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The latest CBRE report paints a dismal picture of the Dubai housing market with a Q1 1.0% contraction in quarter on quarter rentals, as the equilibrium between increasing supply and restrained demand widens. Even more sobering is the latest outlook from Cluttons with sales prices in certain locations plummeting, including a 12-month 25% slump for Burj Khalifa apartments, followed by falls for Hattan villas at The Lakes (13.5%) and Arabian Ranches (12.6%), with Palm Jumeirah villas and apartments down by 12.3% and 11.0% for the year. Overall villa prices have slipped 6.8% with apartment values faring worse – down 8.5% over the past twelve months. If you want to find reasons for the disappointing numbers, look no further than Brexit, Donald Trump, oil prices and a sluggish global economy.

Meanwhile Core Savills noted a price decline in prime Dubai locations, whilst the more affordable areas nudged higher. One significant point made was that the property consultancy now expects 2017 deliveries to come in at 18k units – somewhat lower than their earlier 36k forecast (Q1 saw only 3.1k released onto the market). There were mixed results ranging from 7% falls in Jumeirah Village, in contrast to 5% year on year growth in the Meadows and The Springs.  Rentals seemed to fall across the board with little prospect of any improvement until 2018; apartments saw decreases of 7% in The Views and Discovery Gardens, 5% in The Greens and 4% on The Palm, with villas there down by 9%.

There will be similar reports out in the coming weeks. No doubt their  historic findings will all differ and that begs the question – if they cannot produce accurate historic data, how can the general public rely on their forecasting?

Dubai Land Department recorded impressive increases in both the number and value of Q1 real estate transactions – by 45.0% to 20k and 40.8% to US$ 21.0 billion, compared to the same period in 2016.

Last year overseas investors, from outside the Arab region, cut back on their spending in Dubai realty – down 41.0% to US$ 12.0 billion – with the number of non-GCC investors down 35.0% to 22.8k. The three main investing countries were all down – India by 42.3% to US$ 3.3 billion, Saudi Arabia by 15.7% to US$ 2.2 billion and UK by 46.7% to US$ 1.6 billion.

However, Dubai’s commercial sector has by and large weathered the storm, with the average Q1 rental price in prime areas remaining firm at US$ 523 per sq mt. Secondary rentals have softened, with marginal 1% falls to US$ 291 per sq mt.

Azizi Developments have awarded Belhasa Projects the tender to build three residential towers (2*20 floors and the other 18-storey) in Dubai Healthcare City. This development, encompassing 1.9k  units, follows an earlier one that brings the developer’s total spend in this particular cluster to US$ 436 million.

Dubai Properties has announced the first phase of the launch of Mudon Views which will comprise a range of 1-3 bedroom units in two buildings.

AccorHotels’ latest brand, MGallery, will open on The Palm Jumeirah this summer. The 255-room Retreat Palm Dubai – MGallery By Sofitel is the first such property in the ME and will be a wellness resort, with the emphasis on healthy food, along with its own lifestyle consultants and nutritionists. This will become the Palm’s 13^th hotel, following Friday’s opening of The Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai; a further 22 are under construction.

The newest addition to the Rotana portfolio will be the 54-storey Sabah Rotana in Sufouh Gardens, in conjunction with RSG International. The five star hotel and serviced apartments, with 534 keys, 220 of which will be for the hotel, will open in Q2 2020.

Nakheel has awarded a US$ 37 million contract to Al Ghurair Contracting and Engineering Works LLC to construct their second hotel in Dragon City. The 304-key, 8-floor Premier Inn, the latest in the developer’s 16-hotel portfolio, will be ready by 2019.

The design of the focal point of Expo 2020 was unveiled this week. Al Wasl (the former name for Dubai, with an English translation of “connection”) Plaza, 150 mt in diameter, will be the centre point of the 4.4km site and connect the three thematic districts – Mobility, Opportunity and Sustainability. The plaza will have a 65mt high domed trellis which will act as an immersive 360-degree projection surface.

