OPEC oil output rises in January as key members stand firm: survey

LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC's oil supply has risen this month due to more Angolan exports and steady to higher output in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers, a Reuters survey showed, a sign key members are standing firm in refusing to prop up prices.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at a November meeting decided to focus on market share rather than cutting output, despite concerns from members such as Iran and Venezuela about falling oil revenue.
Supply from OPEC has averaged 30.37 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up from a revised 30.24 million bpd in December, according to the survey based on shipping data and information from sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.
At the Nov. 27 meeting, OPEC retained its output target of 30 million bpd, sending oil prices to a four-year low close to $71 a barrel. Crude since fell to a near six-year low of $45.19 on Jan. 13 and was trading above $49 on Friday.
OPEC Secretary General Abdulla al-Badri, speaking in London on Monday, defended the no-cut strategy and said prices may have reached a floor, despite oversupply. Other OPEC delegates have since echoed this message.
"Prices are stabilizing," said a delegate from a Gulf producer. "But the world economy is not very strong and stocks are too high."
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Booking forex is not a last-minute chore anymore

In the chaos of planning a foreign trip, one usually leaves forex for the last minute. This mean you have to settle for a higher forex rate and end up paying more than you have to. Online forex retailer buyforexonline is trying to change this scenario.

While most of the players in this niche segment follow a traditional business model, buyforexonline assures round-the-clock services and delivers forex at your doorstep.

The Bengaluru-based retailer also fixes and holds the forex rate after the customer has uploaded relevant documents online. This rescues the customer from paying high rates in the ever-fluctuating sector.

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Ahlibank signs MoU with Sezad for financing projects in Duqm

Muscat - Ahlibank and its Islamic counterpart Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services recently entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority (Sezad) to provide banking services and finance to investors and companies setting up business ventures in Duqm.
The MoU was signed by Ahlibank CEO Lloyd Maddock and H E Yahya al Jabri, chairman of Sezad, at the Authority's office in Knowledge Oasis Muscat, a press release said.

In the corporate banking and SME segments, the bank will offer working capital and term loans, lease finance, trade finance, guarantees and 'B2B' electronic banking.
Maddock said, "We are pleased to support Sezad's vision through providing the bank's tailor-made products and services to corporates and SMEs that take advantage of the unique investment platform and infrastructure at Duqm."

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UK, Singapore welcome deeper cooperation in first financial dialogue

The inaugural UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue was held in Singapore, and both countries discussed issues such infrastructure financing and Islamic finance.

SINGAPORE: The inaugural UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue was held in Singapore on Wednesday (Jan 28). It was attended by senior officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Ministry of Finance, the United Kingdom's HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. 

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PROGRESS to run "Islamic Finance in the wider economy" seminar

Nada Saeed, Managing Director, PROGRESS Training & Consultancy.

Half-day session offers an introduction to the burgeoning USD2 trillion sector Dubai, UAE: Progress Training and Consultancy, the UAE's premier professional training specialists, have today announced that they will be running a seminar, on 21 February, entitled: "Concepts of Islamic Finance". The half-day seminar is seen as an introductory session to the six-month, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) course that PROGRESS currently offers to career professionals looking to enhance their skills in this rapidly growing, USD2 trillion sector.

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Islamic Finance Gateway Daily Briefing

Wednesday, Jan 28 - The Islamic Finance Gateway (IFG) Briefing, published from Sunday to Thursday, carries the latest market-moving news and data for institutions offering Islamic financial services. You can view the full IFG briefin http://tmsnrt.rs/1zwegVD under IFG Briefings Subject. TOP STORIES Dubai-Luxembourg firm launches Islamic factoring for SMEs

An investment group based in Dubai and Luxembourg has launched an Islamic trade receivables financing platform catering to the Gulf region's small businesses, with plans to tap the capital markets to fund the venture, its chief executive told Reuters. - RTRS - Zawya Islamic Tunisia plans debut sukuk in third quarter of 2015
The Republic of Tunisia plans to issue a debut sukuk this summer, a central bank official said. Tunisia has already picked four banks including Citigroup, Natixis and Standard Chartered to arrange the inaugural sukuk, according to sources. - IFR - RTRS - Zawya Islamic EXCLUSIVE-Gulf Arab states may need to rethink policy -Qatar c.banker

