Economics
Brent crude held steady above $117 per barrel on Tuesday after settling down for the third straight session the previous day, with traders looking ahead to Italy's upcoming elections.
Gold rose for a second straight session on Tuesday, buoyed by strong physical buying in Asia after traders in China returned from a week-long break.
Lebanese public workers and school teachers will proceed with their open-ended strike Tuesday after the Cabinet failed to convene Monday to approve the long-awaited wage hike and send it to Parliament for endorsement.
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh downplayed Lebanon’s anemic 2 percent growth in 2012, saying that considering the regional situation, “one could not expect to have better than this.”
The United Arab Emirates will grant Bahrain $2.5bn for development projects in the Gulf Arab state, part of a regional funding program implemented after a pro-democracy uprising in 2011, Bahrain's state news agency reported.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed defence contracts worth Dhs5.2 billion ($1.4 billion), including one for unmanned aerial drones, a spokesman for the country’s military said on Monday.
Egypt's annual economic growth rate will hit 3 percent by end-June, below the government's projected 4 percent because of political instability, the Planning and International Cooperation Minister said on Monday.
Companies
Shareholders of Dana Gas, the Abu Dhabi-listed energy firm, will vote on March 14 to approve a restructuring plan for its $920 million sukuk after failing to meet maturity of the Islamic bond last year.
Dubai Financial Market Company, the only listed bourse in the region, has returned to profit amid renewed buying interest in Dubai stocks.
Hopes of progress in the potential merger between Sorouh Real Estate and Aldar Properties has propelled stocks in both companies upwards.
