/By Matein Khalid/The oil market has been a rollercoaster in 2016. A global financial panic triggered by China’s yuan depreciation caused Brent crude to fall below $30 a barrel in late January. I was amazed at the sheer scale of the speculative short positions accumulated by oil traders and hedge funds in both West Texas and Brent futures markets, the highest since the oil crash of 2008. The […]
UAE. Asteco, the Middle East’s largest full service real estate company has released a special Cityscape report on the current status of the UAE real estate market revealing a general slowdown in all emirates, but highlighting marked differences between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Dubai experienced a slow first six months, but for different reasons, with developers slowing the pace of project completions and handovers due to the […]
ABU DHABI // Fish prices are expected to fall next month as the summer heat subsides after increasing by as much as 50 per cent over the past few months. Ali Al Mansouri, president of Abu Dhabi Fishermen Cooperative Society and the UAE Fishermen Cooperative Association, acknowledged the increased prices but said they would soon start to decrease. “Due to the summer heat the catch is very […]
ABU DHABI // Few people can say they have braved subzero temperatures and the virtually uninhabited, ice-covered landmass of Antarctic, but Fatma Al Sahlawi Al Ali can add her name to that list. After enduring mountainous hikes in the blistering cold, witnessing crumbling icebergs, observing fur seals, humpback whales and penguins on the frozen continent and plunging into icy waters during her expedition earlier this year, the […]
INTERNATIONAL. Global bank rating trends were negative again in 1H16 for the fourth consecutive negative six-month period, says Fitch Ratings. The global distribution of Outlooks deteriorated in 1H16 as Negative Outlooks (22%) far outweighed Positives (5%), a level not seen since 2009. Emerging market (EM) banks experienced the majority of negative ratings trends, heavily influenced by rating actions in Brazil, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. In EMs, […]
Data courtesy: Thousand Eyes Etisalat customers say they have been frustrated by internet outages reported in some areas of the country. Abu Dhabi residents reported problems with connecting to the internet on Tuesday and on Wednesday. A message on the Etisalat customer care line on Wednesday morning advised customers: “We are currently experiencing a general problem in all regions where people are unable to browse the […]
ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, received the Yemeni prime minister Dr Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr at the Sea Palace on Monday. Sheikh Mohammed and Dr bin Daghr discussed the latest developments in Yemen in light of progress achieved by government forces on a number of fronts and political developments, especially the peace […]
ABU DHABI // A pilot scheme to allow Filipinos working overseas to apply for an exit clearance each time they return home on holiday is to begin next month, officials announced on Monday. Those returning to the same employer and job site and listed on the electronic data base of the Philippine overseas employment administration (Poea) will no longer be required to secure an overseas employment certificate, […]
UAE. [ME NewsWire] –The latest Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) from ACCA and IMA, suggested positive signs for businesses in the GCC but a stark forewarning of how the shock of Brexit will hit a fragile recovery in global business confidence. Responding to the findings, Lindsay Degouve de Nuncques, head of ACCA Middle East said: “It is encouraging to see that our members’ business confidence has improved […]
The Chicago Beach Hotel, Hard Rock Café and Jumeirah TV Tower are famous Dubai landmarks that disappeared years ago. Next to be added to the list: the Ramada Dubai. The hotel is another link to an old Dubai receding into memory at a rapid rate. When the four-star Ramada opened in Bur Dubai in 1983, it was mostly surrounded by desert. Today, more than three decades on, […]
Gulfnews.com Tenants of Dubai Marina skyscraper that caught fire allowed to check flats and recover belongings Dubai: Anxious residents of Dubai Marina’s Sulafa Tower, which caught fire on Wednesday afternoon, were on Thursday allowed back in to check any damage to their flats and collect belongings. The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, appears to have damaged the exterior of a number of flats, […]
DUBAI // Nutritionists have poured cold water on the Kinder chocolate scare that erupted after a watchdog said an ingredient was carcinogenic. Parents who were worried that mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons were being passed on to children through the chocolate are being reassured after the alarm was raised by German watchdog Foodwatch. While advising against overindulging in chocolate, health experts say the risk from hydrocarbons is low […]
