Dead End Street 29 August 2025

Beyond Developments has announced the launch of the region’s initial Forest District by the sea, located in Dubai Maritime City. Talea, the first in a series of such residential towers, is a coastal haven designed around nature, wellness, and sustainability. The project fully supports the aspirations of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategy, and the D33 Economic Agenda. The Forest District will feature 65k sq mt of community parks, including an expansive 55k sq mt of native woodland, leading to naturally shaded and cooler microclimate. Talea will comprise three hundred and fifty-four one- to three-bedroom apartments and a limited collection of four-bedroom penthouses. Features will include shaded swimming pools, fitness areas nestled among trees, treetop walkways, children’s play zones inspired by nature, and tranquil outdoor lounges, with a dedicated green pedestrian path linking the podium level directly to the wider Forest District.

7th Key Development has announced the pre-booking launch of Nexara Tower, by 7th Key, a forty-storey tower, situated at Jumeirah Village Circle. It will comprise a variety of residences, with one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment options, starting at US$ 245k. Its amenities will include an infinity pool, a wellness centre, co-working lounges for nomad professionals, children’s play spaces, and a full padel court, along with landscaped gardens, outdoor lounges, and curated retail. The developer will make its official unveiling in November 2025.

Savills’ latest World Cities Prime Residential Index shows that capital values for Dubai’s prime properties rose by over 5.0% in H1, which places it at a global fourth behind Tokyo, (at 8.8%), Berlin and Seoul. The three main drivers behind the emirate’s impressive global ranking were a tight portfolio of available inventory, resilient investor sentiment and increasing immigration of HNWIs. Savills forecasts that H2 growth will be up to 5.9%. Rentals in this segment increased by 2.9% on the quarter and 13.3% on the year. Andrew Cummings, Head of Residential Agency, commented that “despite broader macroeconomic headwinds, Dubai’s prime residential sector continues to show remarkable stability, underpinned by solid fundamentals. The city’s global connectivity, pro-investor policies, and ongoing infrastructure development reinforce its status as a leading international real estate hub. Lower transaction costs and room for further price appreciation continue to make Dubai highly attractive on the global stage”.

Chestertons MENA has highlighted six communities which are among the best performing in Dubai for a combination of affordability and rental yields

                                                            Affordability  Avg Price psf           Return         Rental %

These hotspots represent a bigger shift in the emirate’s urban planning with a move out of the traditional areas of Dubai, (because of lack of building space), and expanding into master-planned suburban communities further out. Developers like Emaar, Damac, Azizi and Binghatti are rolling out projects with built-in amenities, and a wide range of facilities. Furthermore, new infrastructure and other government initiatives, including making mortgages easier and down payments lighter for first-time buyers.

With the aim of ensuring structural efficiency without unnecessary design inflation, Dubai Municipality has been sending circulars to all consultancy offices in the emirate, mandating strict compliance with the Dubai Building Code and adherence to approved engineering standards. Some consultancies have been issued warnings for exaggerated structural designs, (which are also a breach of the requirements of the DBC), for UAE citizens’ villas resulting in an unjustified increase in construction costs, without any proven engineering need. The aims are to ensure structural efficiency, without unnecessary design inflation, thereby reducing financial burdens on property owners while safeguarding the rights of all stakeholders, and to unify building design across Dubai, and to create a building code that is easy to use and clearly mandates the minimum requirements for the health, safety and welfare of the community.  Repeated violations would negatively impact an office’s annual evaluation and could result in disciplinary measures, as per applicable laws and regulations. Issued in 2021, the DBC aims to unify building design across the emirate.

The UAE President, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, was in Angola this week to witness the signing of the country’s latest Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The pact, which aims to strengthen bilateral trade relations, is expected to boost trade, investment and cooperation across multiple sectors, with a focus on expanding market access and reducing trade barriers. The UAE President noted that this agreement reflects his country’s commitment to building strategic partnerships across Africa, promoting sustainable growth and creating opportunities for future generations. Last year, trade between the two countries came to US$ 2.0 billion, with a 30% surge posted for H1 this year. At the same time, other agreements were signed including AI, political consultations, diplomatic cooperation, tourism, investment, renewable energy, culture, education, labour, sports, health, climate action and technology.

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade,  commented that this latest CEPA expanded the UAE’s ties with Sub-Saharan and West African markets – a high-growth region seeking to accelerate its development journey through strategic investments and partnerships., He also noted that Angola is one of the most promising countries in the region, thanks to its young population, abundant natural resources, and GDP growth of 4.4% in 2024, and that its location on the Atlantic coast gives it the potential to become a major logistics hub.

He pointed out that this agreement builds on the current momentum in bilateral trade, particularly in sectors such as gemstones, minerals, mining, digital trade, and agri-tech. Dubai Investments is constructing the “Dubai Investments Park – Angola” over an area of 2k hectares. The minister stressed that this CEPA is a key pillar in achieving the UAE’s economic goals, including to increase the value of foreign trade to US 1.09 trillion, (AED 4 trillion), by 2031 and to double exports over the same period.

