Broken Promises!                                               28 November 2025

The future of the twin towers being developed on Sheikh Zayed Road, by Dubai General Properties, has been settled with the appointment of Driven/Forbes Global Properties as the exclusive sales partner for the residences at Corinthia Dubai; it will include both branded and non-branded residences, and will feature Dubai’s first Corinthia five-star, ultra-luxury hotel. Jassim Al Ali, Managing Director of Dubai General Properties, said that by bringing Corinthia Branded Residences together with premium non-branded options in one destination, the company was offering buyers genuine choice without compromising on quality. Designed by AtkinsRéalis, the project is set to rank among the tallest buildings in the world, rising over five hundred mt with a distinct silhouette of two towers connected by a dramatic, cantilevered sky lobby, suspended halfway above ground. Selected residences will feature private pools, gyms, and large indoor-outdoor entertainment areas, while residents can enjoy privileged access to Corinthia Wellness and hotel amenities. Spanning 330k sq mt, the project is scheduled for completion by 2030.

A fäm Properties’ report indicates that there has been a marked demand increase for Dubai homes in the US$ 19 million – US$ million 27 million, (AED 70 – 100 million), sector – a sure sign that the ultra-luxury market has entered a new phase of maturity; this has been driven by an expanding pool of global high-net-worth buyers, and a newly defined “golden triangle” of wealth found in Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and MBR City. Transactions in this category have grown almost ninefold in the five years to 2024, from just twenty-seven in 2020 to two hundred and forty-two last year, with the value surging almost eighteenfold to US$ 4.35 billion in 2024.

Knight Frank confirms Dubai’s number one position as the “world’s busiest US$ 10 million + market”, with a Q3 return of one hundred and three deals being 24% higher on the year, whilst their cumulative value surged 54%. The consultancy noted that prime home prices are set to increase 3% in 2026, “underpinned by continued robust international HNWI [high net-worth individuals] demand for premium homes, the continued inflows of global wealth (and the global wealthy) and a deepening pool of resident investors”. Dubai also registered seventeen agreements in the US$ 25 million plus market – more than double that of Q3 2024 – whilst there was a 54% surge value wise to over US$ 2.0 billion. The highest-priced sale, at over US$ 95 million, was for a seven-bedroom mansion in Asora Bay by Meraas in the La Mer community.

Henley & Partners estimates that the country is expected to attract 9.8k relocating millionaires this year for the usual reasons – including regulatory reforms and a tax-free lifestyle. Last year, Dubai had an estimated 81.2k millionaires and twenty billionaires residing in the emirate.

The study also posted that there has been a sustained demand for trophy homes, in the US$ 11 million plus, (AED 40 million) bracket. Its CEO, Firas Al Msaddi, commented that “Dubai’s US$ 11 million-plus villa market is now a sustained global wealth segment, not a post-Covid anomaly, with strong resale demand and a limited supply of trophy homes driving prices higher”. Recent history sees resales surpassing new sales from 2022 onward and by 2024 accounting for 58% of all AED 40 million-plus transactions. Resale values surged 540% to US$ 2.94 billion in 2024, compared to US$ 1.62 billion for developer sales. These increases can be attributable to sustained migration of global UHNW buyers and limited supply in districts such as Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and MBR City. These three locations, known as Dubai’s Golden Triangle, accounting for 56% of total sales in this category, generated US$ 5.28 billion, (31%), US$ 2.46 billion, (15%), and US$ 1.74 billion, (10%).

In the US$ 19.1 million to US$ 27.2 million category, (AED 70 million to AED 100 million), sales were negligible between 2015 – 2019 but over the past three years, the number has risen to one hundred and seventy villas. Over the same period sales, in the US$ 27.2 million to US$ 54.5 million (AED 100 million – AED 200 million) sector, there were eighty-three transactions and over U$ 54.5 million, twenty-five deals.

Meanwhile, DXBInteract data identifies Palm Jebel Ali, Tilal Al Ghaf and The Oasis as future ultra-luxury destinations, as projects move toward handover between 2026 and 2028. The former has already reaped US$ 608 million in the US$ 11 million plus, (AED 40 million plus), sector, Tilal Al Ghaf – US$ 981 million and The Oasis US$ 270 million. The sector’s evolution suggests a long-term rebalancing of Dubai’s luxury landscape, with deeper liquidity and a broader geographic spread. With continuing robust UNHW migration, Dubai’s golden triangle and its emerging ultra-prime districts are expected to become the addresses of the high rollers.

Knight Frank sees a mini slowdown in the rate of quarterly rises, noting that in the five years since 2021, annual quarterly rises came in at 2.02%, 2.22%, (2022), 4.34% (2023) and 4.34% (2024), with the first three quarters of 2025 posting 3.2%. Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research at the consultancy, noted that “although the rate of house price growth may be demonstrating signs of slowing, crucially it remains positive”, and that “the growth in the mainstream market is likely to average around 1% by the time we get to the end of December 2026”.

Yesterday, the Dubai property market registered one of its largest land transactions of the year – a 1.015 million sq ft plot selling for US$ 507 million, equating to US$ 497 per sq ft. The record sale underscores Palm Jumeirah’s enduring appeal as one of the city’s most sought-after destinations for ultra-prime property developments.

