RIYADH: Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has announced that the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 3 p.m. in the Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh, on March 27.
Private sector loan growth hit a 19-month high above 5 percent in January, backing evidence that Saudi Arabia's economic recovery is picking up pace as private sector firms take on a larger role. Money supply growth also accelerated quickly for the fourth month, climbing to 8.1 percent for broad money (M3), the fastest advance in a year. Still, while strong oil prices lifted the Kingdom's foreign assets to a record level in January, a sweeping SR135 billion state benefits scheme for citizens, unveiled this month, is likely to trim down this pace of growth as the year progresses. Regional turmoil could complicate the recovery process if private sector firms pull back.
DOHA: Qatar will invest 300 million euros in Spanish banks and has discussed other investments with Spain’s prime minister, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani said.
DUBAI: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has named Jerry Mollenkramer, formerly at UK lender RBS, as group chief operating officer, a new position at the bank, the lender said.
LONDON/DOHA: Glencore is priming analysts with in-depth briefings on its business ahead of a possible mega-float which could involve Qatar taking a stake in the world’s largest commodities trader.
DUBAI: The UAE central bank has introduced new rules to limit loans to individuals and bank service charges, it said in a statement.
WASHINGTON: Consumer Reports has named Japanese car makers Honda, Subaru and Toyota as the best all-around car makers for the third year in a row in its annual auto issue.
LONDON: Ground engineering company Keller Group said the downturn in global construction activity cut its annual profit by nearly half, with government cutbacks set to crimp any rebound in the short-term.
ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties said it secured shareholder approval for a $1.5 billion bond, but a company executive said there were no immediate plans to issue it.
ABU DHABI: National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) will launch a Sharia-compliant repo product in March to encourage secondary market trading and is in talks with two unnamed counterparties for the same, an official said.
LONDON: HSBC Holdings says its profit more than doubled last year to $13.2 billion as loan impairment charges dropped to the lowest level since 2006, but fell short of analysts’ forecasts.
NEW YORK: Motorola Mobility is suing TiVo, alleging that TiVo’s signature digital video recorder set-top boxes use technology patented by Motorola.
WASHINGTON: The massive US budget deficit is the gravest threat facing the economy, topping high unemployment and the risk of inflation or deflation, according to a survey of forecasters released on Monday.
MOSCOW: Rosneft is set to take on Gazprom when Russia puts the Kovykta gas field on the block on Tuesday as the country’s top crude producer aims to muscle in on the gas export monopoly’s plans to supply China.
NEW YORK: Google says it has restored e-mail service to some of the users who found all of their old messages deleted on Sunday.
NEW YORK: Admitting you are making money by doing some good in the world is no longer a dirty little secret, it’s called “creating shared value” — the new catch phrase in corporate and philanthropic circles.
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) slumped to a nine-month low on Sunday and most Gulf markets also slid due to fears unrest was spreading in the region.
JEDDAH: The Middle East’s largest construction show, Big 5 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally opened to the public in Jeddah on Sunday evening.
JEDDAH: ABB has won an order worth around $30 million from the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) to build two underground substations to help meet increasing demand for power in Doha.
RIYADH: Germany is keen to boost its trade links with Saudi Arabia, visiting Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit said on Sunday.
RIYADH: HSBC Amanah, the global Islamic financial services business of the HSBC Group and affiliate of the Saudi British Bank (SABB), has been named for the second consecutive year Best International Islamic Bank by Euromoney magazine, in its Islamic Finance Awards 2011. The awards are widely considered to be the most high profile accolades in the Islamic finance industry and annually recognize outstanding performance, quality, service, and innovation in the sector.
MADRID: Language teachers say the prospect of finding a job in Germany has boosted the numbers of Spaniards learning German.
CHICAGO: Toys R Us is looking to raise around $800 million in an initial public offering in April, though a final decision has not been reached, the New York Post said.
GENEVA: An ex-Credit Suisse banker pledged on Sunday to keep the names of his former clients secret, days after he and three others were indicted in the United States on charges of conspiring to help American tax cheats.
JEDDAH: Domestic financial markets have been unsettled by regional political turmoil, with sharp falls registered on the Saudi stock market and a surge in CDS spreads.
NEW DELHI: The US, which had been India's top trading ally until 2007-08, has since been relegated to the third position with the UAE and China assuming first and second positions in trade relations with Asia's third biggest economy, revealed a new survey.
