May, 2016

• 12 May

  Russia fumes over US missile defense system in Romania

    DEVESELU / AP A US missile defense site in Romania aimed at protecting Europe from ballistic missile threats becomes operational on Thursday, angering Russia which opposes having the advanced military system in its former area of influence. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to speak at a ceremony later attended by US, NATO and Romanian officials to mark the ...

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• 12 May

  Communist chief hopes to end exile under Duterte

  

    Manila / AFP Philippine communist rebel leader Jose Maria Sison has expressed hopes of ending nearly three decades in exile under the new presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, a potentially explosive homecoming opposed by senior military figures. Sison, now 77, fled to Europe soon after peace talks failed in 1987 and has stayed abroad since, while one of Asia’s longest-running ...

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• 12 May

  Hollande government faces no-confidence vote

    Paris / AFP France’s already unpopular Socialist government faces a no-confidence vote Thursday after it bypassed parliament and forced through a labour reform bill that has led to two months of demonstrations. The government said it would resort to the controversial move in the face of fierce opposition from within President Francois Hollande’s own party that was set to ...

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• 12 May

  Stocks advance with crude as energy supply tightens

  

    BLOOMBERG U.S. and European stocks rose, as oil advanced on a softer forecast for a surplus from the International Energy Agency, sending currencies of commodity-exporting nations higher. The S&P 500 rebounded from yesterday’s drop, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index reversed a decline. Crude gained for a third straight day as the IEA said robust demand in India and ...

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• 12 May

  Emirates Securities Market up by 0.13 percent

  

    ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has increased by 0.13% to close at 4436.25 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has gained AED 0.92 billion attaining AED 721.81 billion. A total of 423.83 Million Shares were traded with a total value of AED 0.57 billion during the trading session of 12-05-2016 through 5051 transactions. The number of companies ...

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• 12 May

  Credit Agricole’s quarterly gains fall

  

    Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA reported a 71 percent drop in first-quarter profit, hurt by a decline in consumer lending margins and trading revenue as the bank began a reorganisation to streamline its capital structure. Net income declined to €227 million ($259 million) from €784 million a year earlier, Credit Agricole, based near Paris, said in a statement on Thursday. ...

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• 12 May

  Al Baraka awaits regulatory nod for Morocco debut

  

    Reuters Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group will establish a banking unit in Morocco once it receives approval from local authorities, the Islamic lender said in a statement, adding it aimed to launch the new business soon. The bank, which has operations across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, said entry to the Morocco market would significantly help diversify assets ...

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• 12 May

  Negative rates risk weakness for lenders, says World Bank VP

  

    BLOOMBERG Nations that have adopted a negative interest rate policy to spur economic growth face the possibility of weakening their banks, according to Arunma Oteh, vice president and treasurer of the World Bank. “We still have a global economy that is very fragile,” Oteh said in an interview in Tokyo. “What you find where you have had the expansionary ...

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• 12 May

  Nigeria bank chiefs quizzed in vote-rigging

  

    Lagos / AFP Nigeria’s central bank said it was investigating some banks in connection with slush funds allegedly set up by a former oil minister to rig last year’s elections. The Central Bank of Nigeria said it was “fully aware and indeed a part of the ongoing investigation of certain financial transactions in some banks by law enforcement authorities”. ...

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• 12 May

  Iraq ups interest rate on bond issue to boost sales

  BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq has raised the interest rate on a local bond issue worth 1.5 trillion Iraqi dinars ($1.3 billion) to boost sales, central bank spokesman Aycar Jabbar recently said. The central bank has increased the rate to 8 percent from the 6 percent offered on March 15, when the two-year bonds went on sale, he told. All those ...

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