The Dubai Land Residence Complex is fast becoming one of the emirate’s most closely watched mid-market communities, made more attractive because of the introduction of the Metro’s Blue Line. Slated for completion by 2029, it will cover thirty km and have fourteen stations connecting communities such as Ras Al Khor, Al Watqaa. Midrif, Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Academic City and Dubai Academic City. It will also have connections with existing and future metro lines as well as with the Etihad Rail network. Located at the intersection of affordability, accessibility and long-term planning, this community will now have a citywide connection. Analysts observing early realty activity agree that interest often increases even before major transport lines open, as buyers prioritise future connectivity. They also note that districts, gaining a Metro link, tend to move from undervalued to sought-after over time, and particularly within the mid-market segment. Nearby schools—including GEMS FirstPoint, Fairgreen International School and The Aquila School—strengthen its appeal for families. DLRC is now often described as a “hidden gem”, combining value with improving infrastructure, with its freehold status appealing to long-term buyers, while new residential phases, family-friendly layouts and maturing services support a more complete suburban lifestyle. It is set to transform from a quiet suburban community into one of Dubai’s most dynamic residential corridors.

Emaar Properties’ founder, Mohamed Alabbar, confirmed Dubai Square Mall, will open within three years. Located in Dubai Creek Harbour, the retail and lifestyle landmark, now under construction, will span 2.6 million sq mt and feature EV-friendly interiors and smart technology. With a total investment cost of US$ 49.0 billion, the mall will be triple the size of Downtown Dubai, it will also allow EVs to move through its interior, aligning with Dubai’s broader push toward sustainable and smart urban infrastructure. Described as an indoor city, Dubai Square will be linked to the upcoming Dubai Creek Tower and is designed to feature new concepts in shopping, dining, entertainment, and mobility. This project is part of the wider urban transformation underway at Dubai Creek Harbour, a master-planned project featuring 7.4 million sq mt of residential space, half a million sq mt of green areas, and pedestrian-friendly streets set along Dubai Creek.

Information from the Dubai Land Department showed a sale of a plot of land in Al Yalayis 1, covering an area of some 4.18 million sq ft, realised US$ 346 million. Last Monday, daily activity, real estate activity reached US$ 1.69 billion, across some 1.33k transactions, split between residential, commercial and land lots – 1.18k, 0.05k and 0.01k. There were two hundred and forty-two mortgage transactions and thirty-one gift transactions, valued at US$ 34 million. YTD property sales have now topped US$ 164.44 billion, (over AED 603 billion).

Located in the heart of the Dubai South Residential District, Dubai South Properties has launched ‘South Bay Mall’ – its inaugural retail and lifestyle destination – spanning 200k sq ft. The mall, with sixty retail units, has two anchor stores, and a premium food hall. Other features  will comprise outdoor leisure spaces, a clubhouse, gym, spa, clinic, and dedicated parking for over four hundred vehicles. South Bay Mall will serve as a hub for the eight hundred spacious townhouses and more than two hundred luxurious waterfront mansions; the community also has a kilometre-long lagoon, over three km of waterfront promenade, lush parks, a lake park, and private beaches.  

Meraas, part of Dubai Holding Real Estate, has awarded a US$ 518 million contract to United Engineering Construction for the construction of its exclusive six hundred and forty-two standalone villa community, The Acres. The agreement covers the first release, with completion targeted for Q4 2027. Planned around Halo Loop Park, The Acres connects neighbourhoods through expansive green spaces and well-integrated social infrastructure.

According to ‘MC Travel’, Dubai has been ranked first in the region and second globally among the top winter tourist destinations. Over the first ten months, Western Europe remained Dubai’s leading source market, with a 4.9% hike in numbers to 3.26 million visitors, accounting for 20.8% of the total of 15.7 million international visitors; last month, there were 1.75 million visitors. It was followed by the GCC, (with 15.9% of the total – 2.5 million visitors), South Asia, (14.8% – 2.33 million), Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe collectively, (14.5% – 2.27 million visitors), MENA (11.1% – 1.74 million), N & SE Asia (9.4% – 1.47 million), Americas (7.0% – 1.10 million), Africa (4.4% – 698k) and Australasia (2.1% – 329k).

There was a marginal three hundred room annual increase in hotel inventory to 152.8k, whilst the number of establishments rose by seven to eight hundred and twenty-seven. Sectorwise, the figures showed:

• luxury five-star hotels            36% of total supply   55.0k rooms    172 properties
• four-star hotels                      28% of total supply   43.2k rooms     193 hotels
• one- to three-star hotels        19% of total supply   29.1k rooms     276 properties
• hotel apartments                    17% capacity              25.5krooms     179 establishments

Guest stays averaged 3.6 nights, unchanged from 2024, whilst there was a marked improvement in occupancy of an annual 2.4% rise to 79.4%, with total occupied room nights, 4.0% higher, reaching 36.7 million. The average daily room rate rose 5.8% to US$ 145, as revenue per available room climbed 9.1% to US$ 115.

As from yesterday, 27 November to 31 December, Dubai International expects ten million travellers to pass through the airport. During the upcoming UAE National Day long weekend, (29 November to 02 December), daily traffic will touch 294k. All pointers are that December will prove to be the busiest ever month seen at DXB, with totals of 8.7 million forecast; Saturday, 20 December, is expected to be the busiest day with some 303k passing through the airport.

Founded in 1567, as a free grammar school for local boys, The Rugby School will open a Dubai campus, taking over the existing Kent College campus in Nad Al Sheba; its opening is slated for the 2026-2027 academic year. The new “super-premium” school, created in partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Education, will offer an authentic Rugby School UK experience, educating children from Early Years Foundation Stage through to Sixth Form. The campus will feature state-of-the-art, purpose-built facilities, including specialised science and technology labs, a four hundred-seat auditorium, extensive sports ground, swimming pools, and dedicated spaces for arts, inclusion, dining, and student wellbeing. Aldar Education and Kent College Canterbury have mutually agreed to end their partnership after the 2025–26 academic year, with the latter joining a new partnership with Laureate Education and relocating to a new site. Henry Price has been appointed as Executive Principal to spearhead this partnership and lead the launch of Rugby School Dubai. He was Head of Classics and a Housemaster at Rugby School from 2001 to 2014, and following a Headship stint at Wellington School in Somerset, has been Headmaster of Oakham since 2019.

