Finance news

• Iran's leader says U.S. still hostile after nuclear deal

  20-03-2016 17:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sam Wilkin DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States is still fundamentally hostile to Iran and its policies have undermined the benefits of sanctions relief, the Islamic Republic's hardline leader said on Sunday, warning Iranians not to trust their old enemy. Ringing in a new Iranian year at a televised rally in the Shi'ite holy city of Mashhad, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said fear of U.S. regulations was keeping big foreign companies, particularly in the financial sector, away from Ira
  
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• Brazil business world bets on Rousseff exit

  20-03-2016 17:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The powerful industry group is not the only major player in the Brazilian economy that is openly hostile to embattled President Dilma Rousseff. With Latin America's largest economy plunged in its deepest recession in 25 years, business chiefs have exuberantly welcomed new impeachment proceedings against the leftist leader, who is accused of manipulating the government's accounts. Markets normally abhor instability, but Brazil's toxic combination of runaway recession, inflation and debt -- plus a
  
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• Rift in Britain's ruling Conservative Party deepens

  20-03-2016 17:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LONDON (AP) — The rift within Britain's government deepened Sunday, as a prominent minister who resigned over plans to cut benefits for the disabled said the ruling party risks dividing the country if it doesn't spread the pain of economic austerity across all segments of society.
  
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• Euro zone lenders, Greece make progress on tax, pension reforms

  20-03-2016 16:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European lenders have made important progress in talks with Greece on tax and pension reforms that are part of a package of measures Athens must adopt to win new loans and debt relief, a European Commission spokesperson said on Sunday. Inspectors from the European Commision, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund assessing Greece's progress on reforms left Athens on Sunday, taking a break for the Catholic Easter holidays. Significant progress has been made on the income ta
  
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• Iraq exports first natural gas shipment in its history

  20-03-2016 15:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq on Sunday exported the first shipment of natural gas in its history, a key development for the OPEC member struggling to feed a cash-strapped economy amid an expensive fight against the Islamic State group.
  
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• MIDEAST STOCKS-Zain leads Saudi up, Egypt stalls after jump on devaluation

  20-03-2016 15:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  * Saudi index closes above 100-day average, first since mid-2015 * Dubai's Arabtec jumps before announcing contract * First Gulf Bank continues pulling down Abu Dhabi * Etisalat drops after joining FTSE index * Profit-taking in Egyptian real estate firms By Andrew Torchia DUBAI, March 20 (Reuters) - Telecommunications firm Zain Saudi led Riyadh's stock market up on Sunday, while Egypt's bourse stalled after soaring last week in response to a currency devaluation. Zain Saudi jumped 9.4 percent in
  
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• UAE's NMC Health expects acquisitions to drive 2016 earnings jump

  20-03-2016 13:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  * EBITDA forecast to rise by 45 pct -deputy CEO * Eyeing more acquisitions in UAE and Europe * Could tap banks for loans, raise convertible bond By Stanley Carvalho ABU DHABI, March 20 (Reuters) - NMC Health, the United Arab Emirates-based healthcare provider, expects earnings to increase by 45 percent this year on the back of recent and future acquisitions as well as organic growth, its deputy chief executive said on Sunday. The company could also tap loan and convertible bond markets to supple
  
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• Former official adds to allegations against South Africa's Zuma -report

  20-03-2016 13:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Pressure on South Africa's President Jacob Zuma intensified on Sunday when in a newspaper interview, a former high-ranking official added to mounting allegations that Zuma had a corrupt relationship with a prominent family of business owners. Zuma has so far insisted his ties with the Gupta family are above board, but investors fear further political uncertainty could hasten a credit ratings downgrade, potentially into "junk" territory, and sharply raise South Africa's borrowing costs. The alleg
  
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• Brazil's restive rich draft a duck to protest president

  20-03-2016 12:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Nacho Doce SÃO PAULO (Reuters) - If any symbol captures the anger of rich and upper-middle class Brazilians who have taken to the streets to protest against President Dilma Rousseff, it might be a giant, inflatable yellow duck. The 40-foot (12-meter) high duck presides over Sao Paulo's Avenida Paulista, Brazil's economic nexus. The duck and its brood have also hit the sands of Copacabana Beach, a prime place to see and be seen in Rio de Janeiro.
  
