December, 2016

• 18 December

  Oman central bank not to follow Fed’s rate decision

    MUSCAT / Reuters Oman’s central bank won’t automatically imitate last week’s interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, central bank executive president Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali said on Sunday. Oman is the only member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council not to announce an official interest rate rise in the wake of the Fed’s 0.25 percentage point increase. ...

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• 18 December

  Saxo Bank enhances trading options

    Emirates Business Saxo Bank, the online multi-asset trading and investment specialist, announces that it is launching a combination order ticket for all clients trading contract options. The combination order ticket will enable clients to deploy multi-legged option strategies by simultaneously placing orders to buy and/or sell different options from the same order ticket. Georgio Stoev, Futures and Listed Options ...

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• 18 December

  Iceland cuts interest rate as currency advances

  Reykjavik / AFP Iceland’s central bank on Wednesday shaved its key interest rate by a quarter of a point to 5.0 percent, citing the krona’s appreciation and political uncertainty following the country’s October elections. Gross domestic product, business investment growth and export growth had all been stronger than projected for the first nine months of the year, the bank noted. ...

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• 18 December

  JPMorgan plans structured-note sales via web to cut costs

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. is looking to sell structured notes online and is building a website that will help retail brokers offer the securities, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the largest US bank looks to cut its costs for selling bonds. The bank plans to launch its site as soon as the middle of next ...

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• 18 December

  ‘Witness to history’ opens to public

  

    Dhaka / AFP Many of Bangladesh’s most significant political prisoners have been incarcerated within the walls of the two-century old Dhaka Central Jail. Now the prison that has borne witness to much of the country’s brutal history has opened to the public as a museum. The last inmates of the 228-year-old prison in the capital’s old Mughal quarters were ...

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• 18 December

  Influx of Chinese investors angers Madagascans

  

    Soamahamanina / AFP The mine had not yet opened, but Madagascans were already seething with rage and the Chinese management finally quit Soamahamanina, leaving behind empty tents and cigarette butts. For months, this small city in central Madagascar was engulfed by protests targeted at a Chinese gold mining company, Jiuxing. Every Thursday, city residents would take to the streets ...

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• 18 December

  Export ban threatens copper supply from Indonesian mine

  

    Bloomberg Exports from the world’s second-largest copper mine in Indonesia are under threat as a government ban on overseas concentrate shipments is scheduled to come into force from the middle of January. While ministers are rushing to revise the regulations so miners that have committed to build smelters can continue to export ore concentrates, an intermediate product used to ...

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• 18 December

  Tokyo regains ‘costliest city for expats’ title

  

    Bloomberg Tokyo regained its top spot among the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates for the first time since 2012 as the yen rose. London fell out of the top 100 priciest after Brexit crushed the pound. The Japanese capital jumped up from 12th last year, while Yokohama and Osaka joined the top 10, ECA International said Wednesday in ...

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• 18 December

  Chinese app Meitu makes muted tech debut

  

    Bloomberg Chinese beauty apps sensation Meitu Inc. clung to its offer price on its first day of trade, a less-than-stellar debut for Hong Kong’s largest technology initial public offering in almost a decade. It was also the city’s biggest coming-out party since the start of a program that made it easier for mainland Chinese investors to buy and sell ...

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• 18 December

  Thai lawmakers approve tighter control of internet

  

    BANGKOK / AP Thailand’s military-appointed legislature approved a bill tightening the country’s already harsh Computer Crime Act, defying critics who said it infringes on the right to free expression. The National Legislative Assembly voted 168 to 0 with four abstentions to approve amending the 2007 law. Internet activists had campaigned against the amendment, which will allow the authorities to ...

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