Economics
Gold inched lower on Tuesday but sentiment was underpinned ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting where policy makers are expected to announce more stimulus measures, a move that would support gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has suspended planned tax increases, hours after they were formally announced, in a policy swivel that might complicate Egypt's efforts to secure a $4.8 billion loan from the IMF.
The Lebanese Cabinet again failed to pass the controversial salary scale on Monday as the private sector and labor groups remained deeply divided on whether to raise the salaries of civil servants and teachers substantially.
Companies
Dana Gas, the first UAE group to default on an Islamic bond, is offering bondholders $70 million in cash and an average eight per cent coupon on the remaining $850 million of debt in a move to buy time to fix its finances.
Qatar Telecom, which is majority state-owned, plans to issue a long ten-year bond after investor meetings conclude, arranging banks said on Tuesday.
Gulf carrier Etihad Airways is close to buying a 48 per cent stake in debt-ridden Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines for a little over 30 billion rupees ($550.3 million), the Mumbai Mirror reported on Tuesday.
Samsung Engineering Co Ltd has announced its consortium with China's Shanghai Electric and Saudi Arabia's Al Toukhi was awarded a $3 billion order to build a power and desalination plant in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
Morgan Stanley's head of mergers and acquisitions for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) is leaving the bank, three sources said, the latest in a string of high-level banking departures from the Gulf region.