According to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, on-line shopping accounts for just 3% of the emirate’s total retail spend but a double digit annual growth is on the cards for the coming years. At a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4.9%, the country’s total retail sector will top US$ 71.0 billion, from its 2016 total of US$ 56.6 billion, by 2020. Last year saw a further 250k sq mt of retail space added – its biggest total since 2010 – whilst estimates are for an additional 750k sq mt over the next two years.

Tuesday saw the opening of the five-day World Retail Congress in Dubai, attended by some 1.5k delegates. With the sector having a tough time, as traditional outlets continue to lose an increasing amount of business to e-commerce sites, the 11^th annual meeting will have a lot to discuss.

Orbi, a development between SEGA Holdings Co and BBC Worldwide, is set to open in City Centre Mirdif. The MAF Group has established the new multi-sensory recreational facility and interactive nature project which will feature a custom built theatre and innovative audio visual technology.

Dubai Mall will be home to Apple’s third UAE store (and second in Dubai), in addition to its two retail outlets at Dubai International’s Terminal 3.

It is reported that Dubai is ranked 7^th of worldwide cities attracting foreign investment, with a total of US$ 9.9 billion. With 247 new investment projects last year, the city is ranked third, behind London and Singapore, for the total number of new initiatives. 59% of the projects were financed from the US, UK, India, Germany and Italy.

Despite the doom and gloom merchants thinking otherwise, there is no doubt that the local economy is picking up momentum as the UAE’s March PMI rises two notches to 56.2 – its highest level in 19 months. Factors behind the uptick include a record rise in stocks of purchases, along with notable increases in output and new orders.

Having opened an office in Qatar a decade ago, Sotheby’s has finally a presence in Dubai. The London-based auction house has followed its rival Christie’s to the city. It is hoping that this move may improve its financial position that has seen 2016 revenue and profits both dipping – by 18.1% to US$ 335 million and 30.3% to US$ 99 million respectively.

Following last month’s resignation of its long-standing chairman, Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, it is reported that both its Chief Executive, Fadel Al Ali, and vice chairman and managing director, Ahmad Bin Byat, have left Dubai Holding, the Ruler’s investment vehicle. The newly appointed chairman, Abdulla Al Habbai, will be in charge of managing a massive US$ 35 billion asset portfolio in more than 20 countries.

It seems that Damac’s move to establish its own mortgage department has already paid dividends, with the developer announcing that US$ 163 million of facilitating financing for its own properties has occurred to date. Damac is the first luxury developer to introduce this one stop shop imitative to support its client base.

Having made a US$ 200 million 2016 loss, and ending the year with a negative cash flow of US$ 83 million, the embattled Dubai contractor, Drake & Scull, has embarked on a capital raising exercise. Over the coming weeks, it hopes to generate a much needed US$ 245 million from a US$ 136 million cash injection from Tabarak International, US$ 82 million from a development sale to Omniyat and a US$ 27 million rights issue.

Marka is one of the last Dubai-listed companies to announce their 2016 results, posting an annual loss of US$ 41 million, driven by debt service levels and impairment charges related to goodwill. Annual revenue at the country’s first retail-focused listed company, with 47 mixed-use outlets, surged nearly 37% to US$ 80 million.

The DFM opened Sunday at 3480 and recovered, gaining 86 points to end the week 2.5% higher by Thursday (30 March 2017) at 3566. Volumes were again relatively low, closing on Thursday at 266 million shares, valued at US$ 88 million, (cf 147 million shares for US$ 72 million, the previous Thursday). Emaar Properties gained US$ 0.06 to US$ 2.04, with Arabtec also in front, up US$ 0.02 at US$ 0.26. For the month of March, the bourse shed 4.1% to 3480, with Emaar US$ 0.05 lower at US$ 1.98 and Arabtec by US$ 0.01 to US$ 0.24.

