Hydra buys 20% of RAK Cement
Hydra Properties has acquired 20% stock in Ras Al Khaimah Cement Company as part of its strategy to diversify investments within sectors that are related to real estate. RAK Cement as one of the leading cement producers in the regional market is one of Hydra's priorities as acquiring shares in companies dealing in building materials is in line with company's strategy for property development. More »
Sungwon wins Bahrain contract
Korea's construction giant Sungwon has won the Dhs400m Isa Town Gate Road Project contract in Bahrain, highlighting its expanding presence across the GCC. Sungwon has earmarked over $ 1.2bn in investments over the next three years for the property development sector in the region. More »
Plot handover in Madinat Al Arab
Dubai-based Al Burj Real Estate Ltd. announced the handover of the first plots of land at Madinat Al Arab, Dubai Waterfront. The handover will take place in August this year as informed by Nakheel. In 2005, the company purchased 70% of available plots in Phase I of Madinat Al Arab worth Dhs7bn. More »
WestLB admits to credit exposure (FT.com)
FT.com - WestLB, the publicly-owned Landesbank, became the latest German bank to admit to exposure to the US subprime mortgage market, although it denied it was facing a liquidity problem. More »
ECB moves to add liquidity to market (AP)
AP - The European Central Bank loaned nearly 95 billion euros ($130.81 billion) in overnight funds to banks at a bargain rate of 4 percent on Thursday, putting more cash into a global financial system jolted by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market. More »
Global overview: US, Europe markets sell off (FT.com)
FT.com - The mood in financial markets darkened sharply on Thursday as more grim news on the subprime mortgage front triggered the return of risk-aversion and fresh turmoil in equities, credit spreads and currencies. More »
30-year fixed mortgage rates sink (AP)
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages sank this week to their lowest point in two months, a dose of good news for people thinking about buying a home. More »
Safe-haven dollar, yen gain amid financial volatility (AFP)
AFP - The dollar and the yen rose on Thursday as a new bout of risk aversion gripped global financial markets owing to renewed concerns about problems in the US subprime mortgage sector. More »
BNP Paribas' Funds, Other Global Woes Renew Credit Fears (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - Stocks plunged Thursday on heightened fears of a global credit crisis after one of Europe's largest banks reported subprime-related liquidity woes. More »
Economy - Thursday (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - The benchmark fixed 30-year rate mortgage fell 9 basis points this week to 6.59%, said Freddie Mac. The 15-year loan fell to 6.25% from 6.32%. But the 1-year adjustable rate rose 6 basis points to 5.65% and the 5-year hybrid ARM climbed 4 ticks to 6.33%. Meanwhile, Bankrate said the spread between conforming and jumbo mortgages widened sharply over the last week, from 41 basis points to 69 basis points. Banks are having trouble selling lower-quality or large, higher-quality loans to Wall St., so they're raising rates. More »
Subprime lender NovaStar posts big loss (Reuters)
Reuters - NovaStar Financial Inc. a struggling subprime mortgage lender, on Thursday posted a large second-quarter loss, hurt by rising credit losses and a writedown of home loans still on its books. More »
Fannie Mae chief calls for lift on cap (FT.com)
FT.com - Daniel Mudd, Fannie Mae's chief executive, on Thursday sought to offer relief to the troubled US housing market by calling on regulators to lift a cap on its mortgage portfolio. More »
Asian markets tumble as credit fears return (Reuters)
Reuters - Asian stocks tumbled across the board on Friday following a rout in global markets as credit jitters flared up, after a major French bank froze three funds that invested in U.S. subprime mortgages. More »
AIG reassures investors about subprime (AP)
AP - American International Group on Thursday told investors the housing market would have to spiral to Depression-era levels before the insurer would be harmed by its exposure to the residential mortgage market. More »
Bank of Japan injects one trillion yen into money markets (AFP)
AFP - The Bank of Japan injected one trillion yen (8.5 billion dollars) into money markets Friday amid fresh credit woes over the US subprime mortgage sector. More »
Asian stocks plummet on credit fears (AP)
AP - Asian stocks plunged Friday as fallout spread from global market turmoil set off by concerns about credit weakness in the U.S. The Bank of Japan joined its U.S. and European counterparts in pouring cash into money markets to calm growing jitters. More »
Stocks decline on subprime lending woes (AP)
AP - The realization that weakness in the U.S. housing and credit markets is spreading — and affecting companies and markets abroad — sent Wall Street skidding sharply lower once more. More »
Global stock markets extend plunge (AFP)
AFP - World stock markets dived for a second day running on Friday with European and Asian traders dumping shares on fears of a widening economic crisis caused by a global credit crunch. More »
Asian markets slide as credit fears spread (FT.com)
FT.com - Shares across Asia fell and government bonds rose as European and US worries about subprime loans spilled into the region. The Bank of Japan pumped money into the financial system to boost liquidity and calm markets, following the example of the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve. More »
SEC combing Wall Street books for subprime losses: report (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. regulators are scrutinizing the books of some top Wall Street brokers and investment banks for subprime-mortgage losses, according to a report in the online version of the Wall Street Journal. More »
European investors spooked as stocks tumble (AFP)
AFP - Europe's main stock markets slumped further on Friday, pulled down by concern about loans tied to the US housing market amid turmoil on global stock markets. More »
ECB injects $83.9B into banking system (AP)
AP - The European Central Bank injected another euro61 billion ($83.8 billion) into the banking system Friday, keeping up its efforts to soothe credit markets amid signs that problems that began with U.S. subprime mortgages were digging deeper into the world economy. More »
Credit crunch reaches dramatic stage
Commentary: Central banks pour in cash, but underlying problem still alive More »