MILAN: Italy's Fiat SpA presented a memorandum of understanding to the Russian Industry Ministry on Friday to build cars in Russia, a week after it was ousted from alliance plans.
LIMA: Central bank chiefs from South American countries in the Mercosur customs union said on Friday there are heightened risks to the global economy in light of higher food prices and turmoil in Middle East, but indicated a broad regional slowdown was unlikely.
WASHINGTON: Higher oil prices should have a limited impact on the world economy if prices stay at current levels, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.
As global energy leaders from around the globe gathered at the fabulously impressive King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre in Riyadh on Tuesday the message was clear: Times have changed and this is not 2008. A sea change in sentiments!
VERONA, Italy: Monetary policy makers must closely watch emerging inflation tensions to head off any decline in expectations for price stability, European Central Bank Governing Council member Mario Draghi said on Saturday.
TEHRAN/LONDON: Iran is taking advantage of Libya’s turmoil and dwindling exports to sell more crude that it has found difficult to offload due to economic sanctions.
WASHINGTON: Toyota Motor Corp. recalled 2.17 million vehicles in the United States on Thursday to address accelerator pedals that could become entrapped in floor mats or jammed in driver’s side carpeting, prompting federal regulators to close its investigation into the embattled Japanese automaker.
JEDDAH: Saudi and Syrian businessmen are exploring the possibility of launching joint investment projects in different sectors, the Syrian news agency SANA reported on Friday.
NEW YORK: Google says it has tweaked the formulas steering its Internet search engine to take the rubbish out of its results. The overhaul is designed to lower the rankings of what Google deems “low-quality” sites.
TOKYO: Japan’s NEC Corp on Friday slashed its full-year profit forecast by 40 percent to below market expectations, citing weak sales in its IT services and personal computer and mobile phone operations.
WASHINGTON: The US economy grew more slowly in the fourth quarter than initially estimated as government spending shrank more sharply and consumer spending was less robust, a government report showed on Friday.
SAO PAULO: South Korean automaker Hyundai has begun building its seventh overseas plant in southeastern Brazil.
BERLIN: Volkswagen AG says its 2010 net profit rose to €6.84 billion ($9.4 billion) from €960 million a year earlier as revenue climbed by more than 20 percent.
DUBAI: Kenya may pass legislation to eliminate tax barriers to Islamic bond issuance by the end of the year with the government looking to launch Islamic treasury bills and bonds, known as sukuk, bankers said.
TOKYO: Japan’s top oil refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp plans to refine 6.32 million kiloliters (1.28 million barrels per day) of crude oil in March for domestic consumption, down 1 percent from a year earlier, a company executive said on Friday.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia: Russia’s LUKOIL is hoping to fully replace its reserves over the medium term and is looking to acquire new assets to achieve this, including in the Middle East, its head said on Friday.
LONDON: Global listings activity has been the highest on record so far this year, with firms raising a total of $24 billion from initial public offerings (IPOs), according to Thomson Reuters data on Friday.
LONDON: International Airlines Group SA, formed last month by the merger of British Airways and Iberia SA, reported modest combined 2010 profits in its inaugural earnings on Friday despite higher fuel costs.
SEATTLE: Analysts say Motorola’s Xoom tablet computer is powerful enough to challenge Apple’s iPad.
LONDON: Google’s YouTube plans to launch an unlimited subscription service for movies, similar to Netflix and Amazon’s offering, the New York Post said.
LONDON: Part-nationalized Lloyds Banking Group took a hit to its shares on Friday after warning that margins will slide this year as it posted a net loss in 2010 on the back of exposure to Ireland’s financial woes.
BEIJING: Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei issued a public invitation Friday to US authorities to investigate the company to dispel what it says are mistaken fears that it is a threat to American national security.
JEDDAH: The chairman of the 11th Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) has said current unrest in a number of Middle East countries will not have any impact on the event.
DUBAI: Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co’s services are being jammed by Libya, the UAE-based firm’s chief executive said on Thursday, as a revolt continued against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
DUBAI: UAE telecoms firm Etisalat, bidding for a 46-percent stake in Kuwait’s Zain, sees a bank deal to finance the $12 billion offer done by the end of February, it said on Thursday.
WASHINGTON: New US claims for jobless aid fell last week, hinting at an improvement in the labor market, but declines in new home sales and orders for a range of factory goods in January showed the economy still faced headwinds.