The nineteenth edition of the Dubai Airshow, which closed last Friday, 21 November, set new records, as it doubled the value of deals, to US$ 202 billion, compared to the last edition in 2023. Some of the deals included Emirates US$ 41.4 billion order for sixty-five additional Boeing 777-9 aircraft and eight more Airbus A350-900 jets; with deliveries stretched out to 2038, it means that the carrier has a total wide-body order book for three hundred and seventy-five planes. flydubai got in on the act, signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Boeing to purchase seventy-five Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, valued at US$ 13 billion. The five-day biennial event attracted 248.79k visitors, whist featuring 1.5k exhibitors, of which 29.3% were first-time participants. There were four hundred and ninety military and civil delegations from one hundred and fifteen countries, alongside twenty-one national pavilions, ninety chalets, an additional display area of 8k sq mt, as well as one hundred and twenty startups and fifty investors. Aptly, it was held under the theme ‘The Future is Here’.

In his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, has approved Law No. 15 of 2025 regarding the Government of Dubai’s general budget cycle for the fiscal years 2026-2028, and the Dubai Government’s general budget for the fiscal year 2026. The three-year budget cycle, for 2026-2028, has been approved, with a total expenditure of US$ 82.29 billion and total revenues of US$ 89.70 billion, pointing to a US$ 7.41 billion budget surplus. The estimated expenditure for the fiscal year 2026 stands at US$ 27.11 billion, reaffirming Dubai’s commitment to supporting development projects, stimulating macroeconomic growth, and realising the objectives of the Dubai Plan 2033 and the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. 2026 revenues are projected at US$ 29.35 billion, including general reserves of US$ 1.36 billion. The 2026 budget prioritises social services and the development of health, education, culture, and infrastructure projects, allocating funds according to strategic priorities and governed by a unified framework adopted across all government entities. The emirate’s Crown Prince,  Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, noted that “this budget reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to advance the emirate’s strategic objectives, most notably doubling Dubai’s GDP and positioning it among the world’s top three urban economies within the next decade, while maintaining a balanced approach between ambitious growth and economic stability, supported by prudent fiscal policies”.

The 2026 budget reflects the government’s strong commitment to people-centric development, with 28% of total expenditure allocated to the social development sector covering health, education, scientific research, housing, family welfare, youth, sports, seniors, retirees, and people of determination. The government also allocated 18% of total expenditure to the security, justice, and safety sector, ensuring it remains one of the emirate’s globally recognised strengths through enhanced preparedness and operational excellence. Infrastructure investments — including roads, bridges, tunnels, public transport, sewage systems, parks, renewable energy facilities, waste management, and service buildings — account for 48% of the total projected government expenditure for the 2026 fiscal year. In addition, 6% of total spending is allocated to government development initiatives that support performance enhancement and promote a culture of excellence, innovation, and creativity.

The RTA has announced that all public parking will be free of charge for the three days – 30, November, 01 December and 02 December. Normal parking fees will resume on Wednesday, 03 December.

On the sidelines of the Canada-UAE Business Summit held last week, coinciding with the visit of Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi confirmed that further discussions on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement would soon start. He also commented that the deal would almost triple bilateral trade to more than US$ 10.0 billion in the coming years; last year, non-oil trade between the two countries topped US$ 3.5 billion. He added that UAE investments in Canada continue to grow, currently exceeding US$ 30 billion across multiple sectors, including logistics, ports and energy, with a plan to double these investments in the coming period.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Chile has officially started and is set to significantly enhance bilateral trade and create new investment opportunities across key sectors. In 2024, the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade with Chile reached US$ 270 million, with a 7.1% annual improvement noted in H1, to US$ 153 million. It is expected that after all the formalities have been completed, bilateral trade will exceed US$ 500 million by 2030, attributable to enhanced market access and cooperation in key sectors. Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, noted that “the CEPA marks a significant milestone in our economic relations, paving the way for enhanced collaboration and investment opportunities in vital sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, tourism, and infrastructure”. Chile, with a GDP exceeding US$ 300 billion, has strong manufacturing, financial services, energy, tourism, and agriculture sectors and is a leading global producer of copper and lithium, presenting rich opportunities for UAE investors. The UAE-Chile CEPA will further bolster the UAE’s role as a global supply-chain hub, connecting South America with markets in Africa, Europe, and Asia. In addition to facilitating trade in goods, the agreement will also expand trade in services and stimulate new opportunities in logistics, maritime, travel, tourism, and aviation services. The CEPA is also expected to accelerate investment in critical infrastructure, such as roads and ports, and support the UAE’s food security objectives by enhancing collaboration in agriculture. Since its launch in September 2021, the CEPA programme has successfully concluded thirty-two agreements, enhancing trade relations and access for UAE businesses to markets that comprise nearly 25% of the world’s population.

