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BEIJING – Auto sales in China, the worlds biggest car market, rebounded in August as subsidies for energy-efficient vehicles and a stronger currency spurred demand, while sales in the US faltered.

Sales rose 55.7 percent over a year earlier to 1.21 million vehicles, up from 1 million vehicles the month before, the Cabinets China Automotive Technology and Research Center said Wednesday.

The increase compared with 17 percent year-on-year growth in July and 19.4 percent in June.

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JEDDAH – Syrias economic outlook is viewed with “high optimism” as a result of “remarkable reformational and economic performance.”

Oxford Business Group (OBG) noted in its just published annual report ” Syria 2010″ the steady progress Syria has made in liberalizing its economy while also carving out a key role for itself on the international stage.

The report highlighted the Syrian government efforts to build strong public-private partnerships, particularly in the oil industry, and tap investors for key projects earmarked for the transport sector.

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JEDDAH – The Middle East has more than double the interest and double the ownership of 3D TVs than anywhere else in the world, a recent Nielsen report said.

In a specially designed index, Saudi Arabia recorded a higher score than any other country, with the UAE coming in at tenth place out of 52 nations.

The results were divided into markets made up of: Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan; Latin America; Asia Pacific; North America; and Europe. The online “How We Watch” survey took into account the responses from 27,665 participants aged 15 years and upwards. The highest 3D ownership or definite interest in ownership was among 25-29 year olds.

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CHICAGO – Burger King Holdings Inc., Americas perennially No. 2 hamburger chain, said Thursday that it is selling itself to little-known private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26 billion.

Its shares soared to an 18-month high.

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BRASILIA – Brazils state-controlled oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA has agreed to pay the federal government $42.5 billion in stock to acquire five billion barrels of deepwater reserves, a controversial price because investors say it is more than the oil is actually worth.

Shares of Petrobras, as the company is known, have crumbled this year on investor expectations the oil company would come under government pressure to pay above market price for oil reserves it is acquiring under a recapitalization plan. Petrobras also plans to sell new shares to the public to raise an additional $25 billion in cash under the plan.

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BRUSSELS – The European Union began to disburse on Thursday 264 million euros in aid to help 19 of the most vulnerable African, Caribbean and Pacific countries cope with the global economic crisis.

The funding is the second part of a 500-million-euro ($640 million) program launched last year to help countries “most affected by the crisis due to their poor resilience to external shocks,” the European Commission said. The EUs executive arm approved 14 million euros for Burkina Faso and 3.5 million euros for Grenada on Thursday.

Allocations for the other 17 countries will be made later this year – Antigua & Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu and Zimbabwe. Developing countries continue to face important difficulties. – AFP

BANGALORE/NEW YORK – Rowan Cos Inc signed contracts with Saudi Aramco for two of its Gulf of Mexico-based rigs for higher dayrates, on track with its plans to move those rigs overseas, sending its shares up 9 percent.

In July, the offshore rig contractor said it was in talks to move two high-end shallow-water rigs out of the Gulf of Mexico due to demand elsewhere.

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SANAA – Lawmakers drafted a bill to start a securities exchange authority in Yemen, hoping to speed up the opening of a bourse and encourage investment despite its sinking economy and severe security risks.

“For us to move out of the challenges we face, we need a lot of investment in the development of Yemen, whether its domestic or foreign…a strong stock market would help that,” Jalal Yaqoub, a spokesman for the minister of finance, said.

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JEDDAH – Retail gold demand volumes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi dipped by around 15 percent in August on the year, as the holy month of Ramadan led consumers to focus more on food purchases, traders said on Thursday.

“Ramadan is all about food and not about buying jewelry thats why we saw a dip of around 15 percent in August,” said a jewelry trader at Mansuk Jewellers in Dubais old gold souk.

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JEDDAH – The aggregate profits of the GCC sector posted a decline of 5 percent year on year (YoY) and 10 percent quarter on quarter (QoQ) in 2Q10, Kuwait-based Global Investment House said Wednesday.

Poor bottom-line performance was exhibited by UAE banks that declined by 30 percent YoY with a further dampening act coming from Saudi banks which were down by 7 percent YoY. Being heavyweights within the GCC banking universe, profitability (2Q10 profit share of 19 percent and 46 percent respectively), banks indigenous to these two countries led the slide in overall profitability of the GCC aggregate, while those from the remaining countries fared much better. Banking sectors of Oman and Kuwait earned the spotlight with growth of 40 percent YoY and 34 percent YoY respectively.

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