Gulf wealth funds raising private equity investments

Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf Arab region are raising their allocations to private equity investments at a faster rate than other types of investment, US fund manager Invesco says in a new study. "Contrary to popular per

US mulls tougher Iran law for foreign banks

US lawmakers are working on legislation that would force European and Asian banks with US accounts to directly report to the US Treasury their transactions with Iranian financial institutions, a lawmaker and congressional aides said on Tuesday.&nb

Global stocks lose more than 9pc in 2011

World stocks have lost more than 9 per cent for the year, although a steady flow of encouraging US economic data allowed the S&P 500 to erase losses and close practically where it started in 2011. Better than oil, gold, or stocks, the

Taqa sells $1.5 billion in bonds

State-run Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) has sold $1.5 billion in bonds maturing in five and 10 years to refinance upcoming debt. The company issued $750 million in five-year bonds paying a premium of 330 basis points over comparable

UAE central bank buying US govt debt again

The United Arab Emirates' central bank has resumed investing in US Treasury bonds because interest rates on them are now reasonable, the bank's governor said on Tuesday. Gulf Arab oil exporters such as the UAE mainly invest in dollar asset

US Treasury to brief UAE, Israel on Iran action

The US Treasury is sending its top national security official to the UAE and Israel this weekend to brief government officials on new US actions to increase financial pressure on Iran. The Treasury said David Cohen, undersecretary for terr

China blasts US; calls for dollar oversight

China roundly condemned the United States for its "debt addiction" and "short sighted" political wrangling and said the world needed a new stable global reserve currency.  In a harshly-worded commentary by the official Xinhua news ag

US Treasury weighs options to avert default

US treasuries unattractive says UAE

The UAE prefers to use dollar-based instruments such as deposits rather than low-yielding US Treasuries to manage foreign reserves, according to the country's central bank governor. Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi said on Sunday that he expec

Iran sanctions: US may blacklist many banks

The US Treasury is close to a decision on blacklisting several foreign banks for defying sanctions against Iran, a senior Treasury official said on Tuesday as lawmakers voiced concerns about weak enforcement of an Iran sanctions law passed last ye