By Thursday, Brent Crude continued to regain recent losses, being up US$ 1.93 (3.6%) to close on US$ 54.89, with gold higher (US$ 8) at US$ 1,253 by 06 April 2017. For the month, both Brent and gold fell – by 5.4% to US$ 53.53 and US$ 2 to US$ 1,252.

An indicator that the production cuts agreed by producers are beginning to take effect sees crude stockpiles declining. An ongoing overhang of some 285 million barrels has seen flat oil prices but a recent Morgan Stanley report has indicated that such stockpiles have fallen by 72 million barrels so far in 2017. With the likes of Iraq and Russia well on track to meeting their quota cuts of 210k bpd and 300k bpd, it seems that prices will continue their upward trend which have surged more than 20% since mid-November.

Tesla announced that its latest quarterly vehicles deliveries topped 25k – a 70% jump on Q1 2016 – and comes after a Q4 9.0% fall because of production problems. The 14-year old electric car company is set for a bumper twelve months, as it will soon launch its mass car Model 3 that will sell at US$ 35k – half the price of its current SUV Model X and sporty saloon Model S. Interestingly, Tesla’s market value, at US$ 49 billion, has overtaken both Ford’s US$ 46 billion and GM.

With its parent company L’Oreal putting it up for sale, it seems that Goldman Sachs is considering to acquire The Body Shop in a US$ 750 million sale. There are several other parties, including Advent International, Apax Partners, Carlyle and CVC Capital Partners, interested in the company, founded by Anita Roddick in 1976 and sold to the French retailer in 2006 for US$ 812 million.

It is reported that Canada’s SNC-Lavalin Group is in the market to acquire the UK’s WS Atkins for US$ 2.6 billion, equating to US$ 2.60 per share – a 35.1% premium on Friday’s closing price of US$ 1.93. Although the UK’s engineering and consultancy firm has a long history with Dubai (and best known for its work on the iconic Burj Al Arab), 50% of its revenue is generated in Europe.

With Apple indicating that it would start developing its own chip technology, shares in the UK’s Imagination Technologies slumped 67.4%, resulting in its market value falling to US$ 312 million. Over 50% of the UK company’s revenue is derived from Apple’s royalty payments.

When its US$ 4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoo is finalised, Verizon Communications will create a new company called Oath along with its AOL operations. It will be interesting to see whether this combination can actually sell more digital ads.

As if Toshiba has not enough trouble on its plate and now it has been forced to buy the 40% of the UK nuclear energy company, NuGen, that it does not already own from French utility company, Engie. With all its problems from Westinghouse in the US, the South Korean company will now face difficulties with the UK project in West Cumbria that will probably face delays and maybe cancellation.

JAB Holdings, owner of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Kenco Coffee, has agreed to pay US$ 7.5 billion for control of 36-year old Panera Bread, the US bakery and sandwich chain. Following the biggest ever restaurant deal, Panera’s share value jumped 14%.

After Unilever rejected a February US$ 143 billion takeover offer by Kraft, the Dutch-British consumer products conglomerate has surprisingly announced the sale of its margarine sector. In a further bid to placate its shareholders, the company will increase its dividend payout by 12% and also launch a US$ 5.5 billion share buy-back later in the year.

Boeing has finalised a US$ 4 billion deal with Iran’s Aseman Airlines for 30 737 Max aircraft, including purchase rights for a further 30. This is the second deal that the company has made with Iranian interests, following its US$ 16.6 billion sale of 80 passenger planes to Iran Air last December.

Credit Suisse officials are helping European authorities investigating tax evasion, currently involving five countries – Australia, France, Germany. the Netherlands and the UK – and a massive 55k accounts held by the Swiss bank. To date, Dutch prosecutors have seized US$ millions in assets, including cash, gold and paintings, whilst investigating up to 3.8k accounts.

President Jacob Zuma has upset the markets with his dismissal of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan that led to the rand dropping 5%. Apart from trying to rein in rampant corruption, the South African finance chief had continued to resist Zuma, keeping a vigilant and tight watch on public expenditure. The inevitable consequence sees the economy downgraded to junk status by S&P.