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Forex Broker, Orbex Limited, Announces the Launch of their Polish Website

Forex broker, Orbex, proudly announces the launch of their Polish website, which is set to go live on the 27th January 2015. Following the brokers growing and diverse clientele, Orbex has decided to reach out to their growing European audiences by making their content, support and personalised care available in the Polish language.
Last year has been a fantastic one for the broker, with a number of successful campaigns and competitions having been launched throughout the year. Orbex ends 2014 with an addition of Polish language to their client support.
Coupled with the website, Orbex is preparing a translation of their educational material into Polish, designed to provide valuable information about the Forex market, trading, risk management as well as how to make the most of Forex Trading. In addition to the written material, Orbex is preparing to host live webinars in Polish.

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Banks asked to increase private sector lending

KARACHI: Governor State Bank Ashraf Mahmood Wathra has stressed upon the banks to focus on private sector lending and deposit mobilization.
In this context he said that the average spread of all banks continue to remain high and should be reasonably rationalized. “SBP shall review the position by the end of June 2015 and may take regulatory measures to lower the spread,” he added.
He was addressing a meeting of Presidents/CEOs of all commercial Banks and DFIs at SBP Head office in Karachi on Monday. The Governor took stock of operational activities and performance and issued important directives to enhance the efficiency of banks.
Discussing the condition of Islamic Banks and its profitability, Governor highlighted that Islamic banks should reward their customers appropriately in line with their surging profits. “Banks were advised to come up with their own solutions or the SBP will apply Shariah compliant measures to address the issue,” he instructed.
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Today's Market: Earnings, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Summary

• Highlight currency markets and discuss in general terms the corporate earnings which were reported since yesterday's close.
• Discuss currency effects on earnings and sales, as well as how it is forcing companies to adjust forward guidance.
• Run through earnings results with the highlights.

While many focused on falling energy prices as a potential tailwind for earnings moving forward, it seems that the markets have run into much stronger headwinds that many were not counting on developing just yet. Some of the largest members of Corporate America hit investors with unexpected news over the past 18 hours or so and used this quarter's poor results to guide lower for the year.
The strong US dollar is now having an impact on financial results, with companies who derive the majority of their business from overseas markets feeling the most pain. With the large number of companies blaming currency rates for their issues, expect the trend to continue as everyone looks to lower their numbers and adjust expectations moving forward.
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Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) Exchange Rate Forecast: Euro Recovers Losses on German Data, Falling Grexit Expectations

Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) Exchange Rate Climbs almost 0.3%

The Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate recovered around 0.3% as the European session progressed on Monday and Germany published encouraging IFO reports.
The IFO Business Climate gauge advanced from 105.5 to 106.7 in January, beating expectations for a reading of 106.5.
Similarly, the IFO Current Assessment index jumped to 111.7 from 110 in December.
The news that Syriza had to form a coalition after failing to secure the outright majority also reduced Grexit concerns and lent the Euro support.
In the view of strategist Alessandro Bee; ‘Syriza’s win won’t be as bad for markets now as it could have been a few months ago. Tsipras is less aggressive and willing to negotiate. The result will affect sentiment on Greece, but in a broader European context it’s just a blip. Markets are still in a risk-on mode and any news is dwarfed by the ECB stimulus programme’.
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Dollar closes steady versus rupee

KARACHI: The dollar closed firm in value against the rupee in the interbank market, dealers said. It started the day's trading at Rs 100.40 for buying, with correction in value it closed at Rs 100.50 for buying and Rs 100.70 for selling. The European currency remained under correction in value versus the rupee as it opened the day's trading at Rs 114.09 for buying and after correction closed at Rs 112.33 for buying and Rs 112.55 for selling. The British currency closed flat against the local currency as it began the day's trading at Rs 150.72 for buying, with no change closed at Rs 150.72 for buying and Rs 151.02 for selling.

Open market: The dollar remained firm against the rupee, dealers said. It initiated the trading at Rs 101.15 for buying, closed at Rs 101.60 for buying with 45 paisas change and closed at Rs 101.85 for selling. The euro remained minus against the local currency as it opened the day's trading at Rs 116 for buying and closed at Rs 113.50 for buying after Rs 2.50 change and closed at Rs 113.75 for selling.
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Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) Exchange Rate Rallies from 11-Year Low, Syriza Win Deemed No Threat to Eurozone

The Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate firmed from its lowest level in 11-years on Monday as economist speculate that Syriza’s Greek election victory would not be a threat to the wider Eurozone.

