|By Arabian Post Staff|The impact of the massive decline in oil prices has finally reached the door steps of the banking industry and some banks have been affected more than the others. According to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the banking industry in the GCC grew at a lower rate in 2015 than it did in 2014 with just a 7.2 percent increase, […]
|By Matein Khalid| I was surprised by the dovishness of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC policy statement last week given the white hot US labour market and metrics of wage inflation. Hence the $29 rally in gold, the plunge in the Volatility Index to 15, the fall in the US dollar and the surge in oil/mining shares. The Yellen Fed is still worried about deflation risk in China, Europe […]
At least one person was killed and several injured after two explosions occurred in the departure hall of Zaventem Airport in Brussels Tuesday morning. Gunfire was also reported. Shortly after, explosions were heard at Brussels train station, staff told the AFP. The airport was evacuated and all flights were suspended. Flights arriving at the airport were diverted. The incident occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of […]
Even as it pumps near-record quantities of oil, Saudi Arabia is getting ready for a time when the world will no longer need its biggest export. The world’s largest crude exporter is focusing on renewable-energy sources such as solar power in preparation for a post-oil global economy, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said at a conference in Berlin on Thursday. Still, he doesn’t expect that era to dawn […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|DP World’s gross debt rose to $7.6 billion, with the net debt climbing to $6.2 billion, the company announced in its financial results for the calendar year 2015. The balance sheet shows a leverage of 3.2 times. The increase in debt is mainly due to the addition of the $650 million JAFZA Sukuk following the EZW acquisition and the additional $500 million borrowings from […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| While market speculation about a possible de-pegging or devaluation of the dollar by GCC countries is going forward, a number of disincentives to such a move are continuing to force a status quo, at least in the short to medium term. Analysts note that a more flexible foreign exchange regime could allow the GCC to adjust to real shocks better, the gains in […]
The increase in Iran’s oil exports after the lifting of sanctions has been “more modest” than the country intended, according to the International Energy Agency. Iran increased oil output by 300,000 barrels a day this year to a four-year high of 3.2 million a day in February, the Paris-based agency said. That’s less than the 400,000 barrel-a-day increase Iran itself has reported. Even after sanctions were eased […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Wealthy Chinese, who are emerging as a new force in overseas real estate investments, are consistently raising their profile in the Dubai property market as well. According to Nakheel sources, Chinese bought 70 percent of its almost 600 townhouses sold at Warsan Villa close to its Dragoncity shopping mall, where Chinese merchants offer their wares in the biggest Chinese market outside mainland China. […]
|By Arabain Post Staff| Bank Sarasin-Alpen Middle East Limited, defending the region’s biggest financial mis-selling case has lost the first appeals against the record judgement of $70 million penalty awarded by the Court of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Bank Sarasin and its DIFC subsidiary Sarasin-Alpin had filed an appeal against the liability finding which led to record damages being awarded against them. The liability appeal […]
|By Matein Khalid| It is no coincidence that the most profitable hotels on the planet are located in Makkah, the holiest city of Islam as the site of the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba. For fifteen centuries, Muslims have traveled to Makkah from all over the world for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, making the city the highest source of inbound foreign visitors in Saudi Arabia. Makkah is […]
Tech giant Amazon is expanding its foothold in the automated smart home space with the launch of two new Internet of Things products: the Echo Dot, and the Amazon Tap. The Echo Dot provides voice-control for home stereo systems, or it can be used to control smart home devices. The Tap is a wireless speaker that can also be used to connect to Amazon’s Alexa voice service. […]
Consumers who like doing a little armchair R&D will soon get their chance, thanks to a new initiative from Sony. The electronics giant has established what it’s calling the Future Lab Program to help the company employ user feedback to refine and improve new products. The newfangled research and development effort has the goal of releasing concept prototypes that will eventually evolve in an open, creative environment […]
/By Nitten Nair/Being in between jobs is one of the most stressful periods one can face irrespective of whatever stage one is in the career. For the junior levels, it can lead to doubt in one’s capabilities and the feeling of being on the back foot at the early stages of a career. Mid to senior levels are concerned about having a break in their career and […]
|By K Raveendran| A clear assessment of the impact of the introduction of value added tax (VAT) in the UAE is not available yet, but it is fairly clear that it will have serious adverse results for the retail industry, which is already suffering a dip in demand. Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer announced the other day after a joint press conference […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|The announcement by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a possible floatation of state-owned oil firm Aramco is part of a larger game plan, a report by a US private intelligence corporation has concluded. “Whether or not the IPO happens is not important. What is vitally important is that it was publicly discussed by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He was […]
/By Arabian Post Staff/ Standard & Poor’s has re-affirmed its view that Saudi riyal peg to the dollar, a subject currently topping market debate, is unlikely to be changed over the next few years. The rating agency’s rationale is that at a time of already significant change and regional geopolitical instability, politically conservative regimes such as those in the GCC are unlikely to increase uncertainty about their […]
|By Matein Khalid| The global credit cycle has an immediate impact on the UAE via oil prices, the US dollar peg, cross border bank credit flows, Federal Reserve monetary policy and world trade. The IMF has cut its 2016 growth forecast to 2.6%, the lowest since 2010. A leading developer just booked a 20 fold rise in penalties from walkaway offplan home buyers. Banks hire “loan rangers” […]
|By K Raveendran| Going by the pace at which machinery automation is advancing, the day does not appear to be a long way off when self-working machines carry out complicated and high-skilled operations without manual intervention. The Win Eurasia Metal Working Fair in Istanbul held during 11-14 February provided clear insights into the evolving trends in this area and the rapid strides Turkish machinery manufacturing industry is […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Stability in office rents in Dubai’s main markets persisted throughout Q1 2016 as a result of continued high demand from both international and domestic occupiers, according to leading real estate consultancy Cluttons. Showcasing the performance of 22 submarkets across the city in the first quarter of the year with the use of heat maps, Cluttons’ first office market bulletin highlights that, 13 submarkets […]
By Nitten Nair/We are taught from a very young age to have career goals and to “aim” to be at the top of our chosen field before we decide to call it a day. I am sure many of you would have been asked the question, “Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?” This profound question sows the seeds of having a career goal […]
|By Matt Smith| Dubai’s Emaar Properties , builder of the world’s tallest tower, reported near-flat quarterly net profit on Wednesday after taking a writedown related to a fire at one of its hotels on New Year’s Eve. The 301 million dirham ($82 million) writedown stalled an earnings boom at the government-linked developer, which had reported rising net income in the preceding 10 quarters. Emaar made a net […]
|By Dr Alaa Alghamdi| Saudi relations with Iran have long been, to say the least, contentious, and it is possible that to an outside observer it may seem like a two-way dispute, or a series of them. However, there are concrete reasons behind the current decision to cut diplomatic ties, and they have little to do with ideological, territorial or political quarrels, and everything to do with […]
Three days after a report indicated that Twitter might soon introduce an algorithm-driven timeline, fans of the microblogging site are continuing to tweet their complaints using the hashtag #RIPTwitter. The outpouring of commentary in the wake of Friday’s report in BuzzFeed prompted CEO Jack Dorsey (pictured above) to respond with two tweets of his own on Saturday. In one, he noted that Twitter “never planned to reorder […]
Almost 10,000 Department of Homeland Security employees awoke this morning to find that their personal information had been stolen from the agency’s servers and leaked on the Internet. For his next trick, the same hacker said he’ll release the personal details of 20,000 FBI staff members. The information in the data dump includes names, job titles, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers. The attacker targeted not only DHS […]