The eurozone continues to see unemployment rates dropping, with January’s 9.5% recording its lowest level since May 2009. Germany’s rate of 3.9% is impressive when compared to say Greece’s 23.1% and Spain’s 18.0%. (Germany continues to be the standout performer of the bloc with latest data indicating that its rate of economic expansion has hit a 70-month high).

There was also good news from the IHS Markit’s March’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index up 8 notches to 56.2, month on month.  Overall the eurozone private sector recorded its fastest expansion in almost six years with Germany, whose final composite output index was up from 56.1 to 57.1 continuing to be the leading member of the bloc in February.

In the likely event of negotiations between its creditors (the eurozone and the IMF) failing, Greece has requested an urgent summit to try and break the months’ long deadlock. The main problems centre around debt relief (again), further pension reductions and budget targets. This has led to a delay in an installment of a US$ 92 billion payout originally agreed in 2015. In short, the IMF is for even more debt relief for the beleaguered country and is reluctant to continue with this third tranche. The eurozone wants monetary participation from the world body and is against any future debt relief.

February new orders for manufactured goods continue their recent upward momentum, with the US Commerce Department posting a 1.0% increase led by a 1.8% hike in durable goods orders. Meanwhile the trade deficit narrowed by 7.6% to US$ 44.8 billion, as February imports fell 1.8% to US$ 236.4 billion, month on month, and exports nudged 0.2% higher to US$ 192.9 billion. Based on current data, it is expected that there will be annualised gains in real exports of 3.0% and 2.0% for real imports, resulting in an expected 1.7% overall GDP growth this year.

Employment in the private sector was on the rise with an 8.3% month on month increase to 263k in March the biggest monthly gain in over two years. The US unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since May 2007, as it fell to just 4.5. With any figure below 5% considered “full employment”, a slowdown in payroll growth is almost a given and this may preclude a further Fed rate in June.

If you get caught in the latest scam doing the rounds, you definitely need your head examining. Using a fake Dubai Financial Services Authority’s letterhead, any person sending a US$ 4k “activation fee”, to a UK contact, will receive a payment of US$ 7.9 million (in sterling). Just like recent Ponzi schemes in the country, people get sucked in far too easily – and unfortunately, to their cost, Only Fools Rush In!

This week, HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched a mega tourism and leisure project.  MGM Resorts International has been selected by wasl Hospitality and Leisure to develop and operate a “premier destination resort” on a 26 acre integrated island, close to Burj Al Arab. The development will include 1k rooms with ten villas and introduce the first MGM Hotel, MGM Residences along with a Bellagio Hotel to the region. The island, with a 1.2km corniche surround, will have all the usual retail and eating outlets.

Spread over 3.5 million square metres of area, Nakheel has awarded a US$ 50 million contract to Parkway International Contracting LLC to build its 375-key hotel, adjacent to Ibn Battuta Mall. The Avani hotel, to be managed by Thailand’s Minor Hotel Group, is part of a US$ 65 million project.

The Royal Bay project on Palm Jumeirah is 80% complete and will be completed by the end of the year, according to developer Azizi. The 90-unit building will include one-two bedroom units as well as two penthouses. The developer is planning a further 50 new developments this year!

Over the next four years, Paris Gallery plans to open 30 new regional stores that would see a 34.9% increase in outlets to 86 and in the number of its employees by 45.7% to 5.1k, with a projected retail area of 3.2 million sq mt.

Monday witnessed the opening of the US$ 326 million phase 2 of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park; the 200 MgW plant covers an area of 4.5k sq km and includes 2.3 million photovoltaic panels. The four-phase development is set to pump out 1k MgW on completion in 2020, with both phases 3 and 4 already awarded to a consortium headed by Masdar.

It was no surprise to see Dubai being ranked as the most popular choice for global companies setting up regional MENA HQs. Market research firm, Informineo, estimated that there was a 17% hike in the number of companies setting up in the region in 2016, with Dubai ahead of the likes of Johannesburg, Casablanca and Nairobi.