The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate hit a session high of 1.126

Hopes that a compromise will be reached between Greece’s new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the Troika over austerity and bailout terms led to the Euro shaking off earlier losses and rally against the majority of its most traded peers.
The Troika of lenders that bailed out Greece includes the European Union (EU), European Central Bank (ECB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF) – imposed big budgetary cuts and restructuring in return for the money. The austerity messages imposed on the nation led to unemployment soaring to more than 25%.
‘The new Greek government will be ready to co-operate and negotiate for the first time with our peers a just, mutually beneficial and viable solution. The troika for Greece is the thing of the past,’ Mr Tsipras said.
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Russia downgraded to junk status for first time in decade

S&P says downgrade caused by reduced flexibility to cut interest rates and weakening of financial system as oil price drops

Russia’s credit rating has been downgraded to junk status for the first time in a decade due to the collapsing oil price, the tumbling value of the rouble and sanctions imposed because of its intervention in Ukraine.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said the downgrade was caused by the country’s reduced flexibility to cut interest rates and a weakening of the financial system.
The ratings agency said the Central Bank of Russia “faces increasingly difficult monetary policy decisions while also trying to support sustainable GDP growth”. It added: “These challenges result from the inflationary effects of exchange rate depreciation and sanctions from the west as well as counter-sanctions imposed by Russia.”
Attempts to shore up the value of the rouble have had only a temporary effect, Standard & Poor’s said, noting that the 750 basis point rise in interest rates last month to take interest rates up to 17% had only a limited impact on the rouble-dollar exchange rate.
“The rouble briefly appreciated against the dollar but has since continued to depreciate, reaching about 66 roubles to the dollar, compared to about 35 a year ago,” S&P said. The move pushed the rouble lower against the US currency on Monday , at 67 per dollar.
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FXCM considers exiting some countries, is seeking negative balances

The Wall Street Journal reports that FXCM is considering sales of non-core assets to help repay the $300 million loan it was forced to accept under distressed conditions last week.

Shares of the company are down 85% since mid-month and declined nearly 30% on Friday.

They said FXCM is “reviewing countries where it offers currency trading, with an eye toward possibly lopping off jurisdictions where capital requirements and other costs are too onerous, one of the people said.”

There is nowhere where capital costs are higher than the US.

The WSJ reports that a leading contender to be sold is FXCM’s minority stake in FastMatch Inc., a separate company that operates an electronic currency-trading platform. FastMatch matches buy and sell orders among banks, hedge funds and other asset managers. The company estimates its share is worth roughly $70 million.

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Thank low oil prices, high FII inflows: India's forex kitts at a record $322 bn

Mumbai - After a gap of four years, India's foreign exchange reserves touched a new lifetime high at $322.135 billion for the week ended January 16, driven by higher inflows and lower outgo of forex on account of a big slump in global crude prices.
The reserves jumped by $2.66 billion to reach $322.135 billion during the week, the Reserve Bank data showed yesterday.
The forex kitty for the first time had crossed $320 -billion mark ($320.79 billion) for the week ended 2 September 2011.
"Strong FII inflows and reduction in import burden due to a record fall in oil prices have led to accumulation of the reserves," Harihar Krishnamoorthy, Treasury Head at FirstRand Bank, told PTI.
Overseas investors have pumped in $3,442.29 million into Indian market markets in this month so far, according to the data given by Central Depository Services.
"Dollar selling from exporters in the market has contributed towards higher forex reserves," said a chief dealer with a state-owned bank.
Analysts also attributed the rise in the reserves to the likely buying of dollars by the RBI.
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Regulator Boosts Requirements on Forex Trades

NFA to Temporarily Require Additional Cash in Currency Trades Involving the Japanese Yen and Australian Dollar