Recording its highest monthly total in almost two decades, Jebel Ali Port handled a record 630k tonnes of breakbulk cargo last month – a reflection of the renewed scale of industrial and construction activity across the region. The main drivers on the construction front have been the imports of iron and steel for major UAE projects, such as the Dubai Metro Blue Line and the DWC airport expansion. Last year, a 23.0% surge in breakbulk volumes, to 5.36 million metric tonnes, was registered and this has continued into 2025. There is no doubt that Jebel Ali has been transformed into one of the world’s most advanced multipurpose ports, with it consistently achieving record performance across multiple cargo categories, including containers, RoRo and bulk cargo.

This week, at the thirteenth Dubai Precious Metals Conference, DMCC FinX was launched, designed to connect capital market participants, trade finance professionals and fintech innovators with DMCC’s community of more than twenty-six thousand companies; it will link capital markets to physical supply chains and digital asset ecosystems. Attended by some one thousand attendees, and held under the banner ‘The Future of Precious Metals: Tariffs, Tokenisation and Trade Flows’, the conference examined how geopolitical shifts, emerging technologies and new trade corridors were reshaping global value chains. Discussions focused on the convergence of precious metals, digital assets and finance, the growth of tokenisation and Dubai’s expanding role as a centre of trust and innovation. Last year, the gold trade in Dubai topped US$ 186 billion and with technologies such as tokenisation and blockchain transforming how value moves globally, Dubai is well placed to lead the next phase of industry development.

DMCC’s Executive Chairman, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, noted that the launch of DMCC FinX was the next step in integrating trade, technology and finance to support tokenised markets whilst enhancing the emirate’s role as a global hub for commodities. He also commented that the conference has been marked by new records, highlighted by the unveiling of the world’s largest silver bar – a 1,971 kg, 1.3mt-long bar that has set a Guinness World Record and honours the UAE’s ambition and craftsmanship. The bar commemorates the founding year, (1971), of the UAE, symbolising national ambition, craftsmanship and innovation. The bar is now set to be tokenised through DMCC’s Tradeflow platform, marking the first time a Guinness World Record precious metal bar will undergo tokenisation under a regulated framework. The project was brought together by UAE-based precious metals refiner Sam Precious Metals, Tokinvest, a VARA-regulated platform leading the digital tokenisation and issuance process, and Brink’s which will oversee secure storage and logistics.

Under its previously disclosed sale-and-leaseback agreement, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise confirmed that it had delivered all ten Boeing 737-9 aircraft to United Airlines. The whole process was completed in just six months from document execution to mandate fulfilment. DAE currently owns, manages, and is committed to own a total of two hundred and thirty-six Boeing aircraft, including one hundred and nineteen 737 MAX family jets.

It now seems that those Petrofac employees, who were part of the 19 November layoffs, have now received their salaries for the nineteen days worked in November but are still awaiting details of their final payment. Some former employees are expecting payment of the three month notice period, as per their contracts, and have been informed by Petrofac that the full settlement process would take up to fourteen days from the date of termination, and that a detailed statement of account, covering all dues, airfares, leave balance, and any remaining payments, would be issued before 03 December. In October, TenneT had terminated the company’s full scope of work on the Dutch 2GW offshore grid programme.

On Wednesday, Petrofac moved to extend its court-supervised insolvency process beyond its UK parent company, announcing plans to place Petrofac International Limited (PIL), which manages a large share of Petrofac’s Engineering & Construction activity in the MENA, into administration – a significant shift after the group repeatedly said overseas operations were continuing as normal. It confirmed that this entity has no active contracts and also that  “the Group intends to redeploy PIL’s one hundred and twenty staff to other Group companies wherever possible” and that it was working with administrators of the holding company “to preserve value, operational capability and ongoing delivery across the Group’s operating and trading entities.”

According to the Central Bank of the UAE, by the end of September, gross banks’ assets had increased by 2.2% to US$ 1,416.87 billion. There was an increase in money supply aggregate M1 by 0.4%, to US$ 281.39 billion due to a rise in currency in circulation outside banks by 1.0% and in monetary deposits by 0.3%. The money supply aggregate M2 increased by 1.0%, to US$ 705.53 billion, attributable to US$ 6.10 billion growth in Quasi-Monetary Deposits. Money supply aggregate M3 also increased by 1.4%, to US$ 851.04 billion, due to the rise in M2, mainly down to US$ 4.74 billion increase in government deposits. The monetary base decreased by 2.5% to US$ 226.84 billion because the monetary base was driven by the 8.9% decrease in reserve account, surpassing the increase in currency issued by 0.9%, also banks & OFCs current accounts/overnight deposits of banks at CBUAE by 2.4%, and monetary bills/ Islamic certificates of deposit by 0.9%. Gross credit increased by 2.5% to US$ 675.42 billion due to the combined growth in domestic credit, by US$ 11.96 billion, and foreign credit by US$ 4.80 billion. The growth in domestic credit was due to the 0.4% increases in credit to the government sector, public sector (government-related entities) by 7.2%, private sector by 1.5% and non-banking financial institutions by 9.1%. Banks’ deposits grew by 1.8%, to US$ 868.12 billion, driven by the 0.7% growth in resident deposits reaching US$ 787.84 billion, and in non-resident deposits by 14.5%, at US$ 80.27 billion. Within the resident deposits, government sector deposits decreased by 0.5%, and government-related entities deposits decreased by 0.1%. Private sector deposits increased by 0.7% and non-banking financial institutions deposits grew by 13.8%.

The DFM opened the week, on Monday 24 November, on 5,856 points, and having shed one hundred and eighty-nine points (1.2%), the previous fortnight, lost nineteen points (0.3%), to close the week on 5,837 points, by 28 November 2025. Emaar Properties, US$ 0.11 lower the previous week, shed US$ 0.03 to close on US$ 3.62 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.73 US$ 6.68, US$ 2.52 and US$ 0.42 and closed on US$ 0.74, US$ 6.65, US$ 2.50 and US$ 0.43. On 28 November, trading was at three hundred and thirteen million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and sixty-five million dollars, compared to two hundred and forty-nine million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and forty-three million dollars, on 21 November.

