India is providing Egypt with a credit line of unspecified value, Egyptian Supply Minister Ali El-Mosilhy said, in the latest support from an ally for the North African nation’s troubled economy, Bloomberg News reported. The Middle East’s most populous nation is racing to turn around an economy that was heavily exposed to the shock waves of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is a major importer of wheat and other commodities. Egypt has agreed on a $3 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund, while its Gulf Arab allies have pledged billions of dollars in investment.
Read more
Egyptian inflation accelerated after a monthlong respite, as a round of price increases by authorities fans pressures already building following three currency devaluations, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices in urban parts of Egypt climbed an annual 32.7% in May from 30.6% the previous month, according to a statement Saturday from the state-run statistics agency CAPMAS. Food and beverage costs, the largest single component of the inflation basket, rose 60%.
Read more
All five members of the Bank of Israel's monetary policy committee voted on May 22 to raise the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.75%, minutes of the discussion showed on Monday, Reuters reported. "The committee members noted that economic activity in Israel is at a high level, and is accompanied by a tight labour market, although there is some moderation in a number of indicators. Inflation is broad and remains high," the minutes said.
Read more.
Read more
The United Arab Emirates' highest court Tuesday ordered a British hedge fund trader convicted of orchestrating a $1.7 billion tax fraud to pay that amount to Denmark's tax authority, the Associated Press reported. Financier Sanjay Shah was convicted in a lower court of masterminding a scheme that ran from 2012 to 2015. Under it, foreign businesses pretended to own shares in Danish companies and claimed tax refunds for which they were not eligible. He was arrested in Dubai last year.
Read more
Lebanon’s embattled central bank governor failed to appear before French prosecutors on Tuesday to be questioned on corruption charges, officials said, the Associated Press reported. A European judicial team from France, Germany and Luxembourg is conducting a corruption probe into an array of financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and alleged laundering of $330 million, implicating the Lebanese governor, Riad Salameh. Salameh, who has held his post for almost 30 years, has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.
Read more
A European judicial team questioned Lebanon’s caretaker finance minister on Friday in an investigation related to corruption probes of the country’s Central Bank governor, officials said, the Associated Press reported. The questioning is part of a probe by a delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg, now on its third visit to Lebanon to interrogate suspects and witnesses in the case. Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is being investigated abroad over several financial crimes and the laundering of some $330 million.
Read more
A European judicial team questioned on Thursday the brother of Lebanon’s embattled Central Bank governor who is is being investigated abroad over several financial crimes and the laundering of some $330 million, the Associated Press reported. The questioning is part of a probe by a delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg, which is now on its third visit to Lebanon to interrogate suspects and witnesses in the case. The delegation questioned Gov.
Read more
Saudi Arabia's central bank on Wednesday increased its repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.75% and its reverse repo rate also by 25bps to 5.25%, it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia, whose currency is pegged to the U.S. dollar, followed the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
Read more.
Read more
The Qatar Central Bank said on Wednesday that it will continue with the current interest rates for the deposit, lending, and repo rates after assessing current monetary requirements, Reuters reported. "Qatar Central Bank aims to maintain the current interest rates at an appropriate level to support sustainable economic growth," it said in a statement.
Read more.
Read more