Home The Buzz Morning briefing: 17 Sep 2012


Morning briefing: 17 Sep 2012

The top business stories from across the region

by Executive Staff

The leader of the Lebanese anti-Israeli group Hezbollah has called for fresh protests in the country on Monday over a film deemed offensive to Muslims.

The world needed to know Muslims "would not be silent in the face of this insult", Hassan Nasrallah said.

Protests at many US diplomatic missions have been continuing over the film, which was made in the US.

One person was reportedly killed in clashes between protesters and police in Pakistan on Sunday.

In a speech broadcast on Hezbollah's al-Manar TV station, Sheikh Nasrallah called for demonstrations on several days over the coming week.

The first is scheduled to take place on Monday afternoon in a southern suburb of Beirut which is a Hezbollah stronghold.

More from the BBC

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti over the weekend denounced attacks on diplomats and embassies as un-Islamic.

Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh also called on governments and international bodies to criminalise insults against prophets and excoriated the film that has prompted a wave of fury across the Middle East.

"It is forbidden to punish the innocent for the wicked crimes of the guilty, or to attack those who have been granted protection of their lives and property, or to expose public buildings to fire or destruction," he said in a speech carried by state news agency SPA.

More from Arabian Business

Warships from around the world assembled in the Gulf on Sunday for what the US military described as the most widely attended international naval exercise ever held in the Middle East.

The games, which Washington says involves manoeuvres to improve mine detection and clearance, comes at a time of rising regional tensions over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Tehran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world's sea-borne oil exports passes, and target US military bases in the region if it was attacked.

The US Naval Forces Central Command said that the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 12 involved vessels and officials from 30 countries in six continents. It did not name the participating nations.

More from Reuters

Yemen has invited international companies to bid for exploration and development rights in five oil blocks around the country as it gives top priority to building up its oil output and reserves, the oil minister said on Sunday.

State news agency Saba quoted the newly appointed oil and minerals minister, Ahmad Dares, as saying the auction aimed to attract foreign investment and increase exploration operations.

The blocks on offer are 6, 15, 84, 85 and 102, which are located in the Al-Saba’ateen basin, the Say’un-Masila basin, and the basin of Mukalla-Sayhoot, Dares told Saba.

Yemen is a small producer with proven oil reserves of 3 billion barrels as of Jan. 1, 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

More from the Daily Star

Lebanon’s 2012 GDP growth is unlikely to exceed 1.2 percent by the end of 2012, and the country could enter recession in the third quarter, according to the Washington-based Institute of International Finance.

Lebanon’s economy contracted by 0.3 percent in the second quarter, a report issued by the institute added, according to a report by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of Byblos Bank.

Expecting the economy to contract another 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2012, the report argues the Lebanese economy would officially enter a state of recession. Recession is defined as two consecutive quarterly contractions in real GDP.

The new report is in line with most projections of economists and international investment banks, which gave a bleak picture of the Lebanese economy.

More from the Daily Star

The head of the Suez Canal Authority expects revenue in 2012 to be no lower than the $5.2 billion made in 2011, he said.

Mohab Memish said revenue had risen  to $446.6m in August, up 3 percent from July.

The canal was among the most profitable entities in the country, providing a vital source of foreign currency, tourism, oil and gas exports and remittances from Egyptians living abroad, he added.

More from AME info

Turkey has agreed during a visit by Egyptian officials to Istanbul to provide Egypt with a US$2bn financing package, Egypt's finance minister said on Saturday.

Egypt's new government has been seeking foreign help to plug twin deficits in its budget and balance of payments that have mushroomed since last year's popular uprising. Last month it formally asked the International Monetary Fund for a US$4.8bn loan.

Mumtaz al-Saeed said he could not yet say whether the Turkish financing would include any direct budget support.

More from Arabian Business

Current oil prices above $100 a barrel are no threat to the world economy and political pressure on producers to raise output is driven by the approach of U.S. presidential elections, Iran’s OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said Sunday.

Benchmark Brent crude prices rose to nearly $118 a barrel Friday, further stoking fears that surging energy costs could harm fragile economic growth just days after Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he was worried by high prices and the kingdom would take steps to moderate them.

Iranian oil officials say oil prices are still fairly low and deny there is any danger of current prices hampering growth.

Khatibi, who represents Iran on the board of governors of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries told the Oil Ministry news website Shana that even price-sensitive consumers see $100 a barrel as fair.

He argued that prices a “few dollars” above that level are unlikely to upset Western economies.

More from Reuters

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Executive Staff


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