In Monday's Middle East papers

25 August 2008 05:30  [Source: ICIS news]

OMAN TRIBUNE

Front Page

Curtains down on 16-day extravaganza
International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Jacques Rogge declared the Beijing Olympics officially closed on Sunday bringing down the curtain on a glittering 16-day long sports extravaganza.

Sharifa opens GCC families special Olympics Gathering
Her Excellency Dr Sharifa Bint Khalfan Al Yahya’eiyah, Minister of Social Development, opened the First GCC Families Special Olympics gathering at the Directorate General of Heritage and Culture Theatre in Salalah on Sunday.

Business

BoE ex-official flays fed rate cuts
The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates in response to the US financial market crisis of the past year is a bad mistake that will lead to higher inflation, a former Bank of England (BoE) official said on Saturday.

Omantel to elect two board members
The Ordinary General Assembly of Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) will elect two new board members at a meeting to be held at Grand Hyatt Hotel here on August 31.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Front Page

Curtain down on ‘truly exceptional' Beijing Games
The Beijing Olympics, played out against a background of political intrigue and featuring 16 days of compelling and controversial action, drew to a spectacular close on Sunday.

Kyrgyz passenger plane crashes, over 120 aboard(Reuters)
A Kyrgyz passenger plane crashed with more than 120 people on board shortly after take-off from the capital's Manas airport, an airport official said on Sunday.

Business

UAE mortgage market set to reach Dh64bn
The mortgage market in the UAE is poised to reach Dh64bn over the next three years, posing a real challenge to the banking sector and home financiers in extending loans to property investors as more projects are delivered.

New Dubai rules to further streamline property sector
Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) is anticipated to issue new regulations that will make it mandatory for properties have to be registered with the Land Department before conducting any secondary transaction, market sources said.

ARAB TIMES

Front Page

Influx of counterfeit currencies worries Kuwait
Hundreds of millions of counterfeit US dollar bills, Euros and GCC currencies including the Kuwaiti dinar have been circulating in the black market in the last two months, reliable sources told Al-Nahar.

Advance salaries planned for retiring officials 
Several MPs from different parliamentary blocs started drafting a bill on granting high-ranking officials in ministries with more than 25 years of service two years advance salaries upon retirement after the government issued a decision in this regard, reports Al-Rai quoting sources from the Parliament. MP Jaber Al-Azmi disclosed many MPs, who support the decision, are proposing the inclusion of officials in other government departments, not only the ministries.

Business

Volatility gets grip on KSE as speculation takes toll 
Last week witnessed the return of volatility to the performance of Kuwait Stock Exchange after the setback of the week before, which led to further erosion of the market’s year-to-date gains. Where in an attempt to re-solidify, KSE main indices swung during the past week amid trades dominated by speculations, while a state of anticipation and cautiousness influenced traders’ activity.

Saudi Arabia shares rally as foreigners gain access 
Saudi Arabia’s stock market rallied more than 5% on Saturday as investors piled into blue chips on a new rule that allows foreigners to buy shares through licensed Saudi intermediaries for the first time. The benchmark index of the largest Arab bourse, which is down more than 18% this year, jumped 5.18% to 8,901.90 points, its biggest one-day gain since April 2007, according to Reuters data.

ARAB NEWS

Front Page

Privacy laws on publication of photos needed
The news that a Syrian man beheaded his 15-month-old nephew in a Jeddah supermarket in March shocked many, but for some the tragic events were made worse when Saudi newspapers published gruesome photos of the decapitated boy.

Number of Umrah overstayers has declined: Al-Farsy
Of the three million foreign pilgrims who arrived in the Kingdom for Umrah so far this year, 2.8 million have returned to their countries after completing their religious rites.

Business

ETFS launches Shariah-compliant ETCs
Another sign of the steadily growing sophistication and maturity of the rapidly-growing Islamic finance industry is the recent launch in London by ETF Securities (ETFS) of what it claims to be "the world's first Shariah-compliant, precious metal, exchange-traded commodity (ETC) platform" based on physical platinum, palladium, silver, gold and a basket of the above metals.