Although the deal was signed in January 2025, the CEPA agreement with New Zealand only became active this week and, like similar agreements already made with other countries, should transform trade and investment ties between the two countries by cutting tariffs, easing customs processes and encouraging private sector collaboration. Bilateral trade is expected to more than triple to US$ 5.0 billion, by 2032, as New Zealand will offer 100% duty-free access to UAE exports, while the UAE will eliminate duties on 98.5% of New Zealand’s products. In the first four years, since its September 2021 inception, twenty-eight countries have been signed up, with the CEPA programme already expanding access to markets covering nearly 25% of the world’s population and on its way to help UAE trade to top US$ 1.0 trillion by 2031.

Since the January 2025 creation of The Creators HQ, Dubai has attracted over 2.4k content creators from one hundred and forty-seven countries, with a combined following of over 2.45 billion. Furthermore, seventy-eight firms in the content sector, from twenty-four countries, have relocated to the UAE, led by Pakistan, US, India, France and Germany. Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, commented that “the content economy is one of the main drivers shaping the world’s future. The UAE is working to be among the first to create and lead that future”. Creators HQ, which has a target of attracting 10k content creators in the next phase, was established through the Content Creators Fund, initiated by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid during the second edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit. It is equipped to host more than three hundred events and workshops annually.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce has compiled a list of which countries provided the most non-UAE newcomers to join the agency, which is one of the three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers.  They consist of:          

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has announced that Friday, 05 September will be an official paid holiday for the private sector in observance of the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birthday.

In relation to one of the largest money laundering exercises in the country, involving thirty-three defendants, it is reported that the Dubai Court of Appeal has increased the fine against Indian businessman Balvinder Singh Sahni, better known as Abu Sabah, to US$ 41million. The initial court ruling was a five-year prison sentence, a personal fine of US$ 136k, and deportation after serving the sentence. Government authorities also confiscated US$ 41 million in criminal proceeds, along with computers, phones, and other belongings seized during the probe; it ruled that all the defendants must now share responsibility for paying the US$ 41 million fine. Investigators stated that Sahni and others established a network of shell companies and conducted suspicious transfers to move illicit funds both within and outside the UAE. They were convicted of laundering money, as part of an organised criminal group, and also possessing and concealing items believed to be of illegal origin. There were three individual US$ 14 million fines for the three entities linked to the case, which sentenced eleven to five years in prison while the others received one-year jail terms and lighter fines.

Although no details were readily available, Amazon UAE will be involved in a new pilot programme which will allow individuals and small business owners in the UAE to earn an extra income for carrying out Amazon deliveries on foot in densely populated areas. It is hoped that this Dubai Future Foundation’s Sandbox Dubai initiative within the Gig Economy sector, will reduce reliance on delivery vehicles, help to ease traffic congestion and lower carbon emissions. The Sandbox initiative, which aims to develop futuristic and innovative economic models, was approved by Dubai’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.

Last year, an unnamed shipping company advertised door-to-door delivery at a fraction of the usual cost. When an unnamed Dubai resident typed ‘cheap cargo to Pakistan’ into Google, this firm’s name was first to pop up and within hours, a pickup truck arrived at his Silicon Oasis flat to collect five cartons filled with electronics, clothes, and precious family memorabilia; the charge was just US$ 82, but they never arrived at their destination. The company opened with great fanfare and was heavily promoted, with slick social media ads and a USP of a free pick-up. Meanwhile, a businessman paid US$ 2.2k for handling US$ 27k worth of goods, (including a Rolex watch, a fridge, e-bikes and a washing machine), to Rawalpindi, within four weeks, and a banker lost US$ 4k worth of designer clothes and shoes. He had been told the shipment was “stuck at Karachi port”. Two of the victims visited the company’s warehouse, with one finding it deserted and another that it was being used by a new tenant. Police confirmed that the man responsible for the scam had left the UAE in September 2024. There is now a WhatsApp group of nearly forty other customers who say they were left stranded by the disappearance of the shipping company, with losses estimated as high as US$ 545k.

With the start of the new school year this week, it was interesting to note that there will be twenty-five new institutions including three international universities, sixteen new early childhood centres and six schools of which five will teach the UK curriculum – GEMS School of Research and Innovation in Sports City, Victory Heights Primary School in City of Arabia, Dubai British School Mira, Dubai English Speaking School in Academic City, and Al Fanar School in Nad Al Sheba. There will also be a French curriculum school, Lycée Français International School in Mudon. The schools and universities will add 11.7k seats to the emirates’ education sector will also welcome more than 2.4k early learners.  The current portfolio of Dubai educational providers comprises three hundred and thirty-one early childhood centres, two hundred and thirty-three schools, and forty-four higher education institutions.

