Economics
Lebanon’s trade deficit widened 6 percent in 2012 to a five-year high of $16.8 billion as Lebanese fuel imports, which are partially being re-exported to Syria, soared.
Egypt's president declared a state of emergency and curfew in three Suez Canal provinces hit hardest by a weekend wave of unrest that left more than 50 dead, using tactics of the ousted regime to get a grip on discontent over his Islamist policies and the slow pace of change.
Iraqi energy officials have signed an oil exploration agreement with a Kuwait-led group, finalising a deal that was altered to expel a Turkish firm amid worsening ties with Ankara.
Companies
Dubai’s government-run oil company says it has started importing supplies from Qatar and is seeking other sources in apparent moves to replace Iranian crude lost because of international sanctions.
Nawras, Oman’s number two telecoms operator, posted a 13.4 per cent drop in fourth-quarter profit, a fourth consecutive quarterly decline, as falling revenue from texts and on-network calls weighed on the bottom line.
Lebanon’s Byblos Bank posted a 5.9 percent year-on-year drop in profits in 2012 after allocating $66.7 million in provisions for credit losses.
Twitter has started commercial operations in the UAE with the Egyptian advertising agency Connect Ads after tripling the number of users in the region over the past year.
Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), which is eyeing a majority stake in Turkey’s Alternatifbank, posted a 19 per cent jump in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday on increased lending, but still trailed analysts’ forecasts.
UAE investors in stalled schemes being developed by Hydra Properties were again left frustrated yesterday when the auction of a prime package of land owned by the developer was suspended at the last minute.
