, a foreign ministry spokesman said, in a bid to end a standoff over a multi-billion dollar dam project on the Nile river. The dispute, which also involves Sudan, centres on control of a share of the waters of the Nile that stretches ...

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• 25 December

  Tighter North Korea fuel limits seen unlikely to hurt regime

  

  Bloomberg The United Nation’s latest sanctions on North Korea are more likely to hurt ordinary people in the isolated nation than slow Kim Jong-Un’s push to develop missiles capable of hitting the US with nuclear weapons. The UN Security Council unanimously approved new steps targeting North Korea’s economy following last month’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The new restrictions ...

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• 25 December

  Ramaphosa has unsteady grip on S Africa’s ANC

  

  Bloomberg Cyril Ramaphosa, the newly-elected leader of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, has a tenuous hold on power in the party after his allies fell short of securing outright control over its top leadership body. A lack of support from a clear majority of the 86 voting members of the ANC’s National Executive Committee will limit his scope to ...

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• 25 December

  Trump’s wish for peace follows a weekend of Twitter needling

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s Christmas wishes include a peaceful America, he said while taking phone calls from children tracking the global travels of Santa’s sleigh — although the president’s social-media activities suggested otherwise. “I think we want peace. What do you think? Peace for the country,” Trump told a young boy. “We’ve got prosperity. Now we want peace,” the president ...

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• 25 December

  New tax bill could blow $3bn hole in BofA’s Q4 earnings

  

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. expects to take a roughly $3 billion hit to fourth-quarter net income after the US tax bill slashed corporate rates. The reduction is “primarily” from a lower value of net deferred tax assets, according to a filing by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm. So-called DTAs pile up in cases where a company loses money and ...

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• 25 December

  Swiss National Bank rescues firm it needs to make banknotes

  

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank bought a 90 percent stake in Landqart AG, bailing out the sole producer of the material on which its paper money is printed. The acquisition is aimed at saving Landqart, which the SNB said was facing a liquidity shortage and a “direct and existential threat.” The central bank also said the move ensures “continued supply ...

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• 25 December

  ITFC, Afreximbank tie up to boost African trade

  

  Emirates Business The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a multilateral financial institution established by African governments and institutional investors, have signed a $100-million agreement and a EUR 50-million Murabaha agreement with the aim of facilitating and financing exports amongst African countries and between Africa and ...

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