Iraq warns French companies on deals with Kurds
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
The deputy premier for energy affairs on Wednesday warned French companies that any contracts with Baghdad would be scrapped if they signed deals with local or regional governments in Iraq. The autonomous Kurdistan region in north Iraq has signed a number of oil contracts with foreign firms, but the federal ... Read More
Libya investigates $1.75 billion in losses, eyes refund from Goldman, SocGen
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
The Libyan sovereign wealth fund is investigating investment losses of $1.75 billion on structured products managed by Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale to see whether it can claim compensation, the fund’s chairman said on Wednesday. Mohsen Derregia, chairman of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), told reporters in Milan ... Read More
South Sudan outlines budget for ‘uncertain times’
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
South Sudan’s finance ministry presented a 2012/13 budget that aims to slash state spending, boost tax revenues and raise loans to make up for the loss of almost all state revenues with the country’s shutdown of oil production in January. The proposed budget put annual spending at 6.4 billion South Sudanese pounds ─ roughly ... Read More
Despite crisis, Greece still functions
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
A conversation in struggling Greece is, often as not, about the superlatives of doom: The country is on the edge, the people are headed toward catastrophe, and the state, drained of cash and lasting political consensus, has effectively ceased to function. Yet in Athens, home to nearly half the population, the garbage trucks ... Read More
Syria’s sectarian spoils of war at bargain prices in Homs
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
(This story is based on the observations of a visitor to Syria, known to Reuters. His identity has been withheld for safety reasons.) They call it the “Sunni market” - a comic term with a dark undertone. As rockets and gunfire crackle in the central city of Homs, hardline loyalists from President Bashar al-Assad’s ... Read More
Natural gas discoveries put east Africa on world energy map
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Massive offshore gas discoveries in East Africa are catapulting the region into a major player in the global energy arena, bringing billions in investment that could transform entire economies. Off the pristine beaches of Africa’s Indian Ocean coast, multinationals have struck gas -- well upon well upon well. ... Read More
IMF gets $456 billion for crisis firewall
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde said on Monday that member states had promised a total of $456 billion (361 billion euros) for its new crisis fund, $26 billion more than a target set in April. China, which had held back on how much it would offer for months, will contribute $43 ... Read More
Microsoft unveils ‘Surface’ tablet in iPad challenge
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Microsoft on Monday unveiled its first tablet computer, the Surface, as the technology titan steps in with its own hardware to take on Apple’s market-ruling iPads. Chief executive Steve Ballmer described the iPad challenger – complete with ultra-thin covers-cum-keyboards in a range of colors – as a tablet that ... Read More
Iran oil hub imposes blackout on tanker loadings
Monday, 18 June 2012
Iran has blocked off information on its oil loadings that show how it is coping with the effects of sanctions hampering its crude exports. Its main crude export hub, Kharg Island terminal, has stopped circulating a list of loaded oil tankers at the anchorage citing security reasons, industry sources said. “The terminal ... Read More
Iraq picks Petrofac for $95 million contract: source
Monday, 18 June 2012
Iraq has picked British oil services firm Petrofac for a $95 million contract to carry out maintenance work for its new offshore terminals and sub-sea pipelines at the Gulf, an Iraqi oil official said on Monday. Under the contract, Petrofac should conduct maintenance work to ensure there are no leakages in the pipelines or ... Read More
BP begins drilling in Jordan’s Risha gas field
Monday, 18 June 2012
BP last week began drilling the first well in its concession in the Risha natural gas field in eastern Jordan, near the border with Iraq, the British oil major said on Monday. The drilling follows two years of preparation and a “very successful 5,000 square km seismic acquisition program in 2011,” BP said. The ... Read More
Euro reprieved, not saved, papers warn after Greek vote
Monday, 18 June 2012
The world breathed a sigh of relief Monday after a pro-bailout party won a vital vote in Greece but newspapers warned the global economy had only bought itself a little more time. Sunday’s repeat election in debt-crippled Greece was won by New Democracy’s conservatives, who agree to a tough austerity-based ... Read More
Nervous financial actors move from Greece to Spain
Monday, 18 June 2012
Relief that Greeks had given victory to pro-austerity conservatives was short-lived on Monday as traders fretted that Greece’s problems remained huge and that the real issue was Spain. In a quick turn-around, dealers in Europe swiftly ended a relief rally that began in Asia, taking little comfort in the ... Read More
French president seeks 120 billion euro ‘growth pact:’ report
Sunday, 17 June 2012
French President Francois Hollande has proposed a 120 billion euro ($152 billion) “growth pact” ahead of key talks with eurozone leaders, newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday. In a letter sent to fellow European leaders on Thursday, a copy of which the newspaper said it obtained, Hollande ... Read More
Arab Monetary Fund in $65 million loan to Egypt
Sunday, 17 June 2012
The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) said on Sunday it was arranging a $65 million credit facility for Egypt to help the country trade with other Arab states, as political instability threatens Cairo with a balance of payments crisis. The credit line will be extended through a trade financing program run by the AMF, central banks ... Read More
Euro zone needs common finance minister: IMF chief
Sunday, 17 June 2012
The euro zone needs a common finance minister and should consider issuing region-wide bonds to help pull it out of its economic crisis, said International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde. “What is needed is a collective determination to advance towards a key stage in the development of the euro zone,” Lagarde told daily ... Read More
Jordan in talks with IMF for $1.4 billion loan: finance minister
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Jordan has entered talks with the International Monetary Fund to borrow up to $1.4 billion, Finance Minister Suleiman al-Hafez said on Saturday, to ease strained public finances in the absence of help from its richer Arab neighbors. The request for funds comes as austerity policies are prompting street protests by citizens ... Read More
Saudi market seen steady after crown prince dies
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Saudi Arabia’s stock market is expected to see little impact from the death of the kingdom’s crown prince on Saturday, despite an intraday drop, as investors bank on a smooth succession, analysts said. The Saudi index declined 2.5 percent during the session as rumors of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud’s death ... Read More
New Egyptian crisis threatens currency, finances
Saturday, 16 June 2012
The dissolution of the Egyptian parliament elected after last year’s overthrow of veteran president Hosni Mubarak has alarmed investors who fear the country will now hurtle towards a balance of payments crisis and currency collapse. Growth in North Africa’s biggest economy has flatlined in the 16 months since the toppling of ... Read More
Fitch downgrades Egypt over political uncertainties
Friday, 15 June 2012
Fitch Ratings downgraded Egypt’s sovereign credit rating deeper into junk status on Friday, citing the rising political crisis after the nation’s Supreme Constitutional court annulled parliamentary elections. The rating, cut by one notch to B-plus from BB-minus, has a negative outlook, meaning there is a greater than 50 ... Read More