1
| 2
Resource curse; the paradox of plenty; Dutch Disease. Economists have no shortage of names to describe the enigma, whereby countries swimming in oil have rubbish economies and poor citizens. They have fewer solutions
Read full article...Residents in Dubai have grown accustomed to mega projects coming with mega delays. During the boom times, a year or even two behind schedule was normal. Invariably, developers blamed soaring demand for men and machines for the setbacks
A shopping mall in the desert city of Al Ain has banned male construction workers at evenings and weekends after wealthy customers complained about them staring at women. Labourers are allowed to enter Al Bawadi Mall during weekdays, but only through a side entrance
Abu Dhabi is taking the green shoots of recovery a step further, winning the race to host the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). Abu Dhabi hopes it will add fuel to its Masdar project - a $15 billion (£9 billion) green city designed by Sir Norman Foster
Normally, Russians come to Dubai to spend money. Now they're coming to ask for it
The guys at index company MSCI Barra said the UAE is not fit to call itself an emerging market, let alone a developed one
The fate of Saudi billionaire Maan al-Sanea is sending shockwaves around the Gulf - with ripples felt in London - as bankers fear he could be the first of many Arab tycoons to wilt under the credit crunch.
The dirham currency over here is pegged to the US dollar. So when I last popped home to see the folks in March, with sterling in the doldrums, I bought new golf clubs, a posh laptop and half the Chatsworth farm shop. Back on British soil again last week, sterling was on steroids, so I left with just a tie.
Challenger brands, I learned this week, are upstart companies snapping at the heels of established rivals. Virgin Atlantic taking on British Airways is the textbook example of a successful challenger (while Virgin Cola's lame assault on Coke and Pepsi is a popular case study for the opposite reason)
What a difference a day makes. On Sunday, Nasser Al Sheikh was flying the flag for Dubai at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. As head of Dubai's finance department, his was the very public face of the city's fight against the credit crunch
The hunter has become the hunted. Dubai ports operator DP World caused a political storm in 2006 when it bought British rival P&O for almost £4 billion. Now private-equity investors are circling DP World, which has seen its stock-market value plummet in recent months
There was a sombre mood at this year’s Arabian Travel Market, the annual industry get-together in Dubai. All the talk was of falling revenues, cutting costs and swine flu
There are tentative signs that banks in the UAE are recovering from the credit crunch. Early results from the first-quarter earnings season paint a cautiously optimistic picture
The sheikh who runs Dubai has hit out at Western journalists, who he says have launched a "media bombardment" against the city.
Posh London restaurant Zuma opened its doors in Dubai on 18 September last year - just 72 hours after Lehman Brothers went bust, sending the global economy into a tailspin. You could almost hear the "pop" of Dubai's debt-fuelled property bubble. Located in the heart of Dubai's new financial centre, Zuma arrived just as bankers from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and, of course, Lehman were packing their bags.
What a difference a year makes. Back in April 2008, Dubai's mega-developer Nakheel boldly declared its intention to scoop up most of the region's shopaholics. The press release still screams out that ambition from the company's swanky website: "TO BECOME THE LARGEST SHOPPING MALL DEVELOPER IN THE MIDDLE EAST BY 2011". By 2018, it would be one of the biggest in the world.
Bankers from Abu Dhabi are doing the rounds in London this week, drumming up support for a $2 billion government bond issue. Their main aim: create a benchmark from which to kickstart the city state's flagging corporate debt markets.
Dubai's $5 billion punt on Las Vegas looks like an increasingly risky bet. This week a government investment firm began suing its American partner, as the economic downturn bites at the blackjack table.
The spending power of Dubai's elite is being put to the test this week during Art Dubai. There's certainly no shortage of sellers at the event, now in its third year. Organisers boast of 68 galleries exhibiting, including London names Albion and Haunch of Venison.
Three British defendants have emerged at the centre of an alleged plot to swindle half a billion dollars from a leading bank in Dubai
1
| 2
We sent one lucky family off to experience inspirational Iceland. Read the full story here.
Upload a romantic image of you and a loved one for your chance to win!
Morning:
8°c
