Emaar sells Singapore stake as $1bn debt repayments loom
Dubai’s leading real estate developer Emaar Properties is to sell its $164 million stake in Singapore retailer RSH, according to a report from Reuters.
Last September the group reported a total debt of $2.2 billion…
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New Bahrain visa rules not friendly to some GCC expatriates
Bahrain has changed its visa rules to make it mandatory for low-level expatriates from other GCC countries to obtain a visa in advance before entering the country.
The move appears to be aimed at stemming…
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Higher global interest rates both inevitable and essential
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday made the statement that financial markets have long been dreading and said the US central bank will soon have to raise interest rates and remove cash from the system…
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Dubai proposes gold coins as legal tender in the UAE
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has proposed that the UAE Central Bank issue gold coins that will be legal currency for the first time in the modern history of the Middle East.
In September 2007…
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Still downside to Dubai property
Despite the Dubai debt crisis of last December and much lower property sales there is still a downside risk to Dubai real estate in 2010, according to a panel of experts convened for a breakfast…
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Is millionaire right to give away his $4.5m fortune?
Consider the curious case of Karl Rabeder, a self-made businessman from Austria who is giving away his $4.5 million fortune because he found being rich was making him unhappy. Is he mad or just eccentric?…
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UAE bans restaurant service charges
From tomorrow any restaurant in the UAE making a service charge is liable to be immediately shutdown. This marks an end to a two-month grace period from the Ministry of Economy for restaurants to comply…
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Dollar now strengthening not weakening
From the euro to the UK pound and the yen, the greenback is showing unexpected strength this year and mounting a comeback.
Indeed, if you look back 35 years as Bloomberg has just done then…
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Saudi posts post 8.4% slump in trade as UAE credit growth dives
Those global economists who think the Gulf Oil States will help to pull the world out of recession should look again at the latest data. Falling container volumes at the ports in Saudi Arabia signal…
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How reliable is super-bear Bob Prechter as a forecaster?
Bob Prechter is the most pessimistic of forecasters for 2010 and predicts a complete meltdown of the US stock market. Yet it is only fair to note that he has been predicting market meltdowns that…
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