A1SaudiArabia.com

LONDON – World stocks slipped Thursday while the euro held above a recent 9-month low against the dollar as the European Central Bank prepared to announce next steps in stimulus withdrawal after its policy meeting.

The premium investors demand for holding Greek government bonds rather than those of Germany rose while Greek bank shares also rose after Greece announced it had mandated banks for a long-awaited 10-year bond issue.

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HONG KONG – The European Unions muted summit response to the Greek debt crisis depressed the euro in Asian trading Friday as speculators bet on worse to come for the common currency.

EU leaders stopped short late Thursday of offering bailout funds to rescue Greece, a eurozone member whose tattered government finances have highlighted the parlous debt of other crisis-hit countries such as Spain and Portugal.

The unions 27 leaders vowed “determined and coordinated action if needed to safeguard the financial stability in the euro area as a whole” – a statement that Credit Agricole analyst Mitul Kotecha called a “disappointment”.

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NEW YORK: US and European stocks eked out gains on Monday, lifted by defensive shares, while the euro edged up from 8-1/2-month lows despite persistent worries about the fiscal health of highly indebted nations in the euro zone.

A modest rebound on Wall Street helped pushed the euro to a session high above $1.37, although sentiment toward the single currency remained broadly negative, analysts said. US stocks edged higher after results at drugstore operator CVS Caremark Corp. and toy maker Hasbro Inc. topped expectations and both companies raised their outlooks. Rising defensive stocks such as drug makers helped European shares snap three days of losses, but worries about Greece and other debt-laden European countries kept gains in check.

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JEDDAH: The Saudi private sector is being urged to continue their spending plans in line with Saudi Arabias 2010 budget, which sends a clear signal that the country is committed to continuing its state spending program without resorting to debt financing.

The budget projects a 14 percent increase in state expenditure this year to a record level of SR540 billion. The government has stepped up to the plate in terms of generating momentum behind an economic recovery in hopes the private sector will reciprocate, according to John Sfakianakis, group general manager and chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF), who addressed an elite group of BSF customers in Jeddah this week.

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PARIS: France singled out frontline financial traders for a special 50 percent tax on bonuses, following Britain by tapping into public anger over bankers pay deals which many blame for the financial crisis.

Britain plans to tax bonuses for all bankers, whether merger and acquisition bankers, credit providers or trading room stars, while French moves are restricted to traders bonuses above 27,500 euros ($40,060).

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JEDDAH – The MENA Investors Summit 2009 kicks off today (Sunday) at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh.

The summit is considered as the first ever investor focused, deal flow initiative in the MENA region and will host 28 companies which will be allowed to present investment opportunities to up to 350 of the most dynamic, influential and decision making investors in the world, in an exclusive, private business meeting format.

The summit will feature detailed discussions of the latest investment trends and strategies which can instigate capital flow in the region.

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RIYADH – Samba Financial Group reported a 1.6 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Tuesday sending its shares up as much as 5 percent.

Second-quarter net profit was SR1.243 billion, compared with SR1.224 billion in the same period a year ago, the bank said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website.

Four analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected on average net profit of SR1.14 billion.

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JEDDAH: The second International Exhibition for Mineral Exploration and Development (MENA-EX 2009) opened for business on a positive note yesterday morning with the Kingdom described to mining experts as offering limitless opportunities, limited only by your own vision.

Ins Scotland, MD and FEO of Citadel Resource Group, noted that as a result of the global financial crisis business growth had slowed. She added that the mining sector would on the long term recover.

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