PARIS // The UAE embassy in Paris said on Friday that there were no Emiratis among the casualties in Thursday night’s lorry attack in Nice, according to the latest reports from French police. At least 84 people were killed when a large lorry ploughed through revellers gathered for the Bastille Day fireworks on the French Riviera. In a statement via Twitter, the embassy urged Emiratis to fully […]
|By Matein Khalid| The merger of Abu Dhabi banks First Gulf Bank and NBAD creates the largest bank in the Middle East, a regional colossus with $170 billion in assets, competitive funding cost in the global interbank/capital markets and a market value greater than Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and Deutsche Bank. This is the biggest game changer event in UAE banking and finance since the […]
It is the duty of all to work hard with full dedication during shortened working hours Ramadan is a month for Muslims to feel closer to God and look inward into their soul. It is a time to foster bonds with family and loved ones. It is a month of caring, empathising with the needy and doing good deeds. But with this journey of introspection also comes […]
Rare Quran manuscripts, paintings and number plates auctioned to raise funds for Reading Nation campaign A priceless collection of historic manuscripts and artifacts is being auctioned at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai to raise funds for the ongoing Reading Nation Ramadan campaign. Here’s our coverage of the event as it happened. (Inputs from Mary Achkhanian, Staff reporter) Campaign collects Dh40 million The charity auction held for Reading Nation campaign launched by […]
A 22-year-old Dutch woman detained for three months in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she reported being drugged and raped was given a one-year suspended sentence on Monday and will be allowed to return home, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said. The woman, identified only as Laura and described as being from the Dutch city of Utrecht, was held and prosecuted on charges of adultery and alcohol […]
|By Matein Khalid|Dr. Mervyn King broke with tradition by publishing his book “The End of Alchemy: money, banking and the future of the global economy”. After all, retired governors of the Bank of England do not, as a rule, do not write/publish books, let alone write books that lambast the City of London’s culture of greed and hubris. It is no coincidence that Dr. King quotes T.S. […]
ABU DHABI // The Cabinet approved a national programme for tolerance on Wednesday as the country marks the holy month. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, made the announcement while pledging that the country would continue to promote the principles of tolerance set by Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father. “Tolerance is a key value of our ancestors and our Founding Fathers,” said Sheikh […]
DUBAI // Two Asian men have been arrested in possession of 4.6kg of heroin. The anti-narcotics department at Dubai Police said on Wednesday that the men were arrested in mid-May for possession, trafficking and abuse of the drug. Police said the first suspect was looking for someone to smuggle the heroin to a neighbouring country, according to Aletihad, the English-language sister newspaper of The National. Major General […]
Dubai resident M. N. Vivekanandan with his ‘Share ‘n’ Care Library in his home. Dubai: If you’re a student based in the UAE and looking for books to rent, Dubai resident M. N. Vivekanandan has initiated an easy way to do so. The 16-year-old student has a collection of over 1,000 books in his home’s ‘Share ‘n’ Care Library’. He told […]
Dubai: Dubai Parks and Resorts said on Tuesday its Dh1.68 billion rights issue was oversubscribed 1,25 times at the end of trading on May 23, underlining strong investor support. Total subscription as at close of May 23 amounted to Dh2.1 billion, the company said in a statement. The rights issue is intended to primarily finance the development of Six Flags Dubai, […]
The UAE on Tuesday announced that it would allocate 15 per cent of its projected budget to humanitarian contributions over the next four years. Dr Maytha Al Shamsi, Minister of State, made the pledge while addressing a session of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, highlighting the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, […]
ABU DHABI // A Dh21.3 million fund has been launched to save the endangered dugong and its seagrass ecosystems across the Indian and the Pacific oceans. The Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund will launch 38 projects in Indonesia, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Madagascar, Mozambique and Vanuatu, the state news agency Wam reported. “The presence of dugong and seagrass in a marine ecosystem […]
