Asian markets were under the cosh on Thursday as a spike in U.S. bond yields drove up borrowing costs globally, and even surprisingly strong data from China couldn’t completely staunch the bleeding. Emerging markets again bore the brunt of the selling as many have come to rely on cheap dollars to underpin domestic demand and fund current account deficits. The currencies of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand all […]
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi female students want to work during their time at university, a recent study revealed. The study, conducted by Glowork, a human capital company dedicated to women, and partners DAF Advisory Services and Alwane, revealed that 87% of Saudi women are looking to work part time if the opportunity was given. “They want to work not for financial reasons, but purely for experience” said Khalid […]
NEW DELHI—As India’s economy shifted into low gear earlier this year, sales at the country’s largest car manufacturer also lost steam, falling nearly 7% in the second quarter from a year earlier. Now the auto maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., faces trouble on a new front: the rapid drop in the Indian currency. The rupee has slumped nearly 3% against the dollar since last Wednesday and roughly […]
(Reuters) – In his full-throated cry of support for the Egyptian authorities, Saudi King Abdullah on Friday described street protests by the Muslim Brotherhood as representing “terrorism and sedition”. That stark view of a crisis that has killed hundreds in the past week shows why the world’s top oil exporter will continue to back Egypt’s crackdown on the Brotherhood even while its Western allies try to convince […]
Airports in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) experience local disruptions – such as those that stem from fog – which, annually, affect over 200 flights and 30,000 passengers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone. In addition, according to Oxford Economics, disruptions from the 2010 spread of Icelandic volcanic ash over European airspace had a $253 million net impact on the aviation sector in the Middle East […]
Earlier this week, security researcher Khalil Shreateh discovered a Facebook bug that allowed a hacker to post on anyone’s wall — even if they weren’t that person’s friend. While he was able to prove to Facebook that his bug was legit (despite an initial response that it wasn’t a bug at all), Facebook wasn’t too happy with the way he did it: by using the bug to […]
(Reuters) – India’s currency cartwheeled to historic lows on Monday while markets in Indonesia took a spill, evidence of how rising U.S. yields are making it harder for emerging nations to fund their current account deficits. The turbulence heightened investor caution ahead of Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting, with many fearing they might only add to the confusion about when it might scale […]
A small number of well-established insurers are reaping the benefits of the fast-growing insurance markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said in a review. Meanwhile, inflated valuations and a reluctance to relinquish control are preventing smaller insurers from consolidating. In trying to avoid reporting losses, we believe revenue-starved insurers could distort market pricing for all. Insurance in the GCC region continues […]
By Shuchita Kapur The average score of some schools in the UAE have beaten the UK’s average of the A-level results. Following the British curriculum, the average score of Dubai British School (DBS), a Taleem school, outshines the average result of students in the UK this year. “We have exceeded this year’s UK average on all levels,” a spokesperson for the school told Emirates 24|7.Now, these proud and […]
Local carrier flydubai announced that Business Class tickets are now on sale, with flights offering the premium option commencing in October. It plans to continue adding more Business Class routes across its network in the months to come. Commenting on the announcement, flydubai’s CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said: “As the evolution of our passenger offering continues, we are delighted to announce that our Business Class routes are […]
By Parag Deulgaonkar Emirates 24/7 A post on a social networking site by an ‘unknown’ developer launching a new project in Downtown Dubai has led to over 40 real estate brokerage firms scrambling to get details. And that’s not just it. A few brokers claim in their response to the post that they even have investors ready to buy the project off plan. Though the developer name is […]
Dubai is all set to achieve 665,000 aircraft movements’ target by 2020 and expects nearly nine per cent growth in 2013 over 2012, according to a top government official. The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) is projecting 375,000 aircraft movement for the Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central (DWC) in 2013, compared to 344,656 in 2012. In the first half of 2013, the aircraft movement increased […]