Reinforcing Dubai’s role as a hub for advanced maritime engineering, Drydocks World has been awarded a three-year contract, by AMIGO LNG, (a JV between Texas-based Epcilon LNG LLC and Singapore-based LNG Alliance Pte Ltd}, to build the world’s largest floating liquefied natural gas liquefaction facility off Mexico’s west coast. The contract comprises converting two LNG carriers into floating storage units and constructing two new FLNG barges at Drydocks World’s Dubai yard. The four-vessel facility will deliver over 4.2 million tonnes of LNG annually, making it the largest of its kind globally. Located off the Mexican coast of Sonora, it will export LNG to market in Asia and Latin America – and is expected to reduce shipping times, cut emissions and enhance global energy security.

One beneficiary of Trump’s heightened 50% tariffs on India could well be Dubai, with some Indian companies, with sizable exports to the US, mulling whether to move or to create production hubs here. Local consultancies have noted that several Indian businesses, with US exports, have been talking to them about some sort of JVs or investments in the UAE. One sector that would seem to be a perfect match is the emirate’s jewellery trade, with more Indian companies looking to set up jewellery design and production centres here rather than have them ship out from India that could price them out of the US market if the 50% levy remains. However, the UAE’s 10% tariff would only apply if the production and value addition happens in the UAE.

In H1, Emirates Reit, managed by Equitativa (Dubai) Limited, posted a 24% annual hike, on a like for like basis, in total property income topping US$ 39 million, helped by a record-high 95% occupancy rate and a 14% hike in rental rates. Net property income stood at US$ 34 million, reflecting the strength of the portfolio and operational efficiency. By 30 June, it had strengthened its balance sheet, by reducing its Loan-to-Value ratio, by 50% on the year,  to 20% attributable to strategic asset sales, and the refinancing of Sukuk II; finance costs dropped by 55.6% to US$ 12 million. Funds from Operations came in at US$ 7 million from a negative $1.5 million a year earlier, whilst the US$ 177 million revaluation gains saw a US$ 100 million rise in total assets to US$ 1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion. Net Asset Value rose 57.4%, to a record US$ 886 million, equivalent to US$ 2.78 per share. A dividend of US$ 7 million was declared and paid during H1.

On Wednesday, 27 August, the DFM-listed dairy company Unikai lifted its 49% ceiling limit for overseas buyers allowing their shares to be 100% open to everyone.  In Q2, its profit rose 63.3%, to more than US$ 2.0 million, and over the past thirty days, its share value has risen by over 10%, although it is still some way off its best YTD showing. Fund inflows into UAE stocks, from the GCC and overseas, have risen since the start of the year.

Driven by the rollout of new smart inspection vehicles, that scan for violations across the city, Parkin has seen public parking violation surge 16%, in Q2, to 660k cases; the two most common reasons were failure to pay parking fees and forgetting to renew tickets, followed by parking on pavements, occupying spaces reserved for people of determination, and using spaces without valid permits. It is estimated that its smart scanning fleet conducted thirteen million scans in H1. Parkin has also expanded its use of camera-based systems in multi-level car parks and open lots, where vehicles can exit without barriers. 

As part of its regional expansion strategy, Spinneys is set to open ten new stores across Kuwait in a 51:49 JV with the Al Shaya Group, one of the biggest brand franchise operators across the ME, North Africa, Türkiye, and Europe. The deal sees the UAE food retailer, the major shareholder, being given operational leadership and management of all stores under the agreement. Spinneys has an established presence in the UAE and Oman and is expanding rapidly in Saudi Arabia, with a total of nearly one hundred stores across these three GCC countries. Operating under the “Spinneys” brand, they also manage “Waitrose” and “Al Fair” stores. Its chief executive, Sunil Kumar noted that “while the UAE remains the core of our operations, we are committed to expanding our regional footprint in a way that stays true to our brand values and proposition.”

The DFM opened the week, on Monday 25 August, on 6,126 points, and having shed eighty points (1.3%), the previous three weeks, fell sixty-two points (1.0%), to close the trading week on 6,064 points, by Friday 29 August 2025. Emaar Properties, US$ 0.01 higher the previous week, shed US$ 0.08 to close on US$ 3.92 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.76, US$ 7.08, US$ 2.66 and US$ 0.46 and closed on US$ 0.75, US$ 6.88, US$ 2.63 and US$ 0.46. On 29 August, trading was at fifty-eight million shares, with a value of US$ two hundred and sixty-three million dollars, compared to two hundred and thirty million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and twenty-three million dollars on 22 August 2025. 68.18 3498

By 29 August 2025, Brent, US$ 3.05 higher (5.8%) the previous week, had gained US$ 0.57 (0.8%) to close on US$ 68.18. Gold, US$ 17 (0.5%) lower the previous fortnight, gained  US$ 167 (5.0%), to end the week’s trading at US$ 3,498 on 29 August.