Value of share buy-backs in Asia-Pacific triples
Corporate Asia’s rapid pace of stock buy-backs is a sign executives want to capitalize on the region’s economic promise, but any pause in repurchases could further weigh on battered markets.

TEHRAN TIMES

Front Page

No guarantee Israel will not attack Lebanon: Fadlalah
Lebanon’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlalah has warned that there is no ‘guarantee’ that Lebanon will not come under another attack by Israel, Lebanon’s National News Agency said in report posted on its website on Sunday.

 “Gate of the Orient” opens in Spain
The Iranian festival entitled “Iran-Persia, the Gate of the Orient” is now underway in the Spanish city Vitoria.

Business

Ministry of commerce releases performance report
Iran has released the performance report of its ministry of commerce in the past 3 years.

$1.26bn invested in Iranian ports by private sector over past two years
The private sector has invested over $1.26bn in Iranian ports over the past two years, Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) Ali Taheri Motlagh said here on Sunday.

ALJAZEERA

Front Page

Democrats prepare to nominate Obama 
The US Democratic national convention is set to kick-off on Monday in Denver, Colorado, where Barack Obama and his newly chosen vice-president pick, Joe Biden, are expected to formally accept their party's nomination for the White House.

Spectacular end to Olympic games 
A salvo of fireworks and a lavish ceremony in China's Bird's Nest stadium have brought an end to the Olympic games in Beijing.

Business

S Korea officials warned off golf 
Lee Myung-bak, South Korea's president, has told his officials to stop playing golf, saying it sends the wrong message to people suffering the effects of the country's economic downturn.

US woes rattle Asian stock markets 
Asian stocks have fallen to a two-year low, due mainly to fears the US government will have to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two troubled US mortgage giants.

THE DAILY STAR

Front Page

Kouchner to prod Syria on Lebanon relations
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who arrived in Beirut Sunday, said that the future of relations between France and Syria was dependent on the nature of relations between Beirut and Damascus. "I will tell Syrian officials during my prospective visit to Syria that the future of French-Syrian relations.

Nasrallah threatens to destroy Israel if Jewish state carries out threat to attack Lebanon
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday Hizbullah would destroy Israel if the Jewish state carried out threats to hit Lebanon should the government give greater legitimacy to the Shiite party.

Business

Profit-taking drives down Beirut Stock Exchange
Activity on the Beirut Stock Exchange was driven by the adverse information relating to the EFG Hermes and Bank Audi merger news. This in line triggered a wave of heavy selling on the part of investors that rushed to limit their financial portfolio losses by profit taking on their Solidere stocks.|

Lebanon inflation rises by 7.2% in first 7 months
The Central Administration of Statistics' Consumer Price Index indicates that inflation rose by nearly 7.2% in the first seven months of 2008, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

GULF DAILY NEWS

Front Page

Speculators Warned
Inspections are to be stepped up to protect consumers against price cheating during Ramadan.Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa gave orders yesterday to intensify market controls and clamp down on speculators.

New clamp targets mobile phone pests 
A Campaign to crackdown on people making nuisance calls as well as hoax calls to emergency services was launched yesterday. It will require all mobile phone owners in Bahrain registering with their operators before the end of the year.

Business

Developing markets ideal for hedge funds 
Developing markets are fertile ground for hedge funds, if the funds have experienced managers, according to Paulson and Company founder and chief executive officer John Paulson.” Underdeveloped markets are less efficient and create more opportunities," Mr Paulson said in an interview in the forthcoming issue of The Report Bahrain 2008.

Qatar Steel drops Mauritania plans 
The steel unit of Industries Qatar has dropped its plans to acquire a stake in a $2.1bn iron ore project in Mauritania, a company executive said yesterday. The pullout comes around two weeks after soldiers seized Mauritanian President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi at his palace after he sacked senior army officers during a political crisis.

 

By: Staff Reporter
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