Editorial Column
Will the oil price go up before it goes down?
- Calling oil prices is a precarious business at the best of times. But there is a pattern emerging now that changes the outlook with a boom turning to bust. However, nothing is so simple, and we may well see an oil price spike first before the decline.
- United Arab Emirates: Sunday, October 22 - 2006 at 10:28 |
By 2010 the cities with the best infrastructure will be in the Middle East
- Global travelers arriving in Doha and Dubai in 2010 are going to be impressed by the most modern physical infrastructure of any city in the world. Not far behind will be Abu Dhabi and the King Abdullah Economic City rising from amid a sea of tower cranes.
- Qatar: Monday, October 16 - 2006 at 13:09 |
Revaluation of local currencies may be more likely than a single currency
- Regional business is keeping a keen eye on plans for a GCC single currency which will affect local interest rates and would protect against a weaker US dollar. But perhaps a more obvious concern should be the potential for a revaluation of local currencies against the US dollar.
- United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, October 11 - 2006 at 09:57 |
What will save Arabian stock markets?
- Whether you are looking for the world's worst or second-worst performing stock market, then you will find them in Arabia this year. The boom of 2005 has been spectacularly reversed. But with the crash seeming to have bottomed out over the summer, is the worst now over?
- Saudi Arabia: Thursday, October 05 - 2006 at 10:02 |
Gold and silver set to deliver remarkable gains
- Gold and silver has been remarkably resilient in terms of price in the wake of the oil price downturn. This is because a housing slowdown in the US threatens to put the world's largest economy into a recession - which would be bad news for equities worldwide and the value of the US dollar.
- United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, September 27 - 2006 at 11:46 |
Contradictory signals leave Middle East business in confusion
- This autumn's return to business has brought with it mixed signals for the outlook. Oil prices have fallen by 20 per cent, technically a bear market. Local stock markets are failing to rally significantly after big declines. And many new projects have a late-cycle feel of less than entirely wise business planning.
- United Arab Emirates: Thursday, September 21 - 2006 at 08:27 |
Spotting the dodgy operators saves time and money
- After five years of booming oil markets the Middle East has become a magnet for international investment and new business activity. Many new concerns are visibility improving the economic fabric of the region. But unfortunately a few bad apples are starting to appear. Avoiding them is easy enough if you know the signs.
- United Arab Emirates: Thursday, September 14 - 2006 at 16:06 |
Will inflation levels ease next year?
- Standard Chartered Bank's own study of inflation paints a very different picture from the central banks' view. In the UAE where inflation is officially forecast to fall from six to four per cent this year, the bank's economists predict a rise from 10.4% to 13.8%. But this could prove to be the peak in the inflation cycle.
- United Arab Emirates: Thursday, September 07 - 2006 at 15:04 |
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