On Monday, Boeing and Korean Air announced a US$ 36.0 billion agreement for one hundred and three planes, (including fifty Boeing 737-10 passenger planes and forty-five long-range jets, as well as eight 777-8 Freighter cargo planes), with President Donald Trump having been pressing trading partners to do more business with American firms. This means that the carrier has placed more than one hundred and fifty orders and commitments for Boeing aircraft so far this year. It would support some 135k jobs across the US for Boeing, which employs more than 170k globally. The deal occurred just after the South Korean leader, Lee Jae Myung, had met Donald Trump to discuss the 15% tariffs imposed by the US on the Asian country in July. Other deals were discussed including Samsung’s shipbuilding arm and the Oregon-based Vigor Marine Group to support maintenance operations for the US Navy, Hyundai announcing it is raising its US investment by 23.8%, and that it planned to set up a new facility in the US that will be able to produce 30k robots a year.

Although its Q2 figures were better than expected – with revenue 56% higher on the year at US$ 46.74 billion – Nividia’s shares traded 3.0% lower but are still 35% higher YTD – with a market cap of US$ 4.3 trillion, making it the world’s most valuable company. The tech giant expects revenue Q3 revenue to climb 16.1% to US$ 54.0 billion. However, the market is spooked by the inaction of the chief executive, Jensen Huang, who recently signed an agreement that would permit the company to resume selling chips to China, after agreeing to pay commissions to the US government, but has yet to resume any exports of H20 chips to China. Some of Nvidia’s bigger customers include such tech giants, as Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, who are paying large sums to embed AI into their products. The behemoth’s graphics processors underpin products such as ChatGPT from OpenAI and Gemini from Google.

The Evergrande Group is a property developer, and the second largest company in China by sales; founded in 1996, by Hui Ka Yan it sold apartments mostly to upper- and middle-income earners. The embattled developer, after fifteen years of being listed on the Hong Kong stock market, was taken off the bourse on Monday. It had been China’s biggest real estate firm, with a stock market valuation of more than US$ 50 billion, and lauded for being an integral part in China’s economic miracle. In 2017, its founder was the richest Asian in the Forbes listing, with a US$ 45.0 billion fortune – now it is less than US$ 1.0 billion. How times have changed, with the problems really starting in 2020, when the government introduced new rules to control the amount big developers could borrow and that presented Evergrande, with a debt level of over US$ 300.0 billion, huge financial problems. At the time, Evergrande had some 1.3k projects under development in two hundred and eighty cities across China. Last year, Hui was fined over US$ 6.0 million and banned from China’s capital market for life for his company overstating its revenue by US$ 78.0 billion. Liquidators estimate that Evergrande’s debts currently stand at US$ 45 billion and that it had so far sold just US$ 255 million of assets. They also said they believe a complete overhaul of the business “will prove out of reach”. Evergrande was the poster boy of the industry, which accounted for over a third of China’s GDP, but other developers have similar concerns, with major problems.  Apart from this knock-on illiquidity impact, the industry has a raft of other problems including   the Trump Tariffs, an ageing population,, weak consumer spending, local government debt and rising unemployment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Making “absolutely no apology” for catching people who are “scamming the system”, Ryanair’s supremo, Michael O’Leary, has amended a staff incentive. The staff reward for intercepting passengers, travelling with bags larger than permitted, will increase by 66.7% to US$ 2.91 per bag in November, and the monthly US$ 93.17 payment cap will be scrapped. Currently, the budget airline allows travellers a free 40cm x 30cm x 20cm bag, which can fit under the seat in front, and charges for further luggage up to 55cm x 40cm x 20cm in size. Customers face fines of up to US$ 101 for an oversized item if it is brought to the boarding gate.

Citing market uncertainty from the impact of Trump tariffs as the main reason, Lotus has announced five hundred and fifty employees will be retrenched, across all segments of the business; in Q1, it manufactured 1.3k vehicles. Most of the luxury car maker’s employees are based at its Norwich HQ but it also has an engineering division in Warwickshire. Those who lose their job will have the opportunity to apply for another Lotus role, with the company “actively exploring future growth opportunities to diversify the Lotus Cars’ business model, including through third-party manufacturing”. The company, founded in 1948 by Colin Chapman, and now majority owned by Chinese EV maker Geely, has lost around 75% of its value since listing via a blank-cheque Spac on the Nasdaq last year. In Q1, it posted a 46% slump in revenue and an operating loss of US$ 103 million.

Reports indicate that the high street fashion retailer, New Look, has selected Rothschild to oversee a strategic review, as well as a potential 2026 shareholders’ exit and that it has ‘tapped’ several unidentified possible buyers. The company, owned by its current shareholders – Alcentra and Brait – since October 2020, has about three hundred and forty UK outlets and employs 10k; it posted sales of US$ 1.05 billion last year and saw its loss reduced by 75.4% to US$ 29 million. In late 2023, it managed to finalise a US$ 134 million refinancing deal with Blazehill Capital and Wells Fargo, and last April investors injected US$ 40 million of fresh equity into the business to aid its digital transformation; some 40% of its sales are now generated through digital channels.

