broker news

broker News, Video News

Joy, cautious optimism after markets rebound in Gulf
ECO4Economy/InternationalJoy, cautious optimism after markets rebound in GulfBy Aroonim BhuyanDubai, Oct 14 IANS Media and investors in the Gulf reacted with joy and cautious optimism after regional bourses rebounded Monday after a weeklong slump triggered by the global credit crunch. 'Brimming with confidence,' read the front page banner headline of the United Arab Emirates UAE daily Gulf News' Tuesday edition, followed by the sub-headline: 'Markets rebound after governments move to secure foreign and domestic bank deposits.' 'Markets rejoice after UAE bank moves,' read another headline in the Khaleej Times newspaper. The Dubai Financial Market DFM led the regional resurgence Monday rising 10.53 percent from the previous day's close. The trend continued Tuesday morning with both the DFM and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange up 7 percent in early morning trading. The key Kuwait Stock Exchange, the only one to have closed in the red after Monday's trading, also rose by 0.91 percent in Tuesday's early morning trade. The resurgence came following a series of remedial measures announced by the region's monetary authorities to restore investment confidence as key market indexes touched historical lows over the past week. The central banks of the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia announced interested rate cuts and assurances of liquidity to banks. While the UAE government has guaranteed that deposits in banks in the country would extend up to three years, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority QIA announced that it would buy up to 20 percent of the shares of the country's banks to ensure their stable foundation. In an editorial titled 'UAE moves on crisis,' the Khaleej Times said: "The UAE government's decision to safeguard bank deposits demonstrates an agility that cannot be said of international policymakers." It went on to say: "It has taken a long time for governments and central banks to wake up to the fact that a global financial solution." It warned that fixing the global financial system would be one thing, but fixing the global economy would be quite another. "Lack of credit will soon filter down to shrinking trade between nations and that will have few beneficiaries. For all that China and to some extent India are two of them," it added. The Gulf News, in its editorial titled 'Crisis reveals major global fault line,' kept its fingers crossed over the market revival. "Although the markets responded well, it is too early to draw a straightforward direction it is heading - up or down," it said. "The crisis in the global financial system is really deep-rooted and would require more than mere assurances for anyone to draw conclusions, something that the market and investors need." The action on the part of the regional central banks came in for praise from investors and experts. "Measures taken by SAMA Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority and other regional central banks to safeguard financial soundness fuelled the rally in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf markets," Saudi Arabia's Arab News paper quoted John Sfakianakis, chief economist at the Saudi British Bank, as saying. The Tadawul All-Share Index, the largest of the Gulf bourses, ended Monday 9.47 percent above the previous day's close. "In what is probably a more significant move, the reserve requirement cut in Saudi Arabia was the first since 1980. It is early to forecast a change in market direction in regional markets," Sfakianakis said. Lauding the UAE government's move guaranteeing bank deposits, Malcolm Wall Morris, chief executive of Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, said: "The step is timely and positive. It is reflective of the government's strong guidance and will further help unlock liquidity." Vyas Jayabhanu, head of Al Dhafra Financial Broker, told the Khaleej Times that the UAE government's move would provide the much needed fillip to the markets. "We witnessed certain buoyancy in the market after a very long time," he said. --Indo-Asian News Serviceab/ank/dg 712 Words*14101457
2008-10-14 07:03:05
Mbeki in Zimbabwe for talks to rescue power-sharing deal
INT35International/Diplomacy/PoliticsMbeki in Zimbabwe for talks to rescue power-sharing dealHarare, Oct 14 DPA A month after he clinched a power-sharing deal between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his arch-rival Morgan Tsvangirai, former South African president Thabo Mbeki was back in Zimbabwe Tuesday to broker talks aimed at salvaging the accord.Mbeki is to meet with Mugabe and Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change MDC about the deadlock between their parties on the formation of a unity government, as agreed in the Sep 15 deal. Mbeki, who is accompanied by two negotiators, will also meet with MDC splinter faction leader Arthur Mutambara, who is the third party to the deal. Under the terms of the agreement, Mugabe remains president and Tsvangirai becomes prime minister with the two sharing executive powers. Mugabe's Zanu-PF is to get 15 ministries in a 31-member cabinet, Tsvangirai's MDC 13 and Mutambara's faction three. Four weeks after the historic signing ceremony in Harare, the deadlock between Mugabe and Tsvangirai over the distribution of ministries threatens to sink the accord. On Friday, Mugabe unilaterally awarded control of the defence and home affairs ministries, among others, to his Zanu-PF. These portfolios give him control of the army and the police, both of which he has used against the MDC and its supporters for years. European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg Monday threatened to tighten sanctions against Mugabe and his allies unless he abandoned his hardline position. Mbeki, who is mediating in Zimbabwe on behalf of the Southern African Development Community regional grouping, was met on arrival in Harare Monday by former labour minister Nicholas Goche and foreign minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, and not Mugabe, as on previous occasions.--DPAskp/dkg297 Words14101424
2008-10-14 05:01:07
Panic reduces, dealers remain cautious
Although the gain posted by the sensex on Monday was the eighth biggest single-day rise ever in terms of points and the 10th biggest in terms of percentage, brokers and dealers were still cautious. ...
