London's Metropolitan Police have released the names of two of the perpetrators of Saturday evening's terrorist attack, as polls show the U.K.'s governing party is losing ground in Thursday's general election. Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane were named on Monday as the attackers. The third attacker is yet to be named. Butt, who was 27 years old, was a British citizen born in Pakistan. He w...Read More
* Region's largest bunkering hub shuns Qatari vessels* Affected shippers may face delays, higher costs* Norsk Hydro says aluminium shipments blocked from UAE port By Roslan KhasawnehSINGAPORE, June 6 (Reuters) - The costs of Qatari energy and commodity exports are likely to rise as the United Arab Emirates' ban on Qatari vessels cuts the ships off from the region's main refuelling port, forcing s...Read More
(Adds quote, detail)OSLO, June 6 (Reuters) - Norwegian seasonally adjusted housing prices fell by 0.7 percent in May from April in a further sign the market was cooling off from a rapid rise in recent years, a real estate industry association said on Tuesday.On a year-on-year basis, prices rose by 8.3 percent in May, down from 10.7 percent in April and from a decade-high 13 percent in February, R...Read More
By Karin StroheckerLONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Emerging stocks inched lower and currencies softened on Tuesday, as lower oil and commodity prices and political tensions over a rift between Qatar and fellow Arab nations dampened risk appetite. MSCI's emerging market equity benchmark snapped a three-day winning streak to fall 0.2 percent, with bourses weakening in Asia, Africa and emerging Europe .Cu...Read More
PRETORIA, June 6 (Reuters) - South Africa slipped into technical recession for the first time since 2009 after the economy contracted in the first quarter, led by weak manufacturing and trade sectors, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.Africa's most developed economy contracted by 0.7 percent in the first quarter after shrinking by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the statistic...Read More
PRETORIA, June 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's real gross domestic expenditure contracted by 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2017 after contracting by a 0.1 percent in the final quarter of 2016, the statistics agency said on Tuesday.Household expenditure decreased by 1.4 percent in the first three months of the year after an increase of 1.3 percent in the previous three months. Government expendi...Read More
JOHANNESBURG, June 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi said on Tuesday he was dismayed by a media report alleging he improperly benefited from tenders during his time as chairman of the state-owned rail services company.Allegations of government corruption have escalated this week after local media began reporting on more than 100,000 leaked emails they say show in...Read More
ANKARA, June 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's economic growth will exceed its target of 4.2 percent in 2017, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday, adding that inflation would fall to single digits by year-end with the support of tight monetary and fiscal policies.Turkey's annual consumer price inflation stood at 11.72 percent in May, official data showed on Monday, edging back from an 8-year high...Read More
DUBAI, June 6 (Reuters) - Many UAE banks have stopped providing new loans to their clients to buy bonds of Qatari companies and state entities, sources familiar with the matter said, as banks turn cautious on Qatari credit in the wake of the growing Gulf rift. Leverage for corporate bond purchases is a fairly common practice that banks provide to their affluent or high net worth customers."Local b...Read More
MOSCOW, June 6 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble eased slightly on Tuesday, showing strong resilience to a recent sell-off in oil, one of its key drivers.As of 0820, the rouble shed 0.2 percent to 56.68 against the dollar , trading at levels seen over the past two weeks, while Brent crude prices lost 0.6 percent to $49.2 per barrel, approaching levels seen in early May.Oil prices took a hit from a po...Read More
COLOMBO, June 6 (Reuters) - Strong economic growth in the Maldives is expected to help lower the nation's borrowing costs in future, the government said on Tuesday, after the Indian Ocean archipelago raised $200 million via a debut sovereign bond last week.The government issued the 5-year bond with a coupon of 7 percent, with Hong Kong-based BoCom International Holdings Co Ltd acting as the sole g...Read More
Canadian bullion producer IAMGOLD Corp. (TSX IMG), (NYSE: IAG) is selling a 30% interest in its C??t?(C) Gold project, located in the Abitibi gold belt in Ontario, to Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining in a deal worth $195 million.As part of the transaction, the Japanese miner - the Asian nation's No. 1 gold producer - will become IAMGOLD's partner in the project, which is currently in its pre-feas...Read More
OSLO, June 6 (Reuters) - ** Infront ASA announces intention to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of its ordinary shares and to apply for a listing on the Oslo Bourse** Infront says it is a financial technology firm that "provides a modern and user-friendly information and trading terminal, based on a market leading technology fed by both in-house and external financial market data"** Infront...Read More
DUBAI, June 6 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's central bank has advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.The guidance from the central bank came on Monday evening, after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic and transport ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.The Saudi central bank...Read More
June 6 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index powered ahead on Tuesday, touching the 26,000 point-mark, and closed at a fresh 23-month high, aided by continued strength in property shares. The Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent, to end at 25,997.14 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.1 percent, to 10,606.26 points.Chinese money inflows helped property stocks surge.The prope...Read More
* IPO of food delivery service expected in coming weeks* IPO seen valuing company at up to 4 bln euros* New shares worth 450 mln euros to be issued* IPO seen as a boost for Rocket Internet (Adds comments from CEO, background)By Tom Sims and Emma ThomassonBERLIN/FRANKFURT, June 6 (Reuters) - Online food takeaway firm Delivery Hero is preparing a flotation that could value one of Europe's largest in...Read More
(Recasts with details and share price fall)June 6 (Reuters) - Britain's AO World warned growth in its home market could slow "significantly" on Tuesday, as a wider full-year loss at the online retailer sparked a sharp share price fall.AO World's stock was the biggest percentage loser on the FTSE 250 midcap index , with shares in the white goods retailer falling as much as 10 percent to 130 pence,...Read More
MOSCOW, June 6 (Reuters) - Russia's consumer price growth is set to accelerate in coming months but this is unlikely to prevent inflation from slowing to the central banks' target of 4 percent this year, analysts at the central bank said on Tuesday.In a monthly report on market trends, the central bank's analysts predicted higher inflationary pressure in the second half of the year due to cold wea...Read More
JOHANNESBURG, June 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's cash-strapped utility Eskom will seek power price increases of nearly 20 percent when it approaches the electricity regulator at end of the month, the BusinessDay newspaper reported on Tuesday citing confidential documents.Eskom, the sole power supplier to Africa's most developed economy, was granted a 2.2 percent tariff increase by the National Ener...Read More
OSLO, June 6 (Reuters) - Qatari aluminium firm Qatalum may start direct shipments of metals from its plant to unblock exports halted by a regional diplomatic row, a spokesman for Norway's Norsk Hydro said.Until now, the aluminium has been exported by ships from Qatar to the Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates, where it was transferred to larger vessels for exports to customers in Asia, Euro...Read More