Coca-Cola is working with bankers, including Lazard, to hold exploratory talks about a sale of Costa, the UK’s biggest high street coffee chain. In 2019, it acquired Costa Coffee from Whitbread in a US$ 5.25 billion deal, with the aim to assist it reduce its reliance on sugary soft drinks. It is obvious that growth has not met expectations, weighed down by the pandemic, fierce competition and rising coffee bean prices. Analysts expect that any sale will crystallise a mega loss, as it would probably only generate around US$ 2.7 billion. The chain was founded in 1971 by Italian brothers, Sergio and Bruno Costa, who sold it for just US$ 26 million to Whitbread in 1995, when it only had forty stores. Costa trades from more than 2.7k stores in the UK, and 1.3k worldwide, with a global workforce of some 35k. Apollo Global Management, the investment group behind Wagamama, has shown some interest in taking over Britain’s biggest coffee shop chain, whilst KKR, another US private equity giant, could be  an outsider to become the new owner of Costa.

One mega deal this week sees the Dutch coffee firm, JDE Peet’s, being acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper in a US$ 18.4 billion deal, the largest European acquisition in more than two years. The new entity will be split between one, located in Massachusetts, focussing on coffee brands, including Douwe Egberts and L’Or Coffee, and the other, based in Texas, selling soft drinks such as Schweppes, Snapple and 7 Up. The aim of the deal is to create a “resilient and diversified” coffee business, forming a “global coffee champion” at a time when the industry is grappling with tariffs and high coffee bean prices. The deal values JDE Peet’s shares at US$ 37.08 – although some 20% higher than the price they fetched before reports of the deal started to circulate last week, they are still 16.0% lower than their 2021 peak of US$ 43.02.

A health and beauty retailer founded on a Lancashire market stall, by Graham and Margaret Blackledge, in 1970, is facing collapse. Unless a buyer is not found soon, it is highly likely that Bodycare could fall into administration as soon as next week. The health and beauty chain, with one hundred and forty-nine shops in the UK, and employing 1.5k, has appointed the advisory firm Interpath to explore options for the business. The Blackeldges sold Bodycare to Baaj Capital in 2022.

Citing it was for personal reasons, Peter Hebblethwaite, the chief executive of P&O Ferries, is leaving the company after four years in the position. During his term, he gained infamy in 2022, when he sacked eight hundred staff and his action led to a change in UK legislation.

TikTok posted that as a result of a global restructure, it will be “concentrating operations in fewer locations”. The video-sharing app noted that layoffs are set to impact those working in its trust and safety departments, who focus on content moderation, as it turns to AI to assess problematic content. UK unions have objected strongly, claiming not only that jobs would be lost but also that “it will put TikTok’s millions of British users at risk”. The tech giant has estimated that:

• more than 85% of the videos removed for violating its community guidelines are now flagged by automated tools
• 99% of problematic content is proactively removed before being reported by users
• AI systems can help reduce the amount of distressing content that moderation teams are exposed to – with the number of graphic videos viewed by staff falling by 60% since this technology was implemented

Indian exporters are bracing for disruptions after a US Homeland Security notification confirmed Washington would impose an additional 25% tariff on all Indian-origin goods from last Wednesday. Their exports to the US could see them taxed at 50% – with the larger tariff being punishment for its increased purchases of Russian oil this month. The ‘new’ duties started when any goods enter the US for consumption or withdrawn from warehouses for consumption from 12:01 am EDT 0n 27 August. An anonymous Commerce Ministry official noted that “the government has no hope for any immediate relief or delay in US tariffs”, and that those exporters impacted with these charges would be provided financial assistance and encouraged to diversify to alternative markets of some fifty named nations including China, as well as some in Latin America. “The government has identified nearly fifty countries for increasing Indian exports, particularly of textiles, food processed items, leather goods, marine products.” It is estimated that these tariffs could hit India’s GDP and could impact nearly 55% of India’s US$ 87 billion in merchandise exports to the US, while benefiting competitors such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and China.

Although scamming in Australia declined by 24.5% to US$ 2.01 billion last year, Catriona Lowe of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, commented that it has become much more difficult to determine the total amount of scam activity; it is not always reported for a variety of reasons including shame/embarrassment from being caught out. The government body also noted a trend that an increasing number involve scams that impersonate institutions – and can be very convincing to many, probably too many. Scammers work better the more information they have on their victim. Now with the universal arrival of AI, it is getting more and more difficult for victims to decide whether they are dealing with a scam, or not, as writing convincing script or cloning voices for calls have become a lot easier. On top of all this is the arrival of deepfakes that only need to hear your voice for three seconds and then use it to confuse reality; AI fraudsters use Deepfake videos to spread misinformation or impersonate people, with the use of investment scam promotions. It seems that scams are rarely the work of a lone operator, with the area mainly taken up by crime syndicates, often run on a corporate basis from the usual suspect countries. Many of the bigger ones will have a Help Line, call centres, websites etc giving them a veneer of legitimacy. The simple advice is never take a call from an unknown source and delete any suspect emails.

