Company stocks fall

Bloomberg

Leighton dropped 7.3 percent to A$22.55 at the close of trading, taking its decline for the year to 63 percent. Nakheel PJSC, the Dubai-owned developer of three palm-shaped islands in the Persian Gulf, agreed to cover all costs for the Al Habtoor Leighton Group after suspending work on the Trump project yesterday, Leighton said in a statement

The company said the delay to the Trump Tower won’t affect earnings as Al Habtoor Leighton has other projects in the region worth more than $3.2 billion and is close to signing an agreement on a major project in Dubai.

"If Nakheel is starting to pull projects, that’s an indication how soft things are looking in the Middle East," said Graeme Carson, an analyst at Tolhurst Group Ltd. "The view of the market is this could be the first cancellation of many. The softness in the region is a risk and in this market everyone assumes the worst."

Al Habtoor Leighton began building the project in July in a venture with Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd.

Nakheel, which cooperates with developer Donald Trump, will cut its workforce by 15 percent as it scales back projects, including the 62-story Trump International Hotel and Tower skyscraper, it said yesterday.