It is reported that the saga of Dubai-based online retailer Souq.com being acquired by Amazon.com may be coming to an end, with an agreement confirming the 100% takeover. No finances were available but it will probably be around the US$ 600k mark. A surprise last minute US$ 800million bid by Emaar Malls may spook the potential US investor.

The launch of the US$ 1 billon Noon.com will probably take place next month, following three months of beta-testing the ecommerce site. The venture between Mohammed Alabbar and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will offer millions of items, from a wide selection range, including a focus on fashion, for online sale which will include a three hour, door-to-door delivery service and even an attractive returns policy.

Embattled Drake & Scull has sold its share for US$ 82 million in the One Palm project to its JV partner, Omniyat Properties. The development, due for completion next year, will house 90 apartments (at a starting price of US$ 3.8 million, up to US$ 54 million for a penthouse).

Dubai’s tourism sector reported a 12 per cent year-on-year growth in visitor numbers over the first two months of 2017, with over three million people visiting Dubai. The growth was driven by significant increases from the Chinese and Russian sectors.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has inaugurated the first happiness council in the world which will launch a yearly Global Happiness report. The Dubai Ruler also announced a 13-member council in the same week as International Happiness Day.

There was more news on the workings of the new VAT legislation, due to come into force on 01 January 2018 – this may be delayed because it is expected that all six GCC countries want to go “live” at the same time. The Ministry of Finance has set a US$ 100k minimum revenue threshold and any business with revenue less than that, or any company that offers services or goods that are non-taxable, need not register; however, those companies with a threshold of between US$ 50k and US$ 100k will have the option to register in October, if they so desire.

The VAT law has yet to be enacted by the UAE government but a 5% charge will be levied on all supplies of goods and services unless either zero-rated or exempted. To date, no notice of what is and what is not taxable has been given.

The Board of Commercial Bank of Dubai has approved a US$ 0.055 2016 dividend totalling US$ 153 million, as well as the go-ahead to update the bank’s US$ 3 billion medium-term note programme. However, it rejected moves to allow GCC nationals to own a percentage of the bank’s equity (not exceeding 40%) and to increase its capital by a further 5%.

Damac Properties’ shareholders will also benefit with the announcement of a 25% 2016 cash dividend, costing the company US$ 412 million

Gems Education announced that its H1 revenue had jumped 15.5% to US$ 539 million on the back of a rise in student numbers and a jump in average revenue per student. (The number of students in private education is at a record level of 265k and the growth is set to continue, with a further 20 private schools to open this year alone).

Dubai World is one of four suiters bidding for a 67% stake in Greece’s second largest port, Thessaloniki, along with others from Germany, Japan and Philippines. The company is also in discussions with the Panamanian government about establishing a presence in the Canal area.

Largely because of the acquisitions of Jebel Ali Free Zone and its new Canadian terminal, DP World posted increases in both 2016 revenue and profit – by 5.0% to US$ 4.16 billion and an impressive 28.0% to US$ 1.13 billion respectively. Gross volumes, in a difficult trading environment, rose by 3.2%. A dividend of US$ 0.38 (up from US$ 0.30 in 2015) was declared.

Utilising a UK-based startup Splyt Technologies Ltd, Dubai’s Careem has allied with China’s Yidao Yongche to share resources. This will see both companies sharing one common app that will enable customers to use either company’s services without downloading new software.

In line with the 2016 state-run initiative, Government Accelerators, it is estimated that 1k Emiratis have already been hired this year in various UAE financial institutions. Companies have been encouraged to support the Emiratisation drive and it seems that this number will increase over the coming months.

Dubai Holding, with an asset portfolio exceeding US$ 35 billion, has a new chairman, with Abdulla Al Habbai taking over form the departing Mohammed Al Gergawi. The new incumbent will remain as chairman of Meraas Holding.