2008-10-13 15:38:12
Mumbai, Oct 13 IANS The Mumbai police Monday formed a special cell to investigate a complaint by ICICI Bank, which claimed that it was a victim of "economic terrorism", a police official said here.
ECO23EconomySpecial cell to probe ICICI Bank bankruptcy rumoursMumbai, Oct 13 IANS The Mumbai police Monday formed a special cell to investigate a complaint by ICICI Bank, which claimed that it was a victim of "economic terrorism", a police official said here. The ICICI Bank has submitted a 22-page complaint to the Mumbai police alleging that some brokers, members of the bear cartel at the Bombay Stock Exchange and some websites were working overtime to bring down its share prices by spreading malicious and baseless rumours. It has not named any specific person or companies in this connection, but said text messages were circulated with the intention to malign the bank's reputation, Joint Police Commissioner Crime Rakesh Maria told reporters. The rumours compelled the bank to send out SMS to all its customers scotching the rumours and assuring customers that everything is fine, the bank was not facing any financial crisis. At some ATMs last week, anxious customers were seen queueing up to withdraw cash, prompting the bank to place a withdrawal limit of Rs.5,000 per transaction, that too, in Rs.100 denominations. The special team, to be headed by Additional Police Commissioner Economic Offences Wing - EOW Sanjay Saxena, will investigate all aspects of the matter, try to ascertain where and how the rumours started, who is behind it and whether there is any criminal intent or part of a larger criminal conspiracy, Maria said. The EOW will co-ordinate with the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell of the Mumbai Police and the Securities Exchange Board of India SEBI, the markets watchdog. Maria said if prima facie, a criminal intent is found, the police will lodge a formal first information report. In a related development, ICICI Bank's executive director V. Vaidyanathan said there has been a categorical assurance of the soundness of the Indian banking system as well as ICICI Bank's own sound financial health both from the Reserve Bank of India and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. --Indo-Asian News Serviceqn/sj/vm356 Words*13102233
2008-10-13 14:06:10
Broker admits to immoral lending
A cold-calling sub-prime mortgage broker admits to what he now considers to have been immoral practices....
2008-10-13 11:53:15
ICICI alleges 'SMS terrorism', complains to police
Battered by rumours that cast doubts about its financial health, ICICI Bank has approached police alleging certain brokers were indulging in rumour mongering....
2008-10-12 11:19:04
Loneliness of out-of-biz brokerages
Most brokers are asking their clients to hang in there. Those with cash margins are being urged to invest in this "golden opportunity"....
2008-10-10 15:04:09
Pakistan plans to unfreeze stock market by Oct 27
BUS32Business/EconomyPakistan plans to unfreeze stock market by Oct 27Karachi, Oct 10 DPA Pakistan's main Karachi bourse Friday reluctantly decided to unfreeze itself by Oct 27 only if the government fixes a cap on interest rates on loans taken by top brokers, sources said. "The decision to unfreeze is only tentative. We are watching the government to see if it will inject money into the market and put a cap on interest rates," Akeel Karim Dhedhi, chairman of local giant AKD Securities told DPA. The Pakistani stock market, roiled by domestic political instability and economic turmoil, has been virtually closed for the last two months after losing almost 50 percent in value since May. Among the major reasons for the decline is a bleak investment scenario due to growing Islamic insurgency in North West Frontier Province NWFP, a spate of suicide bombings across the country, and mounting tensions between NATO forces and the Afghan government. Meanwhile, the recent credit crunch has caused the interest rates on short-term loans to shoot up to an all time high of 60 percent. Dhedhi said the directors of Karachi Stock Exchange in a meeting with the state watchdog, the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan SECP, had demanded a cap on interest rates at 24 percent. Dhedhi said the meeting was still going on and no decision was taken so far whether the SECP would convince the financial institutions to lower the interest rates for brokers. Some brokers have borrowed billions of Pakistani rupees $1 equals to 80 rupees from banks to buy shares. "Many top guns of the market are at the verge of bankruptcy," said Mudassar Malik director at the BMA Capital Management. Though the central State Bank of Pakistan has pumped more than 20 billion rupees $240 million in the money market this week the interest rates kept climbing. Pakistan is currently facing inflation of more than 25 percent and a widening current-account deficit of over $14 billion.The country's currency has depreciated by 22 percent since January.--DPAsnb/vt364 Words10102242
2008-10-10 13:03:06
Picture power: Shares rally
Brokers react to news of a 0.5% cut in the interest rate from the The Bank of England...
2008-10-09 12:00:00
Narcissists Tend to Become Leaders LiveScience.com
LiveScience.com - Narcissists like to be in charge, so it stands to reason that a new study shows individuals who are overconfident about their abilities are most likely to step in as leaders, be they...
2008-10-07 18:00:00