The Sultanate’s construction sector is expected to grow by 8.4 per cent to OMR1.7 billion, according to a research report released by Business Monitor International. The BMI in its report estimated a real growth of 11.9 per cent year-on-year for 2012, with industry value reaching OMR1.5 billion. The Omani construction and infrastructure sectors have defied global recession trends thanks to backing from oil-fuelled state coffers. The Central […]
By David Kirkpatrick CAIRO — Gathering Thursday morning around a mosque used as a morgue for hundreds killed the day before, many Islamists waited confidently for a surge of sympathetic support from the broader public. But it failed to materialize. With their leaders jailed or silent, Islamists reeled in shock at the worst mass killing in Egypt’s modern history. By Thursday night, health officials had counted 638 […]
The commodities sector looks set for a relatively benign near-term future according to Saxo Bank, the multi-asset trading and investment specialist. Gold and silver should see a mild recovery over the next quarter and oil looks set to remain at current levels, struggling to push past previous highs. Any expectation that WTI crude will re-establish its historical premium over Brent looks improbable. Saxo Bank believes that changing […]
Abraaj Group announced the acquisition of a “significant” stake in two student accommodation assets in the Turkish city of Istanbul. The value of the stake was not disclosed. Abraaj will invest in Republika Academic Apartments along with Turkish institutional investor BLG Capital, which is also the developer of Republika. The transaction gives Abraaj “substantial ownership” of two properties located in Istanbul’s student areas of Ortakoy and Buyucekmece. […]
The total value of ongoing projects in the GCC region currently stands at $2.62 trillion, with the Kingdom accounting for $875 billion. The Kingdom’s strong construction market is being driven by government spending and high oil prices, according to a recent Global Investment House report. For 2013, the Kingdom budgeted $219 billion for spending, up by 18.8 percent, year-on-year, from 2012. Out of this, almost $76 billion […]
Aug 13 (Reuters) – Barclays Plc is conducting a strategic review of its retail banking operations in the United Arab Emirates which could lead to a sale of the business, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Britain’s fourth-largest bank by market value confirmed on Tuesday it was holding the review of the UAE retail business but did not provide any further comment. The sources spoke […]
DUBAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia led other Gulf markets higher on Tuesday as most reopened after long Eid holidays, while Dubai bounced from technical support, suggesting its bull run is not yet stalling. After a week-long break, the main Saudi index climbed 0.5 percent to 8,115 points in active turnover. Buying was seen across a wide range of sectors; property developer Dar Al Arkan, the […]
Reuters: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah’s disdain for Iran leaps from U.S. embassy cables. “May God prevent us from falling victim to their evil,” he told U.S. officials, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks. According to another, he told his own diplomats he wanted Washington to “cut off the head of the snake”. On the other side of the Gulf, Iran’s contempt for Saudi Arabia crackles through […]
By Arif Sharif Aug 12 (Bloomberg) Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (ADIB) plans to expand in North Africa as the lender controlled by the emirate’s ruling family seeks to access more-populous markets. The bank applied for licenses in Algeria and Libya and is considering Tunisia and Morocco, Chief Executive Officer Tirad Mahmoud, said in an Aug. 4 interview. Interest in Shariah-compliant banking has increased since 2011, when […]
The UAE’s commercial property sector is back into the reckoning with growing interest from global occupier and investment segments, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). In its new report, ‘Global Commercial Property Survey’, Rics said: “Further improvements in sentiment in both the occupier and investment segments of UAE real estate market show that the tone in the property industry is continuing to gain ground, […]
New figures have revealed an addiction to technology amongst UAE residents, with 71% stating that they could not live without their laptops or smartphones. Commissioned by dmg events Middle East as it gears up for the December launch of the region’s largest consumer lifestyle event – The Life & Style Show UAE – the survey provides unique insight into the attitudes of UAE residents towards all-things tech. […]
Aug 8 (Reuters) – Looking beyond the problems of a region beset by regime change in Egypt, a security crisis in Yemen and civil war in Syria, international investors are seeking out well-run businesses in Middle Eastern and even some North African stock markets. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is a diverse investment universe which includes both energy importers and exporters, and surplus and […]