Despite a loan default by its Nigerian subsidiary, S&P have maintained Etisalat’s AA-/Stable/A-1+ rating. Its investment is insignificant with the loan not guaranteed by the parent company and comes on the back of that country’s dire shortage of US$, a falling currency and an economic slump.

Emirates NBD Reit, the country’s second real estate investment trust, had its first day of trading on Nasdaq Dubai and closed on Thursday 5.4% up on its opening price at US$ 0.336.

On Wednesday, much-troubled Arabtec announced that it would issue 1.5 billion shares, with a par value of US$ 0.272, in a rights issue – this figure is 15.6% higher than its Tuesday’s closing price of US$ 0.236. Shareholders, who do not participate in the scheme, will see their share value being diluted by 24.53%.

The DFM opened Sunday at 3520 and ended the week 1.7% down by Thursday (23 March 2017) at 3461. Volumes weakened considerably over the week, closing on Thursday at 153 million shares, valued at US$ 63 million, (cf 592 million shares for US$ 181 million, the previous Thursday). Emaar Properties has had better weeks, shedding US$ 0.06 to US$ 1.98, with Arabtec flat at US$ 0.24.

By Thursday, Brent Crude was US$ 1.18 lower (2.3%) to close on US$ 50.56, with gold again taking advantage of a volatile week, up 1.6% (US$ 20) to US$ 1,247 by 23 March 2017.

It seems that Apple has not paid any New Zealand tax, totalling US$ 282 million, for more than a decade, despite posting sales in excess of US$ 3.1 billion. The tech firm claims that its tax is paid in the USA, as that is the jurisdiction where its products and services have been created.

India’s largest telecoms company will be created with the merger of Vodaphone and Idea Cellular that will capture 35% of the country’s market share, 41% of the sector’s revenue and 400 million customers. The UK company will own 45.1% of the entity, once it transfers 4.9% to its new partner for US$ 579 million.

Following in Lufthansa’s footsteps, BA is the latest airline to launch a new long haul budget airline. Based in Barcelona, Level, the airline’s fifth brand, will initially utilise two A-330s and Iberia crew for journeys to Buenos Aires, LA, Oakland and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic).

The airline was also in the news this week for less salubrious reasons and has had to pay the EC US$ 114 million in fines for being in an alleged air cargo cartel with ten other carriers. The total penalty came to US$ 848 million with Air France-KLM worst hit, by a US$ 340 million fine.

Having rejected an earlier US$ 22 billion offer from US industrial chemical conglomerate, PPG, it seems that AkzoNobel will be approached again with a better offer. The Dutch company, maker of Dulux and Hammerite paints, had earlier stated that the initial bid underestimated its real value. The company has just opened a US$ 119 million paint factory in the UK.

It is reported that two tobacco giants – Japan Tobacco International (owner of Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut) and L&B – are interested in acquiring an equity stake in cash and carry company, Palmer & Harvey. The UK private company, employing over 4k, with annual revenues in excess of US$ 5 billion, has concerns following Tesco’s proposed US$ 4.7 billion takeover of Booker.

An indicator that some growth is returning to the luxury goods market came with the news that Hermes had posted a 13.0% jump in its 2016 profits to US$ 1.2 billion; this comes a month after its nemesis LVMH also reported record profits. Coincidentally, on Thursday it was reported that the De Beers Group had acquired the remaining 50% stake from LVMH in De Beers Diamond Jewellers.

Another week and another South Korean family in trouble. This time four members of the Kyuk-ho “chaebol “  (dynasty), behind the US$ 81 billion Lotte Group, were in court on charges including embezzlement, tax evasion and fraud.

Lithuanian rogue, Evaldas Rimasauskas, is a clever person. Between 2013-2015, he managed to extract over US$ 100 million from two US tech firms in a polished phishing scam. These two unnamed and unwary victims were tricked into sending money into various Asian bank accounts, using a Latvian company with a bogus name identical to an Asian-based computer hardware manufacturer.

