Money matters bulletin

Regional stock market indices Regional currency rates UAE developers suffer shabby second quarter Abu Dhabi’s largest developer by market value, Aldar Properties, blamed lower land sales and investment values as it reported a net loss of $214.9 million in the second quarter of 2010, from a net profit of $310.3 million a year ago. Major banks covering the company cut their target prices for the developer: Citigroup cut its target price to $1.25 from $2.09, Credit Suisse slashed it to $0.62 from $1.11, HSBC cut its target price to $0.54 from $1.27, while EFG-Hermes cut its fair value to $0.54 from $1.19. The last three banks and Moody’s ratings agency all downgraded Aldar Properties’ rating by varying degrees. Sorouh Real Estate, Abu Dhabi’s second-largest developer by market value, posted a 79 percent drop in its second quarter net profit to $8.4 million from $40.3 million in the same period last