The bourse had opened the year on 4,063 points and, having closed on 28 November at 5,856, was 1,793 points (44.1%) higher YTD. Emaar had started the year with a 01 January 2025 opening figure of US$ 2.24, and had gained US$ 1.38, to close November at US$ 3.64. Four other bellwether stocks, DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started 2025 on US$ 0.67, US$ 4.70, US$ 1.56 and US$ 0.38 and closed November 2025 at US$ 0.74, US$ 6.65, US$ 2.50 and US$ 0.43.  

By late-afternoon, 28 November 2025, Brent, US$ 1.85 (2.9%) lower the previous week, had gained US$ 0.23, (0.4%), to close on US$ 62.23. Gold, US$ 48 (1.2%) lower the previous week, gained US$ 147 (3.6%), to end the week’s trading at US$ 4,218 on 28 November. Silver was trading at US$ 56.44 – US$ 4.79 (9.3%) higher on the week.  

Brent started the year on US$ 74.81 and shed US$ 12.58 (16.8%), to close 28 November 2025 on US$ 62.23. Gold started the year trading at US$ 2,624, and by the end of November, the yellow metal had gained US$ 1,594 (60.7%) and was trading at US$ 4,218. Silver was trading at US$ 56.44 – US$ 27.45 (94.7%) higher YTD from its 01 January price of US$ 28.99.

Another blow for the aviation industry and bad news for air travellers. Airbus has had to ground thousands of its best-selling model, the A-320. The Toulouse-based company has advised that up to 6k of its jets (about 50% of its global fleet) will have to be grounded after it had discovered that intense solar radiation could impact its flying systems. It appears that these will have to undergo an urgent software update or have computers replaced but about 5.1k will be able to fly after undergoing a quick software upgrade. However, the remaining nine hundred older versions will have to be grounded so that onboard computers can be replaced. The problem could also affect its A318, A319 and A320 models.

Earlier reports had indicated that the world’s largest miner, BHP, was interested in having  last minute talks with Anglo American after failing in a US$ 51.09 billion all-share bid last year, that would have created the biggest producer of copper in the world  The Melbourne-based miner has subsequently ditched any last-minute bid forAnglo American— just two weeks before its shareholders vote on a US$ sixty billion tie-up with Canada’s Teck Resources. Under UK securities rules, BHP cannot make another bid for Anglo for six months unless there is a rival bid or Anglo requests a waiver. The company noted that “while BHP continues to believe that a combination with Anglo American would have had strong strategic merits and created significant value for all stakeholders, BHP is confident in the highly compelling potential of its own organic growth strategy”. Shareholders will vote on 09 December whether the US$ 50.0 billion merger deal will become reality. Anglo’s shares have risen more than 30% this year, while BHP’s are flat.

Despite having problems attaining a full banking licence in the UK, Revolut has seen its value surge 66.7%, in twelve months, to US$ 75.0 billion. This comes after NVentures, Nvidia’s venture capital arm, the global investment giant Fidelity, and the Californian tech investor Andreessen Horowitz have been buying into the bank, via a secondary share sale. This value makes it worth more than Barclays’ US$ 72.89 billion. It is the fifth time that Revolut has allowed employees to sell stock, enabling its 10k staff to capitalise on a valuation that has surged in recent years. Revolut’s workforce is now more than 10k-strong and thousands of employees are understood to have sold shares. Participants were not permitted to dispose of more than 20% of their holdings.  Since the start of 2023, its share value has jumped more than fourfold from US$ 321 to US$ 1,381, making the ten-year entity Europe’s most valuable private tech company. Founded as a credit card provider, Revolut now has more than sixty-five million customers and last year generated pre-tax profits of US$ 1.44 billion. Interestingly, Nik Storonsky, 41, Revolut’s co-founder and chief executive, moved his residence to Dubai from London last year, further adding to speculation that any IPO will not be in London but most probably New York. (Its UAE supremo, Ambareen Musa, has indicated that Revolut is in “day zero build mode” and that she is hopeful that it could launch soon, once it has secured the appropriate licensing).

After two years of looking for an acceptable buyer, it seems that the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph has finally found a suitable suitor. Reports indicate that the Daily Mail and General Trust have offered US$ 654 million, (GBP 500 million) in a deal and has entered a period of discussion with RedBird IMI, which is a JV between the UAE and RedBird Capital, a US private equity company. The deal still has to be approved by UK authorities, but DMGT and RedBird IMI have said they expect it to be finalised quickly. The group said the Telegraph would remain editorially independent from DMGT’s other titles. The Daily Mail’s chairman, Lord Rothermere, said he had “long admired the Daily Telegraph” and the deal would give “much-needed certainty and confidence” to its employees, noting that “The Daily Telegraph is Britain’s largest and best quality broadsheet newspaper”, and that “under our ownership, the Daily Telegraph will become a global brand, just as the Daily Mail has”. How the UK public take to this concentrated media ownership remains to be seen.

In Q1 of its fiscal year, ending 30 September, Egypt’s economy grew by 5.3% – the highest quarterly rise seen in over three years. The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation attributed the improvement to stronger activity across productive sectors and the continued rollout of economic and structural reforms. Planning Minister Rania Al-Mashat posted that the country expects annual growth of 5.0% – 0.5% higher than the previous target.