MANAMA: Bahrain is facing its worst unrest since the 1990s and downgrades by rating agencies, but the Gulf Arab kingdom’s central bank governor said on Thursday he hopes to go forward with a planned $1 billion bond issue.
JAKARTA: Indonesia said on Thursday it is considering delaying a plan to limit the use of cheap subsidized fuels to next year as it seeks to avoid surging oil prices adding to inflation, despite a potential cost of over $600 million to the state budget.
MANAMA: ABC Islamic Bank on Thursday announced a net profit of $2.1 million for 2010 compared to $10.1 million for 2009. Total operating income was $15.9 million compared to $20.4 million for 2009, due to lower rates and de-risking of balance sheet asset size.
KUWAIT: Gulfinvest International, dropped from the list of investment firms in Kuwait, was asked by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to liquidate its assets, a local paper said on Thursday citing sources.
NEW DELHI: More Saudi companies are turning to India for investments and joint ventures, according to Abdulrahman Al-Rabeeah, chairman of India-Saudi Arabia Joint Business Council.
JEDDAH: The Manifa Drilling Team set a new record recently when it finished drilling the longest well in Saudi Arabia to a total depth of 32,136 ft (± 9.8 km) and completed a horizontal power water injector across the Lower Ratawi reservoir.
NAIROBI: Kenya's new constitution will reduce investor uncertainty, but it needs to be implemented in good time to be effective and excessive tribalism driven by politicians needs to end, business executives said on Thursday.
JAKARTA: Indonesia said on Thursday it is considering delaying a plan to limit the use of cheap subsidized fuels to next year as it seeks to avoid surging oil prices adding to inflation, despite a potential cost of over $600 million to the state budget.
KUWAIT: Gulfinvest International, dropped from the list of investment firms in Kuwait, was asked by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to liquidate its assets, a local paper said on Thursday citing sources.
WASHINGTON: Tunisia is in talks with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other agencies on funding options, although the country’s reserve levels are for now adequate to support the economy, Tunisia’s new central bank governor said on Wednesday,
ACCRA: The onset of oil production should push Ghana's economic growth to 12 percent this year, but inflation looks set to creep nearer double digits, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday.
BEIJING: China cut diesel exports in January by 79 percent from a year ago to keep more barrels in the domestic market as a supply crunch started to taper off.
HAMBURG/FRANKFURT: Sports car maker Porsche dismayed investors by saying its planned merger with Volkswagen faced further delays because of a criminal investigation of its former CEO and finance head.
MOSCOW: BP’s Russian venture, TNK-BP, said it had fully replaced its 2010 hydrocarbon reserves on the back of high oil prices, increased exploration activity and oil recovery methods at brownfields.
NEW YORK: Apple says its new MacBook laptops include a new type of port for high-speed connections to both displays and external hard drives.
ROME: Libya’s violent upheaval has taken 1.2 million barrels of oil off the global market as energy plants and ports are shut down, according to Italy’s Eni, the largest producer in Libya.
BEIJING : China has suffered severe economic losses as a result of the political turmoil in Libya, it said on Thursday.
DETROIT: General Motors Co posted fourth-quarter earnings slightly above expectations and its first full-year profit since 2004.
LONDON: The European Commission has found that confidence over Europe’s economic recovery improved further in February, another sign that the impact from the government debt crisis has abated, for now at least.
LONDON: Britain’s government may enforce quotas to make corporate boards include more women, the head of an inquiry into the issue was quoted as saying on Thursday.
LONDON: British utility Centrica expects to make less profit from selling gas storage space this year as a shrinking gap between summer and winter wholesale prices makes storing the fuel less attractive, the company said.
SINGAPORE: Global airline travel will likely jump to 3.3 billion passengers by 2014 as Asia’s fast economic growth drives the industry’s expansion, the International Air Transport Association said.
ATHENS, Greece: A general strike halted public transportation across Greece on Wednesday and led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights at Athens International Airport.
LONDON: Oil could hit a new record above $150 per barrel if unrest were to spread further across the Middle East, the head of one of the world's biggest independent energy trading house said on Wednesday.
JEDDAH/DUBAI: Middle East markets were mixed on Wednesday as selling pressure eased on most bourses following a sharp correction triggered by unprecedented political unrest in the region.
