Middle East Insight
When will the global financial crisis impact on the Middle East?
- Another day, another bout of mind-bogglingly bad news from the big banks! UBS announced a further $19bn in write-downs on US real estate and related credit positions, a first-quarter loss of $12.1bn and the resignation of its chairman Marcel Ospel.
- Middle East: Wednesday, April 02 - 2008 at 08:51 |
GCC money supply surge guarantees high inflation, why no revaluation?
- Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon. You hike the money supply and hey presto you will have higher inflation. That the UAE and Bahrain have reported money supply growth of 37% and 36% respectively in January means that higher inflation is inevitable in 2008. Only revaluation could ease this mounting problem.
- Middle East: Thursday, March 27 - 2008 at 10:37
The biggest business blunders ever
- A wise man once said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Middle East entrepreneurs will need every drop of hard-earned wisdom to navigate the coming year - by all accounts, a challenging one, care of a deepening credit crisis and potential recession.
- Tuesday, March 18 - 2008 at 15:13
Gulf real estate's towering ambition in Egypt
- With resources becoming increasingly expensive in the UAE, real estate developers from the country are on the look out for large domestic markets with low input costs and relative stability. And this has made Egypt a major target for Gulf real estate development projects.
- Egypt: Sunday, March 09 - 2008 at 11:04
Dollar refuses to rally; bring on GCC revaluations
- Last week the UAE central bank again suggested that a US dollar bottom was close and that therefore revaluation was unnecessary, and by implication might even damage the dollar's recovery. Unfortunately for GCC policy makers the greenback was not listening, and has since plunged to another record low.
- Middle East: Tuesday, March 04 - 2008 at 00:22 |
Share trading on Palestine Securities Exchange up 34%
- Despite rising political instability in the Palestinian Territories throughout 2007, the Palestine Securities Exchange (PSE) showed an outstanding resistance driven by attractive valuation levels and pinning hopes on accelerated peace process with Israel.
- Palestine: Thursday, February 28 - 2008 at 10:59 |
IPO rush set to drain GCC stock market liquidity
- The Saudi stock market rebounded sharply last week, but is still down 50 per cent on its 2006 high. UAE bourses rallied strongly in late 2007, but have fallen back this year with global markets. Flooding these markets with IPOs might therefore be premature and destabilising. But that is exactly what is happening.
- Middle East: Sunday, February 24 - 2008 at 11:28 |
Gulf States close in on currency revaluation
- International banks in Dubai have slashed interest rates on dirham deposits to around one per cent, a sure sign that revaluation is not far off and that the banks do not want to be left holding dirham deposits. Today, the delayed Saudi Shura meeting of the king, finance minister and central bank governor is to discuss GCC-wide revaluation.
- Middle East: Sunday, February 17 - 2008 at 10:16 |
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