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 […]
RIYADH – Healthcare spending in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow by 10.3 percent this year to SR98 billion over 2012’s SR88.9 billion. The Saudi government has announced that major projects involving healthcare, along with other key sectors such as education, will get additional funding and strong governmental focus in the coming months. At the same time, the Kingdom’s IT expenditure is projected to increase by around […]
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 […]
Global investors have become significantly more confident in the outlook for growth, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for August. A net 72 percent of respondents now expect the world’s economy to pick up over the next 12 months – the survey’s strongest reading on this measure in nearly four years and a striking rise from July’s net 52 percent. Investors remain concerned over […]
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 […]
Bloomberg By George Smith Alexander & Anto Antony – Aug 13 India’s economy is growing at the slowest pace in a decade, companies are burdened by record debt and governance is so bad that even local cement billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla is reluctant to invest in the country. Yet some foreign entities, from Diageo Plc to Qatar’s government, are undaunted, finding buying opportunities as Indian firms look […]
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 […]
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. […]
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut shipments by the most since December as refiners in the U.S. and Europe conduct seasonal maintenance, tanker-tracker Oil Movements said. The group, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will cut exports by 740,000 barrels a day, or 3 percent, to about 23.7 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Aug. 24 from the period […]
NEW YORK (AP) — With new public stock offerings for guitar maker Fender and travel booking website Kayak on deck next week, there are signs demand is starting to grow for IPOs after a five-week freeze triggered by a steep decline in financial markets and exacerbated by Facebook’s rocky May 18 debut. Five companies are scheduled to go public next week alone, including Fender, Kayak and Palo […]
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — In a world where financial rescues dominate headlines, U.S. government bond funds played hero yet again, rescuing portfolios in a tough second quarter. Sound familiar? Analysts have been pegging the end of the decades-long (and surely stretched?) Treasury rally ad nauseam. But Europe’s festering credit crisis, weakening Chinese economic growth, and a bumpy U.S. recovery combine to pressure the Federal Reserve and its counterparts […]
K9 Ventures, a micro-venture capital firm founded by entrepreneur Manu Kumar, has raised $40 million for its second fund. The new fund is much larger than the firm’s first fund of $6.25 million raised in 2009. The firm will continue investing in about four to six companies per year. But the larger fund will invest in 250,000 to $750,000 instead of its current investments of $100,000 to […]