The Commonwealth of Australia comprises six states – NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and West Australia – and two self-governing territories – the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory. The federal government governs for the common good of the whole country. A Transparency International Australia study confirms what everybody already knows – there is life for politicians after politics which is often in the realm of lobbying; it has found that the Commonwealth ranks almost last in terms of transparency. The main reason for this seems to be the fact that unlike most states, the Commonwealth has no independent regulator to enforce rules around lobbying, which has become big-time serious business.

It is fairly obvious that any former senior politician will have more success in a career involving peddling influence for powerful clients with their former colleagues, often behind closed doors. In Canberra, there are one hundred and fifty members of the House of Representatives and seventy-six Senators. With an estimated seven hundred and twenty-seven lobbyists, registered in the national capital, there are 3.21 lobbyists for every government representative.  To make matters worse, it seems that the rules governing federal lobbyists are among the slackest in the country, with a recent report claiming that the Commonwealth ranks almost last when it comes to transparency, integrity and enforcement of lobbyists, outranking only the Northern Territory. Unlike most states, the Commonwealth has no independent regulator to enforce rules around lobbying and, instead of dedicated legislation, there is merely an administrative code of conduct.

The report noted that “despite a stated cooling-off period, former federal ministers can start lobbying straight out of office with impunity, while only Queensland has a ban of two years to stop the revolving door”. The two more ‘popular’ sectors for ex-politicians to continue to fill their boots are gambling and resources, with the report noting that at least eight federal ministers, senior ministerial advisers and at least one state premier have taken up roles promoting gambling. It also found that “since 2001, almost every federal resources minister has gone to work in the fossil fuels sector shortly after leaving parliament, including Ian Macfarlane, Gary Gray and Martin Ferguson”. One exception was former resources minister Keith Pitt who resigned from parliament in January 2025 and is now Australia’s ambassador to the Holy See – a position once held by the infamous WA premier, Brian Burke, who was also appointed as the Australian ambassador to the Vatican, (as well as Ireland), in 1988, only to resign in 1991 to face the WA Inc royal commission.

There is a definite lack of public scrutiny over the activities of former politicians and staffers and the industry more generally. Undoubtedly, whether directly or indirectly, former insiders will have better access to the power chambers than say ‘ordinary’ lobbyists. TIA is pushing for an array of reforms including:

• a legislated code of conduct
• a waiting period of at least three years before former politicians, senior staffers and former public servants can take up positions related to their previous roles
• demanding amendments requiring lobbyists to declare who they have met with and who has unescorted access to Parliament House
• an independent body to enforce standards and codes of conduct for both parliamentarians and lobbyists along with sanctions and fines for those who fail to meet the standards

Whilst still maintaining its levies onautos, steel and aluminium, Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has said he will drop some of its US$ 21.7 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs on a range of US produce, including orange juice and washing machines, but will keep levies on autos, steel and aluminium. Canada’s position is that it still faces a 35% levy on all goods not compliant with the countries’ existing free trade deal. The ex-central banker commented that his country will stop its tariffs, on goods compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, and that he would “re-establish free trade for the vast majority” of goods that move between the two countries. Opposition leaders have criticised this move, claiming “it is yet another capitulation and climb down by Mark Carney”. With the exception of the UK, the US has placed a universal 50% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports, as well as copper imports, along with tariffs on auto imports; this compares to Canada’s 25% tariffs on American steel, aluminium and autos, which will remain in place for now. Canadian companies have already reported cutbacks and contract cancellations as a result, amid reports that the province of Ontario, the centre of auto industry in Canada, has already reported losing 38k jobs in the last three months.

Following last month’s visit to Scotland, Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen agreed to what is being billed as the largest trade deal in history. In any deal, there usually winners and losers but the star of the show was Donald Trump, with the EU giving up more than the US to the tune of knocking 0.5% off the bloc’s GDP. Furthermore, the US will benefit from the billions of dollars being charged by Trump tariffs The global stock markets are seen to have done well because a lot of uncertainty has been eradicated and some sort of normalcy has returned. US carmakers can be added to the list of winners, with Europe reducing their own 10% tariff to just 2.5% on US vehicle imports. However, many US-made cars are assembled abroad – in Mexico and Canada – and are subject to a 25% tariff whereas EU vehicles are only subject to a 15% levy. US energy has also done well from the deal with promises that the EU will purchase US$ 750 billion of it, as well as increasing overall investment in the US by US$ 600 billion. Von der Leyen added that “we will replace Russian gas and oil with significant purchases of US LNG, oil and nuclear fuels”. The aviation industry in both the US and EU could also be included in the winners’ circle, with the latter having some “strategic products” that will not attract any tariffs, including aircraft and plane parts. This ‘zero for zero’ agreement means firms making components for aeroplanes will have friction-free trade between them.

