Bloomberg Cyprus wants investors to see it as a comeback kid. With an accelerating economy, the island nation that was forced to seek a bailout and impose a levy on bank deposits in 2013 is betting on an end to its junk rating. That should make it an attractive place for investors, the country’s leaders are saying. “What has ...
Read More »Chinese stocks are becoming world-beating dividend play
Bloomberg To get in on the hottest equity trade in China right now, you’ll have to be quick. Dividends are emerging as a key lure for investors in the world’s second-largest share market, with stocks of companies that consistently hand out the most cash outperforming the Shanghai Composite Index by the most since 2013. The catch? These plays are ...
Read More »Abu Dhabi jumps ahead as confidence builds in blue chips
DUBAI / Reuters Stock markets in the Middle East firmed on Wednesday with Abu Dhabi outperforming its peers for a second day as institutional investors targeted blue chips, while crude oil near a one month high boosted Saudi Arabia. Abu Dhabi’s index climbed 2.0 percent on the back of a 4.1 percent jump in shares of newly merged lender ...
Read More »Indian shares boosted by property stock rally
Bloomberg Indian shares touched a new high a day before the central bank’s monetary policy meeting, boosted by a rally in property developers. The benchmark Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 indexes, which reopened after a holiday, extended Monday’s record levels. The Sensex climbed 0.2 percent and the Nifty gained 0.3 percent at the close in Mumbai, while an ...
Read More »LNG producers turn to risk taking, trading to maintain market share
CHIBA / Reuters Producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have shot themselves in the foot with oversupply, and face calls for flexibility and greater competition from other fuels that may force them to take more risks and start trading just like other commodity dealers. That’s a big change for a market long dominated by large producers such as Royal ...
Read More »Saudi picks hybrid structure for debut dollar sukuk
Bloomberg Saudi Arabia has chosen a hybrid structure for its debut international sukuk, the prospectus for the offer showed, a format widely used in the Saudi local debt market, but not the most popular for sovereign issues. The Islamic bond, expected to go up to $10 billion, will be the country’s second international debt sale after a $17.5 billion ...
Read More »Oil extends gain above $51 as focus returns to US inventories
Bloomberg Oil rose to the highest in almost a month as investor focus returned to US crude inventories after supply disruptions and optimism over OPEC’s output curbs drove a rally in the past week. Futures added as much as 1.3 percent in New York, the sixth increase in seven days. US stockpiles shrank by 1.83 million barrels last week, ...
Read More »Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil to explore for oil and gas in Cyprus
DOHA / Reuters Qatar Petroleum (QP) and ExxonMobil will start drilling for oil and gas off the southern coast of Cyprus in 2018, the Qatari firm said after signing an exploration and production sharing contract with the Mediterranean island. Exploring the Mediterranean’s Levant Basin has become more attractive since Eni discovered Egypt’s offshore Zohr field in 2015, the biggest ...
Read More »Visa revamp to benefit big US tech, punish outsourcers
Bloomberg The new way foreign worker visas are doled out in the US is poised to benefit some of the biggest technology companies, like Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc., while punishing outsourcing firms that developed a disproportionate dependence on the program. The administration is increasing scrutiny on H-1B visa applications for low-level computer programmers, focusing enforcement on ...
Read More »Toronto home prices jump 33% in March as market tightens
Bloomberg Toronto’s residential housing market showed no signs of cooling last month, with the average sale price soaring a record 33 percent from a year ago, pushing the cost of a detached home in the heart of the city to almost C$1.6 million ($1.2 million). In Toronto and surrounding suburbs prices climbed by a third in every major housing ...
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