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SWFs lay out guidelines
The International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds, which represents over $2.3 trillion in investments, presented a set of voluntary principles to the IMF on Saturday. The guidelines include plans for greater public transparency on investments.
Middle East: Sunday, October 12 - 2008 at 10:32

Middle East unscathed by global credit crisis
The global International Monetary Fund has said the global credit crisis has so far had little impact on Middle Eastern countries, where economic growth is being sustained by non-oil sectors. But the IMF said in its semi-annual World Economic Outlook that oil exporting countries are suffering from high inflationary pressures. It said that gross domestic product growth in the Middle East would weaken next year, but only by 0.5% to 6%.
Middle East: Saturday, October 11 - 2008 at 13:02

Jordan and Lebanon 'fiscally vulnerable'
Jordan and Lebanon have been named in a World Bank report as facing financial problems, caused by a combination of the global credit crisis and high food and fuel costs. The report describes the two, along with a number of African and Asian countries, as 'fiscally vulnerable'. It said they will struggle to take on new debt to afford the higher prices.
Jordan: Saturday, October 11 - 2008 at 12:55

Qatar top GCC competitive economy
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the GCC's most competitive economies, according to the World Economic Forumâ€™s competitiveness rankings. Qatar came 26th in the world rankings, and was followed by Saudi Arabia once place below. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait was ranked 35th, Bahrain 37th and Oman 38th. The listing ranks 134 countries for their competitiveness, with only Uzbekistan missing due to a lack of data.
Qatar: Saturday, October 11 - 2008 at 11:30

Zabeel to buy English football club
Dubai's Zabeel Investments is looking to buy second tier English football club Charlton Athletic. The club, which is languishing mid-table in the English Championship despite pre-season expectations that it would be chasing promotion, said it has entered due diligence with Zabeel. The board has said that if an offer is made, it will recommend to shareholders that they accept. Zabeel was previously linked with a takeover of Premiership strugglers Newcastle, but Charlton would be a far cheaper option to buy.
United Arab Emirates: Saturday, October 11 - 2008 at 09:30

DFM rises 3.67%
The Dubai Financial Market rose 3.67% on Thursday, one day after the UAE cut interest rates. The index climbed 113.08 points to close on 3,198. Among the day's big gainers, Arabtec rose by 13.09%, Air Arabia by 10.19%, and Du by 9.29%. Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange gained 30.36 points, or 0.96%, to end the day on 3,207.
United Arab Emirates: Thursday, October 09 - 2008 at 14:33

Bahrain cuts key interest rate
Bahrain cut its key policy interest rate today by 25 basis points to 1.75%, the Central Bank of Bahrain has announced. The CBB also cut the rate on the overnight deposit facility to 1.25% from 1.50% previously. The Repo and lending rate has been cut to 4.75% from 5.25%.
Bahrain: Thursday, October 09 - 2008 at 13:01

DGCX sets new record worth $25.20m
Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) announced the successful completion of its largest-ever physical settlement of gold and steel rebar futures contracts, valued at $25.20m, by the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC). The settlement involved the physical delivery of 908kgs of gold and 40 metric tonnes of steel rebar for October 2008. The transaction saw participation by prominent banks and industry players of the physical market.
United Arab Emirates: Thursday, October 09 - 2008 at 11:52