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India’s Demand For Gold

Mobile phones are the preferred payment device for 59% of consumers in the UAE, reveals Mastercard study

UAE.  Mobile phones are the most commonly used device among consumers in the UAE and more than half of all consumers (59%) prefer using their smartphones over any other device to make payments, the new Mastercard Impact of Innovation Study reveals. The study surveyed 23,000 consumers in 23 different countries across the Middle East, Africa and Europe about their attitudes to digital technology. It found that while […]

Deloitte predicts further decline in residential sale prices in Dubai in 2016

UAE.  Dubai’s residential and hospitality markets have rebalanced towards a “new normal” in the first six months of 2016, according to Deloitte’s new report “Deloitte Real Estate Predictions 2016 – H1 Review.” The report predicts that residential sale prices will decline further in Dubai for the balance of 2016, but that this rate of decline will slow, as value and affordability returns to the market. “Our real […]

Optical fiber transmits one terabit per second

Nokia Bell Labs, Deutsche Telekom T-Labs and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have achieved unprecedented transmission capacity and spectral efficiency in an optical communications field trial with a new modulation technique. The breakthrough research could extend the capability of optical networks to meet surging data traffic demands. In an optical communications field trial, Nokia Bell Labs, Deutsche Telekom T-Labs and the TU Munich showed that the […]

Apple: iPhone 7 Is Seeing Flat To Lower Demand

Fed enables rally in global risk assets

|By Matein Khalid| The Federal Reserve did not disappoint the financial markets after Janet Yellen’s FOMC conference on Wednesday. The US central bank did not raise the overnight borrowing (or Fed Funds rate) to 0.5% on the eve of the November election. This triggered a wild rally in the US stock market with the Dow Jones up 163 points, gold up to $1342 and oil to $46 […]

High gold prices killing off Indian demand; implications for Dubai

|By Arabian Post Staff| High gold prices are threatening India’s status as a leading importer of gold and this has significant impact on Dubai gold trade. According to Indian reports, the Indian gold bazaars have seen a mass movement of people selling their gold jewelry. The market has transformed from whole sellers and brokers to individual gold sellers looking to take advantage of the high price of gold, […]

A deal at Algiers still looks elusive

|By Arabian Post Staff| OPEC members aren’t likely to reach a supply deal in Algiers next week, but an agreement to boost prices could be drawing closer after Saudi Arabia signaled for the first time in two years that it’s willing to cut production, Bloomberg reported. Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose rivalry thwarted a deal with other major producers in April, didn’t reach agreement after two days of […]

In Appeal to Voters, Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan Soft-Pedals Religion

By PETER BAKER and RANA F. SWEIS September 20, 2016 AMMAN, Jordan — At the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ali Abu al-Sukkar’s telephone would not stop ringing Tuesday. It was Election Day, the first time the Islamist organization had taken part after nearly a decade of boycotts, and Mr. Sukkar found himself in demand. The deputy secretary general of the Islamic Action Front, the brotherhood’s political wing, Mr. Sukkar listed the […]

Value investing themes in Asian equities

|By Matein Khalid| When Ben Bernanke uttered the word “taper” in May 2013, he triggered a bloodbath in emerging markets and a free fall in “fragile five” currencies that included the Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah. However, Asian equities markets, while not immune to a Fed rate hike, are far better positioned for higher US dollar interest rates than in 2013, let alone 2007 or 1998. […]

S&P sees oil oversupply extending to 2017

|By Arabian Post Staff| The global oil market will most likely remain oversupplied for the rest of 2016 and well into 2017, rating agency Standard & Poor’s has forecast. The view has been attributed to global oil production remaining in excess of demand, and the resulting persistently high crude oil and product inventories putting spot prices and near-term futures under significant pressure. Members of the Organization of […]

Fans cheer, but Asia gives iPhone 7 subdued welcome

By Adam Jourdan and Tom Westbrook | SHANGHAI/SYDNEY SHANGHAI/SYDNEY Apple Inc fans from Sydney to Shanghai, the first customers worldwide to snap the new iPhone 7 off the shelves, cheered as they left stores on Friday brandishing their purchases, flanked by applauding sales staff. But underneath the usual fanfare, the crowds of enthusiasts and overnight campers were smaller than in past years. Some customers complained after the […]

