CENTRAL BANK ACTS TO HALT DUBAI ROUT November 29, 2009 The United Arab Emirates’ central bank has issued emergency credit facilities to banks in the region amid mounting fears that Dubai’s debt crisis could contaminate the rest of the Middle East. The bank – based in Abu Dhabi – issued a statement yesterday saying it “stands behind local and foreign banks operating in the country” [...]
RISK TRADE IS STILL IN PLACE DESPITE DUBAI November 29, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COMTHE shocking news that Dubai is on the brink of default is a reminder that the financial crisis still has a few tricks up its sleeve and the global economic recovery is far from firmly established. Economic data suggests that next year will see only slow growth in the US, Eurozone, Japan [...]
DUBAI DEBT WORRIES ROCK WORLD MARKETS November 26, 2009 DEEPENING fears about Dubai’s debt problems shook European stock markets yesterday, with the FTSE 100 index suffering its worst one-day loss since March. The FTSE fell by 3.2 per cent, losing more than 170 points to 5,194.13, while leading indices in France and Germany were also down sharply. Wall Street was closed for Thanksgiving. Banking [...]
Q & A : What next for DubaI? November 26, 2009 Q. WHY ARE WORLD MARKETS NOW SO CONCERNED ABOUT DUBAI’S DEBT PROBLEM? A. European banks are exposed to about half of Dubai’s $80bn (£48.5bn) debt pile. The emirate’s debt moratorium triggered fears that those banks’ bad debts could worsen again, endangering the global recovery. Analysts at Credit Suisse said European banks could face a 5 [...]
Aviva unveils new UK chief November 26, 2009 INSURER Aviva has announced a shake-up of its business with a new boss and management structure. The move will see its UK Life and Pensions unit come under the leadership of new chief executive Mark Hodges. Under the restructure, which will take effect on 1 January, a series of other executive changes will also be [...]
European shares in 3.3 per cent slump November 26, 2009 European shares slipped 3.3 per cent yesterday to record their biggest one-day percentage drop in seven months as concerns about debt problems in Dubai weighed on the market, with banks the major fallers. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 33.81 points at 988.14 – its lowest close in three weeks. “The [...]
Dubai asks for delay over debt November 25, 2009 DUBAI WORLD, the owner of P&O, triggered fury last night after it called for a moratorium on its debt repayments. The announcement sent the cost of insuring Dubai’s sovereign debt against default soaring above Icelandic levels. The emirate was last night judged the sixth riskiest country in the world by the credit markets. The news [...]
Six random thoughts to start your day November 23, 2009 THERE is something appealing about random musings. Here are mine for the day – the first in what will become an occasional series. 1. Governments don’t have unlimited borrowing capacity. At some point, the markets will stop extending loans to them. Countries such as Greece are starting to be penalised by investors and the credit [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 23, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended sharply higher yesterday, snapping a four-day losing streak, with commodity and banking stocks rallying after comments by a senior US Federal Reserve official. The FTSE 100 index finished up 104.09 points, or 2 per cent, at 5,355.50 and recorded its biggest one-day percentage rise in more than six weeks. The [...]
Why AIG’s bailout was one giant mess November 22, 2009 TO say that Goldman Sachs is in the doghouse is something of an understatement. The firm has become the bank everybody loves to hate. The argument is familiar: Goldman benefited from the bailouts; it is about to pay huge bonuses again; no wonder the New York Times called this weekend on it to donate billions to [...]