UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

BP's boss met officials from Abu Dhabi state funds on Wednesday as prospects for fresh investment and progress toward closing a leaking U.S. oil well lifted the company's battered shares.

BP's boss met officials from an Abu Dhabi state fund on Wednesday as hopes for fresh investment and progress toward closing a leaking U.S. oil well lifted the company's battered shares.

Unnamed Saudi investors seek to buy a stake worth 10 to 15 percent in British oil company BP dealing with a massive U.S. oil spill, a Saudi newspaper said in an unsourced report on Wednesday.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday after the previous session's tepid gains, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4 percent at 4 a.m. EDT.

Drilling of a relief well to halt the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a week ahead of schedule, the U.S. official overseeing the response to the disaster said on Tuesday.

BP Plc said on Tuesday that it could cover the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill without selling new shares, despite reports it was talking to government-owned funds in the Middle East about buying a stake to ward off takeover attempts.

British oil company BP has approached sovereign wealth funds with a view to securing a strategic investor to fend off takeover bids while it deals with its massive U.S. oil spill, a senior UAE source said on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures rose sharply on Tuesday, tracking gains in global equity markets, as investors looked for bargains after Wall Street closed its worst week in two months.

BP ruled out a share issue and talk persisted of sovereign wealth fund interest in the British oil major, boosting its shares on Tuesday even as its Gulf of Mexico oil slick spread to the Texas coast.

(Corrects in fourth paragraph to say a 122 million share holding, not a value of $122 million)

U.S. stock index futures rose sharply on Tuesday, tracking gains in global equity markets, as investors looked to rebound from its worst week in two months.

Stock futures rose on Tuesday, pointing to a higher open for Wall Street as the market resumes trading after a holiday on Monday.

British oil company BP has approached sovereign wealth funds with a view to securing a strategic investor to fend off takeover bids while it deals with its massive U.S. oil spill, a senior UAE source said on Tuesday.

Investors are looking for signs of renewed lending growth from upcoming Gulf Arab bank results, where provisions for bad and doubtful debt will continue to weigh on second quarter profits.

Troubled oil giant BP could get a reprieve from Middle East financial institutions looking to make a strategic investment in the company, a UAE-based newspaper reported on Sunday, citing informed sources.

According to Russian diamond-mining giant Alrosa's rough diamond price forecast up to 2018, rough diamond production is expected to return to 2008 levels (165 MM carats) no earlier than 2015 and, thereafter, to remain at around 165-167 MM carats per year as a result of a limited supply of new projects and depletion of existing mines.

Dubai's ruler said the emirate would go forward with all development projects within a year in an interview with CNN broadcast on Friday, after billions of dollars worth of projects were canceled in the wake of the global financial downturn.

Saudi Arabia is facing a challenge to push a planned Gulf monetary union forward as the economic power of fellow oil exporters rises, limiting the appeal of the project. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are pursuing the long-delayed project after the United Arab Emirates withdrew in protest last year, three years after Oman did the same.

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and the World Gold Council (WGC) have launched The Palm edition of the prestigious 'Visions of Dubai' (VoD) gold coin series. The coin features the image of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on the front and The Palm Jumeirah, one of Dubai's iconic landmarks, on the reverse.

World Gold Council (WGC) and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) jointly launched Tuesday, yet another category of gold coins of the famous 'Visions of Dubai' series

A long-running controversy over Zimbabwe's allegedly illegal diamond trade, which human rights groups say is run by the army to enrich the power elite, took another twist with a watchdog official saying Harare can resume exports suspended in 2009.