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September 5, 2011

The UAE records the largest occupancy rate increase in all of MENA for the second consecutive month and Dubai remains one of the most steadily growing markets in the region
Dubai hotels top regional room yields
08:52 GMT
The emirate’s hotels topped the region’s occupancy charts for the month with 80.8 percent against 70.3 percent experienced in July 2010.
Members of the March 14 opposition have criticized the plan, saying it would allow Bassil access to $1.2 billion without supervision or accountability
Lebanese cabinet to discuss electricity proposal further
08:12 GMT
Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour said Sunday that discussions over the past few days had led to “preliminary conclusions that could see a happy ending for the proposal.”

September 4, 2011

The plan has thrown the government into paralysis, threatening Cabinet solidarity among ministers who supposedly belong to the new Parliament majority which ousted Hariri from the premiership in January
The Lebanese electricity plan.. will it be put into action?
15:55 GMT
The plan, which calls for the allocation of $1.2 billion to the Energy Ministry to build power plants capable of producing 700 megawatts, has exposed a split in the Cabinet between Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun on the one hand, and Mikati and Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblat on the other.
Aframax tankers in the Med market are also used to lift crude oil from Syria but a violent five-month-old crackdown on pro-democracy protestors as well as existing sanctions have led to slower aframax trade there
Libya, Syria troubles add to crude tanker rate rout
15:34 GMT
The recent events in Libya offers promise for a return of Libya's crude supply to the market, but a quick return to meaningful volumes seems unlikely.
The stocks in the region selectively present a good buying opportunity, the markets in the region could see a minor upside as they are somewhere near the bottom but they will be driven by international events
Region’s stock markets may rise as oil prices hold firm
15:13 GMT
With the Eid holidays coming to an end, the investors might start building their positions. However, what direction our markets would take would largely be determined by the global investor sentiment.
50 percent of the world's production of industrial goods enters international trade whereas only 25 percent of the world's agricultural production is traded globally
Trade is vital for food security
12:48 GMT
Global integration allows us to think of efficiency beyond national boundaries; it allows us to score efficiency gains on a global scale by shifting agricultural production to where it can best take place.
Risk ratings suggest that Qatar is creditworthy and at low risk of external default
Qatar’s economy among the fastest-growing in the world
11:26 GMT
Qatar will continue to try to diversify its economy, particularly after its successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup, but the bulk of private and foreign investment will be focused on the energy sector.
Community developments that are well managed and provide quality facilities and amenities will continue to outperform the market and attract the lion’s share of demand
Property sales will stay sluggish in Dubai
07:12 GMT
Rates are expected to see a fall of 10 to 15 percent across Dubai during the remainder of this year.

September 3, 2011

The government is looking into the possibility of raising the minimum wage, but nothing substantial has been done yet
Private sector in Lebanon rejects LL1.2 mln minimum wage
15:40 GMT
Earlier this year, labor unions began pressing the government to increase the minimum wage, which currently stands at LL500,000, to LL1.2 million following the rise of inflation rates and fuel prices.
The continuation of irresponsible consumer waste and an excessive increase in current unproductive expenditure have deepened the imbalances and the distortions in the economy
Misuse of budget surplus in Al-Kuwait ‘caused imbalances’
15:27 GMT
The misuse of the surplus and not investing it in the right direction has led to structural imbalances in the economy and threatens the future of the country in the implementation of programmes and financial obligations.
Employees from five foreign oil companies were already in Libya working to restore infrastructure and get operations running again
Oil firms in Libya must return fast to restore production
15:07 GMT
Oil would be a key to getting the economy running again and foreign contractors were needed for their technical expertise.
Banks' advice to first time borrowers would be, to focus on the financing and security structure, rather than pricing and the one can always negotiate with a bank to lower rates after building credibility
SMEs should bide their time while shopping for loans
08:53 GMT
These days, banks are under pressure to extract the optimum possible results out of their assets and the chances are they would be more than willing to tie up with small and mid-sized businesses that are still building up towards a decent track record.
The idea of starting with low cost flights was floated in the past couple of months after the tourism season in Lebanon witnessed a 65 percent drop in tourists coming by land
Beirut hotel occupancy hits high during Eid
08:21 GMT
The occupancy rates in Beirut hotels reached 100 percent during Eid al-Fitr but they are expected to go down by the end of the first week of September.
UAE employers are looking for quality, not quantity, as they seek to staff their firms for a changing UAE economy
UAE employers hiring
07:51 GMT
The latest round of hiring will be quite different to the “frenzy” the country experienced prior to the height of the global economic crisis in 2008, with companies looking to make selective appointments rather than fill whole new departments or offices.

August 31, 2011

Assessing the broader impact of Syria’s unrest on the economy is difficult because of a lack of data – the most recent published Central Bank figures cover April, just a few weeks after the unrest broke out in mid-March
EU oil sanctions jolt may not be enough to rock Assad
06:37 GMT
Five months of protest and government reprisals have undoubtedly inflicted economic damage, one industrialist said some were losing patience with the worsening economic outlook.