The US consumer could be the biggest loser having to pay some of the levy being charged on EU goods coming into their country. The 15% levy has to be paid by the stakeholders whether that be the wholesaler, retailer or the end user. Ordinary Americans, already impacted by the increased cost of living, will see their spending power cut again from price hikes on European goods. German carmakers are in the queue to be the biggest loser, with cars being the EU’s, and that country’s, top exports to the US. The German vehicle-making trade body, the VDA, has warned that even the 15% rate would “cost the German automotive industry billions annually”. The EU pharmaceutical industry was hoping against hope for a zero tariff and wanted drugs to be subject to the lowest rate possible, to benefit sales. Among EU countries, Ireland is the most reliant on the US as an export market, with an Irish minister commenting the deal “gives us that certainty that has been lacking in the last number of months”, and the deal is the “least bad option’. The final loser has to be European solidarity, some none too pleased by its President agreeing to the tariffs, without too much discussion, with the twenty-seven bloc members; the deal has still to be signed off by all twenty-seven – all with differing interests and levels of reliance on the export of goods to the US. There was no surprise to see the sulking French, via their Prime Minister, saying “it is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission”. The Hungarian leader did even better, commenting that Trump “ate von der Leyen for breakfast”.

There is no doubt that some of Donald Trump’s actions are spooking the market, with the latest being him saying that the US would take a 10% stake in embattled Intel and also adding that he would be planning more such moves. On 11 August, he had a meeting with CEO Lip-Bu Tan and castigated him, demanding his resignation over his ties to Chinese firms, noting that “he walked in wanting to keep his job and he ended up giving us ten billion dollars for the United States”. Intel said in a statement that the US government would make a US$ 8.9 billion investment in Intel common stock, with funding set to come from grants that were previously awarded but not yet paid. Last year, the US chipmaking icon, posted an annual US$ 18.8 billion loss – its first since 1986.  Federal funding may help revigorate Intel, but it would still be lagging its rivals as it suffers from a weak product roadmap and challenges in attracting customers to its new factories. Indeed, its market cap is some US$ 100 billion, as compared to Nvidia’s US$ 4.2 trillion. The President is keen for his country to become more than self-dependent in the fields of semiconductors and rare earths and is not afraid to negotiate a pay-for-play deal with Nvidia and an arrangement with rare-earth producer MP Materials to secure critical minerals.

The internal war between the US President and the Federal Reserve continues unabated. Earlier in the week, he finally fired one of its governors, Lisa Cook, for allegedly making false statements on her mortgage agreements; Trump said this was “sufficient reason” for giving him cause to fire the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board of governors. This saga will not go away quickly but the impact on the market was immediate. Longer term US Treasury yields rose, the dollar fell and the US bourses dipped from all-time highs posted last week. It is no secret that the US President wants more political power in the workings of what should be an independent central bank which he accuses of being too slow in cutting interest rates to the detriment of the country’s economy.

The UK Online Safety Act 2023 protects children and adults online. It puts a range of new duties on social media companies and search services, giving them legal duties to protect their users from illegal content and content harmful to children. The Act gives providers new duties to implement systems and processes to reduce risks their services are used for illegal activity, and to take down illegal content when it does appear. As of 17 March 2025, platforms have a legal duty to protect their users from illegal content online. Ofcom is actively enforcing these duties and have opened several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance. As of 25 July 2025, platforms have a legal duty to protect children online. Platforms are now required to use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing pornography, or content which encourages self-harm, suicide or eating disorder content. Social networks can face huge fines if they fail to stop the spread of harmful material.

There is plenty of money for advisers working on mega takeovers of LSE-listed companies leaving for foreign lands, (raising concerns that the number of companies leaving the bourse is greater than those joining). The latest example involves Canada’s private equity giant Brookfield’s US$ 3.23 billion acquisition of Just Group, the British specialist insurer. There are plenty of passengers on this particular gravy train, filling their boots with US$ 94 million, including the two bankers, (Evercore and JP Morgan), Brookfield’s adviser, RBC Capital Markets, the two legal firms, A&O Shearman and Slaughter & May, and an array of accountants, public relations advisers and other professional services providers, walking away with US$ 43 million, US$ 28 million, US$ 19 million and US$ 3 million respectively.

Another day, another record for the FTSE 100, closing last week at record highs of 9,321 for the fourth consecutive trading session. The mid-cap FTSE 250 advanced 241.68 points, or 1.1%, to 22,059.52.  Standard Chartered was the pick of the blue chips as the US DoJ appeals court posted that claims made by whistleblowers in a civil case, were “entirely unfounded” and that the government had failed to properly investigate alleged sanctions breaches by the UK bank. Earlier, Elise Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman, had called for an investigation into the sanctions claims facing the lender, which resulted in a 7.2% slide in its share. The latest judgment sent the stock up 3.9%and back above the level at which it was trading before the sell-off caused by Stefanik.   