ABU DHABI: Etisalat’s board has confirmed the distribution of dividends at 35 percent par value of dividends profits for the second half of 2010.
TOKYO: Japan’s exports grew at their weakest pace in more than a year in January, resulting in the country’s first trade deficit in 22 months.
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WASHINGTON: The White House on Wednesday warned of imbalances in the global economy, saying they were putting pressure on capital flows and exchange rates.
NEW YORK: World stocks slid further from recent 30-month highs on Wednesday as political violence in Libya drove up crude oil prices while fanning concerns about inflation and its impact on global economic growth.
DUBAI: Trade insurance costs for UAE exporters may jump by up to 20 percent in the short term due to ongoing political turmoil in the Arab world, the country’s export credit agency said on Wednesday.
CUPERTINO, California: Apple shareholders have rejected a plan requiring the company to disclose a succession plan for its chief executive.
CAIRO: Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service placed Bahrain’s A3 government rating on review for possible downgrade on Wednesday as the tiny kingdom grapples with anti-government protests that have already toppled two entrenched leaders in other Arab countries.
DUBAI: Logistics company Aramex on Wednesday said it acquired Ireland-based liner agent and freight forwarder Aquaship Agencies to expand its freight capabilities in Europe.
NAIROBI: Brazil, China and India are expected to fuel global investments in clean energy in 2011 that are expected to reach $240 billion, the head of a United Nation’s green economy initiative said on Wednesday.
DUBAI: UAE banks Mashreq and First Gulf Bank, along with Deutsche Bank have jointly lend $403 million in a syndicated facility toward the expansion of Abu Dhabi-based plastics solutions company.
VIENNA: More than a quarter of OPEC member Libya’s oil output has been shut down, Reuters calculations showed on Wednesday, as unrest prompted oil firms to warn of production cuts in Africa’s third-largest producer.
LONDON: Gold topped $1,400 an ounce on Wednesday as tensions in Libya increased interest in the metal as a haven from risk and the dollar fell, but gains were limited by concerns its run higher may have been overdone.
SAN FRANCISCO: Schlumberger CEO Andrew Gould said the company was shutting down in Libya due to the “disturbing” situation while the company was restarting operations in Egypt and Tunisia.
DUBAI : Shipments of refined crude from Oman’s port of Sohar are continuing, a port spokeswoman said on Monday after anti-government protests blocked roads leading to the key industrial area.
GENEVA: The car industry, it seems, just can’t get a break. Just when automakers thought it safe to roll out new models in the wake of the devastating economic crisis — 170 premiers are advertised for the Geneva Auto Show opening this week — confidence is shaken by a spike in oil prices due to civil unrest in Libya and other energy-producing nations.
CHRISTCHURCH: Business is brisk for Steve Crosby, who is helping switch the lights back on in this ruined city by selling portable generators from a van parked in roadside rubble. But thousands of other businesses remain closed — perhaps indefinitely — by an earthquake that has become New Zealand’s most expensive natural disaster.
NEW YORK: Published reports say JPMorgan Chase & Co’s new fund that invests in social media companies is in talks to buy a minority stake in Twitter.
TOKYO: Japanese factory output rose in January for a third straight month and manufacturers expect further gains in coming months, a sign that the economy is on track for a moderate export-driven recovery.
RIYADH: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), attended the signing of Business Gate’s agreement for Fairmont to manage a new 287-room luxury hotel and 4,000 square meter convention center in Riyadh slated to open late 2012.
BEIJING: China aims to cut the amount of energy and carbon dioxide emissions needed for every unit of economic growth by 16 to 17 percent from this year to the end of 2015, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said.
CAIRO: Egypt’s prime minister says the country’s stock exchange will reopen for business on Tuesday.The announcement came in a statement by Egypt’s Cabinet.
JEDDAH: Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) signed four agreements with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) at the university campus in Thuwal on Saturday. The deals cover the development and localization of technology in Saudi Arabia.
CAIRO: Egypt’s economy - already beset by strikes, slumping tourism and political uncertainty - is in the process of being dealt another body blow as turmoil in Libya sparks a mass exodus of Egyptian guest workers back home.
TOKYO: Nintendo’s latest game machine, offering glasses-free 3-D images, went on sale in Japan ahead of a global roll-out, and analysts say it promises to be the world’s first 3-D mass-market product.
