Political Events

• Aircraft debris was found in southern Mediterranean by Greek authorities searching for a missing Egypt Air aircraft which disappeared from radar screen early in 19^th of May 2016. Pieces of plastic were found in the sea 230 miles south of the island of Crete.
• Human Rights Watch (HRW) has forced the Jordanian Government to approve request and ease travel restrictions from Gazans seeking to transit through Jordan in order to travel between Gaza and other countries.
• Top Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine was killed in an Israeli air strike at the Lebanese-Israeli border.

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• .EGX banking sector declined led by Commercial International Bank (CIB).
• .TASI banking and financial services sector declined led by National Commercial Bank. On the other hand, petrochemical sector increased slightly led by Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company SAFCO.
• .KWSE telecommunication sector declined led by Zain.
• .QSI banking sector declined led by Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), telecommunication sector led by Ooredoo and real estate sector led by Ezdan.

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• Egypt's Edita Food Industries net profits in Q1 2016 have dropped to 39.17 MM EGP compared to 81.30 MM EGP last year. On the other hand, Sales of Edita has declined to 518.09 MM EGP compared to 528.90 MM EGP last year.
• Egypt's Global Telecom net profits in Q1 2016 have reached 87.5 MM USD compared to 82.3 MM USD last year. However, Revenue declined to 707.1 MM USD compared to 718.8 MM USD last year.
• Palm Hills; Egypt's second-largest listed property developer, will deliver 1,800 housing units during 2016 compared to 1,540 units last year.
• Jordan signed a technical cooperation agreement with European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (AFD) to start phase 1 of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project (Red-Dead). 
• Agility; a leading global logistics provider has won a five-year contract with medical and pharmaceutical supplier YIACO medical company that provides specialized warehousing and other services.
• Kuwait food Co (Americana) net profit posted a 12.3% decrease in Q1 2016. KFC net profit declined to 15.2 MM KWD down from 17.3 MM KWD the same period last year.
• The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development announced that Lebanon and 100 other countries are signing an agreement to share financial information to tackle tax evasion.
• Qatar Airways has increased its stake to 15.01% in British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). The move comes as the Doha-based airline undergoes a rapid expansion globally, adding new flights to Los Angeles, Sydney and other destinations, and partnering with other airlines to complement that growth. 

• Vodafone Qatar posted a net loss of 180 MM QAR in Q1 2016 compared to 66 MM QAR loss last year.
• Retaj Hotels and Hospitality has signed a management agreement for a new luxurious 5-satr resort in Doha on Salwa Road near Aqua Park, featuring 168 Keys.
• Qatar's Barwa Real Estate has signed a financing agreements worth 1.13 BN USD with a local bank.
• The Royal Commission for Jubail (RCJ) has signed five new contracts for projects in Jubail Industrial City with total amount of 735 MM SAR that occupy a total area of 364.509 sqm.
• Kuwait's Gulf Bank; the fourth-largest lender by assets, reported a 10% decrease in net profits during Q1 2016. As net profits recorded 8.77 MM KWD compared to 9.78 MM KWD last year.

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