The major takeaway from last week’s Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming was by its chairman, Jerome Powell. He hinted at imminent interest rate cuts for the first time this year, which saw the greenback weakening against major currencies (for obvious reasons), whilst pushing global stock markets higher.  The dollar fell against big currencies, as sterling strengthened 0.65% to US$ 1.35 and by 0.77% against a basket of larger trading currencies. Meanwhile the S&P 500 index rose 1.5% to an intra-day record high of 6,469 points, the Dow Jones industrial average by 1.4%, heading for its highest close since December 2024, the FTSE 100 by 0.35%, the FTSE 250 by 1.0% and Stock 600 by 0.55%. Commenting that a slowing US jobs market “may warrant adjusting our policy stance”, after interest rates have been kept on hold all year, he warned that “downside risks to employment were rising. If those risks materialise, they can do so quickly in the form of sharply higher layoffs and rising unemployment”.  Following these comments, traders priced in a more than 90% chance of a 0.25% cut and a 37% possibility of a 0.75% cut at the Fed’s meeting next month.

Yesterday,the Institute for Public Policy Research issued a report which urged the Chancellor to tax banks, as she tries to claw back an ever-growing deficit that could be as high as US$ 54 billion. It recommended that she consider a new levy on the interest UK lenders receive from the Bank of England, amounting to almost US$ 30 billion a year, on reserves held as a result of the BoE’s historic quantitative easing, or bond-buying, programme. PPR estimate that the money received by the central bank amounted to a subsidy and suggested US$ 11 billion could be taken from them annually to pay for public services. On the news today, investors took umbrage, with shares in Lloyds and NatWest plunging by more than 5%, and Barclays by more than 4%. The Chancellor may also look at other fund-raising opportunities including a wealth tax, new property tax, and a shake-up that could lead to a replacement for council tax. The mantra from the Treasury continues to be ‘the best way to strengthen public finances is to speed up economic growth’.

Troubled Thames Water, the UK’s largest water group, posted that it had agreed with Ofwat that it could pay its US$ 166 million fine in instalments, with the first 20% to be paid by the end of September; the regulator had imposed the record fine on the water company after two separate investigations, concerning sewage treatment and the payment of dividends. However, the payment of the 80% balance is contingent on the financial stability and future of the debt-laden water supplier; there is every chance that it could be in for a potential temporary government nationalisation, as it continues to try to agree a deal with creditors. Meanwhile, the toothless watchdog, which is soon to be abolished by the Starmer administration, notified several water companies to scrutinise similar remuneration arrangements to those employed by Yorkshire Water and its holding company, Kelda Holdings. There are reports that Nicola Shaw, the Yorkshire Water boss, had received payments of US$ 880k from Jersey-registered Kelda in each of the last two financial years. Not bad if you can get it!

On Wednesday, the energy regulator announced that energy prices for most UK households would be 2.0% higher, starting in October; this was double the amount that was expected. The typical annual bill will be US$2.36k, after a 7.0% drop in July. Almost 67% of UK households are covered by the cap which limits the price suppliers can charge for each unit of gas and electricity for standard tariffs.

The Starmer government is to further review the rules that mean imports of small packages, worth US$ 182 or less, currently avoid customs duties, more so because the value of small parcels shipped from China to the UK, under this exemption, more than doubled last year to US$ 4.05 billion. The value of these deliveries from China, from the likes of e-commerce giants, such as Shein and Temu, made up 51% of all the small parcels shipped to the UK from around the world last year – 35% higher on the year. It is obviously that this particular exemption gives the Chinese goods a price advantage and that they are in a position to undercut UK competition. Little wonder that UK business owners and industry groups want swifter action to protect High Street retailers. As of today, 29 August, the US ended its so-called ‘de minims’ exemption on low-cost goods, from China and Hong Kong, which had no tax on goods valued at US$ 800 or less.  Meanwhile, the EU will soon charge a US$ 2.34 flat fee on small packages worth US$ 175 or less.

According to UKHospitality, 53% of the country’s job losses since the now infamous October budget has come from their sector, with an estimated 89k job losses in restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels, with about 4.1% of all jobs in the sector being lost. The consultancy posted that the higher taxes announced by the Chancellor then had disproportionately slowed down investment and hiring. Its chair, Kate Nicholls, added that “what we’re seeing at the moment is a third of businesses cutting their opening hours, one in eight saying that they’re closing sites, and 60% saying they are cutting staff numbers”. Since the April increases in the employers’ national insurance contribution, and the minimum wage, costs have inevitably risen, with the situation further exacerbated by other direct costs, such as energy, food and drink and the fact that with the surge in the rising costs of living, the number of people eating out is slowing. In short, the industry has been bedevilled by revenue decreasing, costs rising and margins diminishing and is heading one way – down Dead End Street.