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: A Massachusetts biotech company is claiming it can produce renewable diesel fuel using the same ingredients that make grass grow.
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Congress to find "common ground" to prevent a damaging government shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats edged toward a compromise to keep federal money flowing.
NEW YORK: Warren Buffett is looking for acquisitions as an outlet to deploy his $38 billion cash pile, the legendary investor said in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders on Saturday.
HOUSTON: Exxon Mobil said its annual capital spending could rise to as much as $37 billion, evidence the world's largest publicly traded oil company is confident that crude demand is returning with economic growth.
DUBAI/PARIS: Saudi Arabia has raised oil output about eight percent to above nine million barrels per day (bpd) to make up for a near halt in Libyan exports, an industry source said, helping prices fall further from the highest since 2008.
MADRID: Spain will lower highway speed limits, cut train ticket prices and use more biofuel under an emergency energy-saving initiative because of soaring oil prices brought on by unrest in Libya, an official said on Friday.
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple released its new lineup of MacBook Pro notebook computers, featuring Intel’s peppy new processors and graphics chips made by Advanced Micro Devices, helping boost the smaller chipmaker’s stock more than five percent.
SEOUL: South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Company has launched an ultra-slim notebook, seeking to bolster its presence in the high-end mobile computer segment dominated by Apple.
LONDON: Oil surged more than 7.5 percent to its highest since August 2008 on Thursday on concern that the uprising in Libya would affect crude stocks.
Goldman fears 'severe oil market shortages'
BRUSSELS: Russia’s gas giant Gazprom says the unrest in northern Africa will likely boost European demand for its own supplies via the planned South Stream pipeline fromt he Black Sea.
MADRID: Spanish energy company Repsol says its production of oil in Libya is slightly above 50 percent of capacity amid violent protests against Muammar Qaddafi.
WASHINGTON: Just as the US and global economies are finally strengthening, they face a new danger: Rocketing oil prices, which topped $100 a barrel on Wednesday.
SANAA: Accustomed to instability during five decades in international business, Yemeni businessman Abdulwasa Hayel Saeed shrugs off the unrest in his homeland as another chapter in Yemen’s turbulent history.
LONDON: The Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain’s largest government-owned bank, reported on Thursday a smaller net loss for 2010 after returning to profit in the final quarter of the year and said its recovery from the crisis was ahead of schedule.
CAPE TOWN: South Africa on Wednesday projected a much larger-than-expected budget deficit for next fiscal year, citing weak revenues as the economy emerged only only gradually from recession. The ruling African National Congress faces municipal elections in the second quarter of this year, and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan faced political pressure to spend more on job creation and welfare.
BEIJING: Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei has won a preliminary injunction from a US court barring Motorola from transferring business secrets in a planned deal with Nokia Siemens Networks.
VIENNA: Austria’s oil and gas company OMV AG has posted an almost 15 percent drop in net profit for the fourth quarter as one-off charges offset a boost from higher oil prices, and says it Libyan production will likely drop due to the violent clashes there.
JEDDAH: Saudi Aramco has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to maximize downstream integration and generate value by leveraging its growing global system.
WASHINGTON: Under government pressure, Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it will recall nearly 150,000 F-150 pickup trucks to fix air bags that could deploy without warning. The recall covers trucks from the 2005-2006 model years in the United States and Canada for what the auto company calls a “relatively low risk” of the air bag deploying inadvertently.
GENEVA: Google’s data privacy chief says he’s confident Google Street View will be deemed legal in Switzerland ahead of a court hearing later this week.
TOKYO: Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda will announce on March 9 management’s vision for where the world’s top automaker is headed over the next decade as it turns a corner on its worst ever safety crisis.
BEIJING: A major Chinese telecoms equipment maker is scrapping its effort to acquire a US computer company after a security panel refused to approve the deal.
JEDDAH: Peter Tyroller, member of Germany’s leading technology conglomerate Robert Bosch GmbH’s management board, visited E.A. Juffali & Brothers headquarters and Help Center along with a high-level delegation including Automotive Aftermarket Division President Robert Hanser, Senior Vice President Guercan Karakas and Sales Director Guido Gring.
CAIRO: Libya’s oil chief said on Monday that production had been cut by around 50 percent, and argued it was “safe” for foreign oil workers to return after a mass exodus sparked by Muammar Qaddafi’s violent campaign to retain control of the country.
