The Morning Roundup distills the top financial stories from the region and around the globe into bite-sized chunks for your daily consumption.
International story of the day:
US bank stress test results are released amid less-terrible-than-before economic data
It has been an interesting weekend across the Atlantic. As expected, the US government on Thursday
[ released stress-test results ]
for the country's major banks, and it turns out that most won't need to raise new capital. Those that do, including Citi,
[ Wells Fargo ]
and Bank of America, are to
[ raise a combined $75bn ]
by November, a lower figure than analysts expected. Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley have
[ already raised fresh capital ]
, though
[ some analysts say ]
[ Morgan ]
needs way more than the $1.8bn it was told to raise. Meanwhile, GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors, appears to be in
[ bad shape ]
. It may need a
[ $11.5bn bailout ]
from the government. And America's regional banks are
[ mired in troubles ]
of their own, which
[ Breakingviews says ]
may cause a wave of mergers. Also over the weekend, American jobs figures came in, showing that
[ people are still losing jobs ]
, but at a slower pace than before.
Regional story of the day:
Taking stock
First-quarter results continue to pour in from companies in the region, and overall, things are looking a little more positive and less uncertain than was the case a few months back. Markets have been on an upward swing lately, punctuated by better-than-expected results from a bevy of local companies late last week and into the weekend. Air Arabia's first-quarter profits
[ went up 32 per cent ]
; Mashreqbank also
[ came out in the black ]
. Shuaa Capital, the Dubai-based investment bank,
[ reported a loss ]
late on Thursday, but the results came out a bit better than in previous quarters. Kuwait's central bank governor said over the weekend that his country's financial system was
[ returning to stability ]
. Today's
[ IMF briefing at the DIFC ]
may shed more light on just where we stand on the path to recovery as GCC officials push towards a delayed monetary union.
The rest:
Personal finance gurus: all wrong, all the time? [
[ The Big Money ]
]
The US bailout won't work, a large hedge fund firm says [
[ Dealbook ]
]
Ratings agencies must reform, might even be controlled by investors [
[ The Deal ]
]
An
excellent
interactive chart on US banks' capital needs [
[ WSJ ]
]
Can it really be this bad? A cemetery in the US files for foreclosure [
[ Freakonomics ]
]
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
Rating: 4/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Indika
Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Publisher: Odd Meter
Console: PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
57 Seconds
Director: Rusty Cundieff
Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Morgan Freeman, Greg Germann, Lovie Simone
Rating: 2/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
The Kitchen
Director: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Stars: Kane Robinson, Jedaiah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jnr, Fiona Marr
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: DarDoc
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founders: Samer Masri, Keswin Suresh
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $800,000
Investors: Flat6Labs, angel investors + Incubated by Hub71, Abu Dhabi's Department of Health
Number of employees: 10
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Company name: Ogram
Started: 2017
Founders: Karim Kouatly and Shafiq Khartabil
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: On-demand staffing
Number of employees: 50
Funding: More than $4 million
Funding round: Series A
Investors: Global Ventures, Aditum and Oraseya Capital