A desert city without light switches or water taps

|By Arabian Post Staff| Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City without light switches or water taps has much to teach people around the world about saving energy and precious resources. With its low-rise and energy efficient buildings, smart metering, excellent public transport and extensive use of renewable energy, the 2,000 citizens of Masdar City are living in a place which is a ‘green’ example to city planners around the […]

Amazon and Pandora set to launch new music streaming services – NY Times

  Amazon.com Inc and Pandora Media Inc are planning to launch new versions of their streaming music services in coming weeks, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing several anonymous people with knowledge of the matter.   Pandora could announce its plans this to expand its $5-per-month platform this week, with possible features including skipping more songs or storing several hours of playlists, the newspaper said. […]

"Times are changing, pay your taxes", euro zone chief tells corporations

  By Francesco Guarascio and Jason Hovet | BRATISLAVA   BRATISLAVA Multinationals should refrain from tax avoidance practices and pay their fair share of taxes, the head of euro zone finance ministers said on Saturday, in a new endorsement to the European Union fight against tax dodging.   In the wake of the ‘Panama Papers’ revelations of widespread tax avoidance practices, Brussels has toughened up its drive […]

Down side of low oil prices

|By Steve Austin| At first sight it appears that low oil prices are good for society. A low oil price helps us save dollars at the pump, acts as an economic catalyst making exchanges cheaper and thereby stimulating the economy. However, there are downsides as well, often out-of-sight-out-of-mind and we will address these today. Change in economic model For the first time we have entered an era […]

An OPEC output freeze deal in Algeria means $60 oil! 

/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 […]

Apple Watch Redesigned, Debuting Alongside iPhone 7

Apple announced its newest iPhones, the 7 and 7 plus, which are water and dust resistant. Analysts say the new iPhones could help Apple recover modestly from a recent dip in sales. But with few expected dramatic changes from previous models, Apple watchers aren’t expecting the kind of big spikes in consumer demand that the company saw two years ago, when it introduced larger screens. Apple sold […]

Asteco H1 UAE Cityscape real estate report: A tale of two cities

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 […]

Saudi Arabia PMI: August signals strongest upturn in a year

SAUDI ARABIA.  Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector continued on its upward trajectory in August, with business conditions improving to the greatest extent in a year. Output and new business remained the key growth drivers – both rose sharply and more quickly than in July. Employment and input stocks also increased, with a number of companies looking to expand capacity in line with rising workloads. Meanwhile, price pressures […]

Middle East health spending driven by population expansion and rising wealth, says new Deloitte report

UAE. Change is the new normal for the global health care sector, according to Deloitte’s recent report entitled “2016 Global health care sector outlook – Battling costs while improving care”. As providers, payers, governments, and other stakeholders strive to deliver effective, efficient, and equitable care, they do so in an ecosystem that is undergoing a dramatic and fundamental shift in business, clinical, and operating models.  This shift is […]

Economic slowdown hits real estate

/by Arabian Post Staff/The impact of the softening global economy continues to hamper the UAE’s office market as redundancies in the oil and gas, finance and banking sectors have stifled demand for office space across the emirates, according to leading international real estate consultancy Cluttons. Cluttons’ 2016 UAE Property Market Report, highlights the consultancy’s expectation for office market performance throughout the year and expects declines of close […]

Apple appeal against EU tax demand would break new ground

By Tom Bergin | LONDON LONDON Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he will appeal the European Commission’s ruling that his company received an unlawful 13 billion euro ($14.5 billion) subsidy when Ireland gave it preferential tax deals and that he was confident the decision would be reversed. But over a dozen lawyers, including three advising companies on appeals, told Reuters it was impossible to predict how […]

Facebook changes 'Trending' feature to rely less on human editors

By Yasmeen Abutaleb | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc (FB.O) changed its popular “Trending” feature, which shows users the most-talked about topics of the day, to make it more automated and further eliminate the potential for human bias, the company wrote in a blog post on Friday. The update is Facebook’s latest attempt in recent months to stress its neutrality as its influence grows. The feature […]