WASHINGTON—Regulators took additional steps Friday to address steep losses suffered by traders and brokers in the wake of last week’s unexpected surge in the Swiss franc, moving to temporarily restrict the amount of borrowing, or leverage, used by foreign-currency traders.
The National Futures Association, the agency responsible for policing the futures industry, said it would temporarily require investors to put down additional cash when they enter into currency trades involving the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar. The move will require investors to post a “minimum security deposit” of 3% of their overall bets, up from 2%. NFA attributed the increase to “continued volatility” in the foreign currency markets.
The move comes eight days after foreign-exchange brokers like FXCM Inc. were hit hard after the Swiss National Bank moved to stop reining in the value of the franc against the euro. FXCM needed a $300 million loan to cover losses stemming from the move. Earlier this week, NFA began requiring investors to post margin of 5% of their overall bet, up from 2%.
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Rule forex with a light touch, investigator tells MPs

Lord Grabiner warns City could lose business to New York or Frankfurt if $5.3tn-a-day forex market is regulated too much

Lord Grabiner, the barrister who has led an investigation into the foreign exchange rate rigging scandal, said the $5.3tn-a-day forex market needs to be regulated – but not too much, or the City could lose business to Frankfurt or New York.
Appointed by the Bank of England last March to review allegations that its staff knew about foreign exchange rate manipulation, Grabiner told MPs on the Treasury Committee: “One of the curiosities of this marketplace is that it was not regulated.”
The Financial Conduct Authority fined five leading banks including the bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland a total of £1.1bn in November for rigging the foreign currency markets.
Penalties from the US authorities brought the total tally to a record £2.6bn. The investigations centred on traders’ use of chat rooms to coordinate currency rates in the minutes leading up to a daily 4pm “fix”.
Grabiner told the parliamentary committee: “My own view is that you can’t leave a market of this size in an unregulated form. You really do need to have a careful look at it, but you must not undermine the valuable marketplace you have created because if you make it too expensive or too complicated it’ll end up in Frankfurt or New York or somewhere else and then UK Plc loses out.”
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Crude oil remains supported by news of Saudi King's death

Crude oil futures rose on Friday, pulling away from nearly six-year lows as news of Saudia Arabia King Abdullah's death lent support to the commodity, although sustained concerns over a supply glut continued to weigh.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in March traded $0.12 or 0.25% higher to $44.43 a barrel during European early afternoon trade.
Prices plummeted $1.47 or 3.08% on Thursday to settle at $46.31.
Futures were likely to find support at $44.78, the low from January 13 and a nearly six-year low and resistance at $49.09, Thursday's high.
Oil prices rallied following reports of the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah amid growing speculation over a possible shift in the kingdom’s policy of allowing crude prices to fall.
The 90-year-old monarch, who was admitted to hospital in December with pneumonia, will be succeeded by his half-brother, Crown Prince Salman.
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Brent rises after Saudi king dies, U.S. crude falls

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brent crude rose on Friday on uncertainty over Saudi oil output following the death of King Abdullah, while U.S. crude prices fell, with traders citing a reported build at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub and the partial shutdown of an Indiana refinery.
Salman, the late king's brother and successor to the throne, is expected to continue OPEC's policy of keeping oil output steady to protect market share. Still, the transition should be bullish for Brent, said Bob Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA.
"Any time there's uncertainty in the market, you tend to have support," he said.
Brent was up 47 cents to trade at $48.99 by 12:50 p.m. EST. It rose as high as $49.80 after reports of the Saudi king's death.
U.S. crude fell 49 cents to trade at $45.83. A trader said energy data provider Genscape estimated that U.S. crude stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma, rose 1.7 million barrels in the week ending Tuesday.
The spread between WTI and Brent should keep widening, said Walter Zimmerman, chief technical analyst at United-ICAP. "There's substantial downside to that," Zimmerman said.
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European stocks rise sharply on ECB stimulus news; Dax rallies 1.29%

European stocks were sharply higher on Friday, as news on Thursday that the European Central Bank is launching a large scale quantitative easing program continued to lend broad support to equity markets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.10%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rallied 1.29%.
European equities were boosted after ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday said it will make monthly purchases of €60 billion per month, starting in March and continuing until late 2016.
Draghi acknowledged the action the ECB took last year was “insufficient” to ward off the threat of deflation in the region.
Earlier Friday, research firm Markit said that Germany's preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 51.0 this month from 51.2 in December, compared to expectations for a rise to 51.7.
The German preliminary services PMI rose to 52.7 in January from 52.1 the previous month, exceeding expectations for a rise to 52.5.
Markit also said that France's preliminary manufacturing PMI rose to 49.5 this month from 47.5 in December, beating expectations for a rise to 48.1.
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