MENA stock tips, September 2012

Last month’s market news was tainted with scandals yet again, most notably British bank Standard Chartered was accused of hiding some 60,000 transactions facilitated for Iran, worth approximately $250 billion. Despite this and the unresolved European sovereign debt saga, markets generally still managed to edge higher, with the Dow Jones up 1 percent near the end of last month. For investment recommendations this month, Executive sat with Sami Akhrass, chief executive of Arab Finance Corporation, and Alex Moujaes, head of capital markets at Bank of Beirut. Sami Akhrass Bullish or bearish? Akhrass sees the markets remaining range bound till the end of the year with no dramatic moves on the upside or the downside. He would avoid sectors such as financials and insurance in stressed situations, and would favor the luxury and pharmaceutical sectors. Akhrass also stresses to be selective within the sectors as there are huge disparities, giving the