Only a month ago, TGI Fridays, (with forty-nine UK sites, employing 2k staff), was acquired by Sugarloaf TGIF Management, a company run by the chain’s former chief executive, Ray Blanchette. It had been sold to Calveton UK and Breal Capital, two investment firms, in 2024. This week, there are reports that the firm has appointed the financial advisory firm Interpath to explore strategic options for its UK business, with interested party discussions ongoing. Phil Broad, president, TGI Fridays International Franchising, confirmed that “the directors of TGI Fridays UK can confirm they are working closely with independent advisors to explore all available options for securing the long-term future of TGI Fridays in the UK”.

With the aim of convincing regulators that it has a valid and workable plan to turn the company’s fortunes around, Ovo Energy cut hundreds of jobs in a cost-saving measure to save millions of dollars. The retrenchments form part of a revised business plan submitted to Ofgem, the energy watchdog, which is focused on boosting the company’s profitability. With over four million UK customers, the plan includes restrictions on taking on new customers until its finances are placed on a sustainable footing. Last month, its chief executive, David Buttress, stepped down in the middle of a search for investors willing to pump up to US$ 392 million, (GBP 300 million), into Ovo. Indeed, Verdane, a Norwegian investment group, had abandoned investment talks in October, worried that the industry’s regulatory regime was obstructing efforts to attract new capital. Potential investors could be put off by the fact that the country’s third biggest supplier, behind Octopus Energy and Centrica-owned British Gas, has acknowledged that it had yet to fully comply with Ofgem’s capital adequacy rules.

In Q1 of its fiscal year, ending 30 September, Egypt’s economy grew by 5.3% – the highest quarterly rise seen in over three years. The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation attributed the improvement to stronger activity across productive sectors and the continued rollout of economic and structural reforms. Planning Minister Rania Al-Mashat posted that the country expects annual growth to 5.0% – 0.5% higher than the previous target.

The newly appointed prime minister of Japan, the hawkish Sanae Takaichi, has already upset her Chinese neighbours by mentioning that any move from the country against Taiwan could result in a Japanese military response.  Last month, she was asked how she would respond if China conducted a military blockade of Taiwan, responding that “I believe any action involving the use of force, such as China deploying naval ships, can only be described as a survival-threatening situation”, with the last three words being a benchmark necessary for Japanese military involvement. Xi Ping’s administration was not well pleased and started by issuing travel warnings against Japan, calling on nationals to refrain from visiting due to “serious” safety risks; this has resulted in 500k cancelling their plane tickets. It has also started suspending seafood imports and pulled two major Japanese films from showing in China. Tokyo has sent a senior foreign ministry official to Beijing to try and ease tensions, that have seen threats made against Japan’s prime minister. Taiwan is somewhat of an enigma and behaves like an independent nation, whilst supplying the world with the most sophisticated microchips, vital for anything from mobile phones to the most advanced military hardware. Also known as ‘The Republic of China’, and following the Chinese civil war in the 1940s, it was formed by the Nationalists, who had lost the mainland to the communists led by Mao Zedong, who then proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan now forms part of a wall with Japan and the Philippines, both US allies, that impedes China’s access to the Pacific Ocean. The US has previously warned that China is readying its military to be ready to invade Taiwan in 2027, but it has to be noted that Japan hosts the largest contingent of US forces outside continental America. China’s consul general in Osaka responded that “the dirty head that sticks itself in must be cut off”, a seemingly direct threat to the Japanese Prime Minister, whilst a Defence Ministry spokesman said any interference over Taiwan would result in Japan’s “crushing defeat”.

During the first ten months of the year, China’s outbound direct investment, rising 7.0% on the year, surpassed US$145.83 billion. Over that period, China’s domestic investors made non-financial direct investments totalling US$ 123.17 billion – a 6.0% hike on the year – in 9.55k overseas companies across one hundred and fifty-two countries and regions.

The Chasing China study, published this week by AidDataResearchers in the US, has found that Australia has been the third biggest beneficiary of Chinese credit since 2000, mostly to the resources sector. Other sectors, receiving investment funds, include roads, wind farms, supermarkets and breweries, with companies, such as Qantas, Woolworths and Fosters Group, also in the loop. Behind both the US and Russia, the country has received over US$ 130.0 billion of the estimated US$ 2.2 trillion worth of loans and grants across two hundred countries from 2000 to 2023. Despite recent year concerns about national security having heightened in tandem with the dwindling rate of Chinese funding to the country, Australia has remained the number one country for foreign direct investment, (at US$ 100 billion, compared to US$ 75 billion for the US). Accounting for more than 77.0% of China’s official sector lending portfolio in Australia, FDI includes brownfield investments, mostly lending for the acquisition of existing companies and assets, and greenfield investments, for building new companies and assets. Sectorwise, the split was industry, mining and construction (63%), energy (15%), transportation, (11%) and the balance to finance/banking, internet/communications technology and other sectors.

It does seem that China is changing its market – by cutting back on investing in developing countries, through its Belt and Road initiative, and spending more on advanced economies – backing strategic infrastructure and high‑tech supply chains in areas such as semiconductors, AI and clean energy – now accounting for over 75% of its overseas lending budget. It is estimated that in 2023 Beijing out-spent Washington on a more than two-to-one basis whilst outspending the World Bank — the single largest multilateral source of aid and credit — by nearly USS 50 billion.