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• China says economy improving, capital outflows cooling

  20-03-2016 11:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy is showing signs of improvement while capital outflows from the country are moderating, top Chinese officials said on Sunday, seeking to shore up investor confidence after recent market volatility. Chinese leaders have repeatedly tried to reassure jittery financial markets and China's major trading partners that Beijing is able to manage the slowing economy, following a slide in the country's stock market and depreciation of the yuan. Recent data,
  
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• MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi stocks firm in early trade, Egypt steady

  20-03-2016 09:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DUBAI, March 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market rose in early trade on Sunday after oil prices closed last week on a strong note, with Brent oil above $41 a barrel. Egypt consolidated after soaring 14 percent last week in response to the devaluation of the currency. The Saudi index climbed 0.8 percent in the first 20 minutes on broad-based buying; nine of the 10 most heavily traded stocks gained. Telecommunications firm Zain Saudi, which had jumped 8. ...
  
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• Congo orders mining and oil companies to pay taxes in U.S. dollars

  20-03-2016 09:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Amedee Mwarabu Kiboko KINSHASA (Reuters) - Mining and oil firms in Democratic Republic of Congo must pay taxes and import duties in U.S. dollars from Saturday rather than in the national currency, the Central Bank of the Congo said. The decision is part of an attempt by authorities to increase reserves of foreign currency, weakened by a slump in global mining and oil prices that has hit government revenue. Congo is Africa's top producer of copper, and mining is key to an economic boom that ha
  
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• Iran's leaders offer different economic visions for coming year

  20-03-2016 08:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Iran's two most powerful figures offered contrasting visions for the economy in speeches marking Iranian new year on Sunday, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for self-reliance and President Hassan Rouhani urging cooperation with the world. In Nowruz speeches, Khamenei and Rouhani looked back on the past year, which saw sanctions on Iran lifted under a nuclear deal with world powers, and agreed the economy should be a top priority in the new Iranian year. The competing messages
  
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• MIDEAST STOCKS-GISS supports Qatar, UAE soft as Etisalat sags

  20-03-2016 08:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DUBAI, March 20 (Reuters) - Strength in drilling rig provider Gulf International Services (GISS) supported Qatar's stock market in early trade on Sunday, while United Arab Emirates markets fell as telecommunications giant Etisalat sagged. GISS, Qatar's most heavily traded stock, gained 0.9 percent after it said it had taken steps boost its asset utilisation rates; operating charges would now be indexed to crude oil prices, enabling positive changes when oil prices increased, it said. Qatar's ind
  
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• Chinese planner promises foreign companies access to markets

  20-03-2016 06:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BEIJING (AP) — China's top planner tried to reassure foreign companies they are welcome in its slowing, state-dominated economy in a speech Sunday aimed at dispelling growing anxiety Beijing is squeezing them out of promising industries.
  
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• Spain's political stalemate starts taking economic toll

  20-03-2016 06:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  This year was supposed to be a good one for Spanish builders but the lack of a government three months after an inconclusive general election has put the brakes on economic activity. "Everything that has to do with construction in this country is blocked," said Carlos Luaces, director general of Spain's association of sand and gravel producers, Anefa. Spain has been locked in a political stalemate since a general election on December 20 resulted in a parliament divided among the country's four m
  
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• China says economy still under pressure, but recent data shows improvement

  20-03-2016 04:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  China's economy still faces downward pressure but recent data points to some improvement in activity, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said on Sunday. Chinese leaders have repeatedly tried to reassure jittery financial markets and China's major trading partners that Beijing is able to manage the slowing economy, following a slide in the country's stock market and depreciation of the yuan. "We don't want to shy away from saying that China's economy is facing downward pressure, but overall the progress is
  
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• Starwood signs first U.S.-Cuba hotel deal since 1959 revolution

  20-03-2016 00:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide on Saturday became the first U.S. hotel company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution, announcing a multimillion-dollar investment a day before U.S. President Barack Obama was due to visit Havana. Such deals would normally be prohibited under the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba, but Starwood received special permission from the U.S. Treasury Department last week. Jorge Giannattasio, chief of Latin American operat
  
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