In what is claimed to be hailed as a world first, and after its main players, Uber Eats and DoorDash struck a deal with the Transport Workers Union, representing Australian food delivery workers, and are on course to gain minimum pay levels. The draft agreement indicates that union workers would earn at least US$ 20.19 per hour, a 25% increase for some couriers who are paid per delivery and not how long they have worked. If approved by the Fair Work Commission, the deal, due to be implemented on 01 July 2026 would put them on par with the minimum wage earned by Australian casual workers. The agreement comes after Australia’s centre-left Albanese government passed a law last year that defined gig workers as “employee-like” workers and gave them the right to negotiate minimum pay and conditions. The US companies must also take out accident insurance for their workers, give them access to their records and provide them with more details about each delivery job, according to the agreement.

During the US government shutdown, there was a dearth of economic data , with first official data in weeks out last Friday showing that there had been a surprising pick-up in hiring after a lacklustre summer. Health care firms, restaurants and bars added more jobs in September, while transportation and warehousing firms, manufacturers and the government continued to reduce their payrolls. September data revealed that 119k jobs were created – more than double that of market expectations – whilst the unemployment rate nudged 0.1% higher to 4.4%. (The previous two months showed a 72k gain in July , followed by a 4k reduction in numbers). Job growth has barely budged since April, raising pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates to support the economy. There are other factors in play that makes the decision somewhat more difficult:

• the inflation rate moving higher to 3.0%, compared to the Fed’s longstanding 2.0% target
• the impact of AI on the labour market
• how labour supply and demand will be affected by stronger immigration regulations, government spending cuts and new tariff costs

Reports show that the number of job cuts in October hit the highest monthly number  since 2003, as high-profile companies including Amazon, Target and UPS announced reductions; last week, Verizon posted that staff numbers were to be cut by 13k, partly down to “changes in technology and in the economy”. Worryingly, the percentage of unemployed college graduates rose 0.5%, on the year, to 2.8%. Executives from companies such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Chipotle have warned in recent weeks that lower-income households are tightening spending as rising prices put pressure on their budgets and confidence in the job market sinks. The indicators are that there will be no rate cuts announced next month, having already reduced rates twice, to a range of 3.75%-4%, its lowest level in three years.

The Office for National Statistics said that net migration to the UK slumped by over 66% on the year to June 2025, driven by falls in arrivals combined with a slight rise in the number of people leaving the country. In the year ending June 2023, net migration had peaked at 906k. There was a net outflow of both EU and UK citizens, in the twelve months to June 2025, with a majority of the UK citizens leaving being under the age of thirty-five.

October proved to be another dire month for the UK car industry, with Jaguar Land Rover still reeling from its September cyberattack. Following on from a previous month’s 27% production decline, October saw 59K cars rolling off UK assembly lines – 22% lower compared to a year earlier. Over the first ten months of the year, production has declined by some 10% to just 602k vehicles; a decade earlier, the figure was 1.7 million units. The motor industry has not been this small since the 1950s. With JLR production only slowly returning to normalcy last month, and reports that Stellantis was to close the historic Vauxhall van plant in Bedfordshire, the news could not be much worse; October commercial vehicle production was 75% lower at just 3k and 60% lower YTD at 42.2k.

Most analysts knew about the budget even before the irate Chancellor, (who had only found out seconds before rising to deliver her speech that the Office for Budgetary Responsibility had mistakenly published it earlier in the day). The Chancellor’s budget managed to eke out the following from the taxpayers:

• personal tax threshold freeze                           GBP    8.0m                US$     10.6m
• other tax measures                                                      5.8m                              7.7m
• salary sacrifice/pension changes                                  4.7m                              6.2m
• property/savings/dividend IT increase                         2.1m                              2.8m   
• corporation tax changes                                               1.5m                              2.0m
• EV mileage tax                                                             1.1m                              1.5m
• gambling tax changes                                                   0.9m                              1.2m
• mansion tax on US$ 2.65m plus houses                       0.4m                              0.5m 

A summary of its main contents include:

Personal Taxation

• national Insurance (NI) and IT thresholds frozen for extra three years beyond 2028, dragging more than five million into higher bands over time
• under 65s can only put US$ 15.90k, (GBP 12k), in ISAs Amount, with the rest of the US$ 26.50, (GBP 20k), annual allowance reserved for investments
• a 2% rise to the ordinary and upper tax rates on dividend income and for all on savings income from April 2027
• cap limiting households on universal or child tax credit from receiving payments for a third or subsequent child to be scrapped from April 
•  legal minimum wage for over-21s to rise 4.1% in April to US$ 16.85 per hour, with the wage for eighteen to twenty-year-olds rising 8.5% to US$ 14.37
• basic and new state pension payments to go up by 4.8% from April, under the “triple lock” policy
• amount people can “sacrifice” from their salary – thereby avoiding NI on pension contributions – capped at US$ 2.68k, (GBP 2k) a year from 2029
• Help to Save scheme, which offers people on universal credit a bonus on savings, extended and expanded beyond 2027

Housing and Property

• properties in England – valued at US$ 2.68 million – to face a council tax charge of US$ 3.31k to US$ 9.94k, following a revaluation of homes in bands F, G and H
• tax charged on rental income increased by 2.0% from April 2027

Transport

• US$ 0.066, (5p) “temporary” cut in fuel duty on petrol and diesel extended again, until September 2026
• a new mileage-based tax for EVs  and plug-in hybrid cars to be introduced from 2028
• regulated rail fares for journeys in England frozen next year for the first time since 1996
• premium cars to be excluded from the Motability scheme which allows people on certain disability benefits to lease vehicles more cheaply

Business Taxes

• thresholds for NI paid by employers also frozen until 2031, increasing costs as wages rise over time
• tax exemption for small packages from overseas retailers worth under US$ 178.84 scrapped from 2029, following complaints it hinders UK businesses
• remote gaming duty, paid on online casino betting, to rise from 21 to 40% from April 2026
• general betting duty, paid on sports betting, to rise from 15 to 25% online from April 2027 – with an exemption for horse racing

Household Bills

• green levies taken off energy bills and paid through general taxation, in a move the Treasury says will save households US$ 116.48 a year
• a further US$ 78.10 saving will be made by scrapping a customer-funded scheme helping low-income households insulate their homes

Drink & Tobacco

•  tax on sugary drinks extended to pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes from 2028, reversing an exemption when the tax was introduced in 2018
• tax on tobacco to increase by 2% above the higher RPI rate of inflation
• tax on alcohol, including draught drinks, will also increase by the higher RPI measure in February

UK Growth, Inflation and Debt

• Office for Budget Responsibility predicts the UK economy will grow by 1.5% this year, upgraded from a 1% forecast in March
• the economy is now forecast to grow by 1.5% on average between 2026 and 2029, down from the previous estimate of 1.8%
• inflation predicted to average 3.5% this year, before falling to 2.5% next year, and returning to the government’s 2% target in 2027

Other Measures

• English regional mayors to be given powers to tax overnight stays in hotels and holiday lets,
• training for apprentices under-25 will be made free for SMEs
• any eighteen to twenty-one-year-olds on Universal Credit not earning or learning for more than eighteen months will be offered six-month paid work placements  and those not taking up the offer face being stripped of their benefits
• planned tax on English universities’ tuition income from overseas students will be charged at US$ 1,224 per student per year, from August 2028
• cost of a single NHS prescription in England frozen at US$ 13.10 for another year (they remain free in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
• US$ 6.6 million will be dedicated to secondary school libraries and another US$ 24 million for improving and upgrading playgrounds across England
• infected blood compensation will be made exempt from inheritance tax

There was a favourable market reaction to the budget, with sterling nudging up 0.3% against the euro and the greenback, to 1.14 and 1.32, as the London markets rose too – FTSE 100, by 0.85% and the FTSE 250 by 1.2%, with an uptick in bank shares celebrating the fact that the sector escaped the Chancellor’s clutches. JPMorgan Chase also released plans, announcing a new “landmark tower” in London, more than double the 1.3 million sq ft floor space of Britain’s tallest building, The Shard’. The bank confirmed that the building, to be built in Canary Wharf, will cover an area of three million sq ft. It was no coincidence that it only made the announcement after banks escaped any tax increases, following Wednesday’s budget. On the flip side, shares in William Hill owner Evoke were 18% lower, as Rachel Reeves imposed heavy new taxes on the industry. Although not the best person to keep to her promises, the outlook for UK borrowing costs depend not only on the inflation rate heading south but for the Chancellor not to carry out any more of her infamous U-turns; any contrary moves will inevitably push borrowing costs higher. The driver is that 25% of government borrowing is tied to the RPI measure of inflation. It is currently running at 4.3% – 0.7% higher than when Labour came to office. There was also welcome news in that the Office of Board Responsibility declared that the government will have US$ 28.70 billion (GBP 21.7 billion) of headroom in five years’ time – up from the US$ 13.09 billion sum seen previously and placed in harm’s way by those U-turns on spending cuts.

One of the biggest critics of the budget was the Institute for Fiscal Studies, with its director, Helen Miller, saying that US$ 5.28 billion of the cuts proposed to help Reeves meet her US$ 29.15 billion fiscal buffer depended on “spending plans that would require near historic spending restraint in an election year, and backloaded tax rises that almost entirely delay In the face of “lacklustre economic growth, stagnating living standards and a dizzying array of fiscal pressures”. She added that it felt like the budget “of a government trying to scrape through” and was “reminiscent of the fiscal fiction of recent years”.

The budget was some sort of success for Rachel Reeves in as much that it will keep her and her boss in employment for the time being. The only immediate casualty should be Richard Hughes, the Chairman of the OBR, as he must be held accountable for the early morning release of the watchdog’s budget report that had been “inadvertently made accessible” online. (The Chancellor only discovered what had happened, as she was seconds away from giving her budget to the House). However, some sort of bureaucratic cover up may consider otherwise. There is no doubt that the budget has bought time for the PM to cling on to power and was an instrument to placate many unhappy Labour MPs; it was also a budget that will hit the working people, particularly those on low and middle incomes, having to pay more tax. What has happened to the party that, when in opposition, promised to protect this segment of society? My quote of the day comes from John Roberts, the boss of AO World, who remarked that the cabinet “couldn’t run a bath let alone a business”.

In their usual manner, the dynamic duo continued to avoid the simple question whether any pledges in Labour’s manifesto had been broken. There is no escaping the fact that she won over many of her own MPs, by raising taxes by almost US$ 40.0 billion over five years, to pay for increased public spending especially on welfare; the tax burden will now hit a record high in 2031. In the aftermath, the PM continued to dodge answering the question by defending the budget’s tax hike and spending measures as necessary to protect schools, the NHS and people struggling with the cost of living. Whilst still not denying that any manifesto pledge had been broken, the Chancellor, on repeat mode, said “I am asking everyone to make a contribution, but I can keep that contribution as low as possible because I will make further reforms to our tax system today to make it fairer and to ensure the wealthiest contribute the most”. However, this will go down in history as an exercise giving Keir Starmer time to try and avert a leadership challenge but will also be known as the Budget of Broken Promises.