It seems that 17 UK-based banks could have been involved to the tune of US$ 738 million in a US$ 20.8 billion Russian money laundering scam, involving 96 countries, including the UAE. Allegations by The Guardian indicate that the money was moved out of Russia between 2010 – 2014. If true, it would not be the first time that the banks’ conduct has been found wanting – and it will be the customers who pick up the tab again for any fines levied.

Brazilian authorities have suspended 33 government officials relating to allegations that meat processors have been selling rotten beef and poultry for years, as three plants have been closed and a further 21 under scrutiny.  Among the companies under the spotlight are BRF, the leading global poultry producer and JBS, the world’s largest beef exporter; Brazil is the world’s leading red meat exporter.

There have been some disappointing economic data emanating from the eurozone, with a weakening of the trade surplus, by 32.0% to US$ 16.9 billion, as a result of exports lagging by 0.6% whilst imports jumped by 4.1%. Meanwhile January construction output was down 2.3%, month on month, driven by a 7.7% slump in civil engineering production. Inflation levels continue to move north, up two notches on the month, reaching 2.0% in February – and accelerating at its fastest level in over four years.

This week’s G20 finance ministers’ meeting failed to renew their long-standing free trade pledge – and just a year after it declared its promise to “resist all forms of protectionism”. This change has arisen because of President Trump’s approach that he believes in free trade but also in balanced trade, allied with his “America First” policy.

Poor old Donald Trump – he gets blamed when the stock markets either go up or down. On Tuesday, Wall Street had its worst trading day since his election, with the Dow dipping 1.14% to 20,668, the S&P 500 by 1.24% to 2344 and the Nasdaq falling 1.83% to 5794. The main driver was evidently whether he would be capable of delivering his promised tax cuts, especially as he having problems with his healthcare legislation.

As expected, the UK government announced that 29 March will be the start date for formal talks for the country to exit the EU. This is more than nine months since the Brexit referendum and now article 50 in the Lisbon treaty will see discussions start formally.

The UK economy still defies its many critics and will continue to grow this year despite inflation hitting 2.3% (and eroding disposable incomes) but helped by an increase in both exports and investment. The main drivers behind the high inflation figure come down to rising food and fuel prices, mainly as a result of a 13% fall in sterling following the Brexit referendum.

UK house prices continue to head north, albeit at a slower rate of 1.3% month on month, compared to 2.0% in February. On an annual basis, growth came in at 2.3%.

Still serving as a sitting MP (which some may think is a full-time job in itself) and “earning” US$ 94k plus expenses, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne has just been appointed the editor of London’s Evening Standard. Furthermore he is thought to earn a further US$ 818k for advising fund management firm Blackrock for one day a week; he is also chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership as well as a speaker at the Washington Speaker’s Bureau. In October alone it was reported that he picked up US$ 400k for speeches (including US$ 175k for two with JP Morgan). Of all the 625 MPs, the member from Tatton is unfortunately far from being the only Joker In The Pack

It was announced that 180 luxury apartments in the second phase of sales of units in Al Habtoor City have already been sold, with prices for 1-bedroom units starting at US$ 518k. Handover for units – that range from 1 to 7-bedrooms – is expected in Q4. There are three high rise towers, with a total of 1.46k units and located by Dubai Canal, that comprise The Residence Collection.

The transport network received another boost this week with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s approval of another road (costing US$ 136 million), running parallel to the US$ 133 million ‘Airport Road Improvement Project’ that is currently under construction. The project – which will ease the congestion around Dubai International Airport – will create a new 11.8 km corridor, of which 5.3 km will be a new road whilst a 6.5 km stretch of Tripoli Road will be widened.

An agreement between Careem and the RTA will see customers of the ride-hailing app able to book any one of 10k taxis operated by the emirate’s six taxi franchises. The booking service will allow users to track and check details of their bookings on Careem’s platform. Meanwhile Uber will levy a US$ 0.82 surcharge on all its future bookings, with collections being credited to the RTA.

Local fuel prices head northwards for the third straight month in March, with Special 95 higher, 1.6% month on month to US$ 0.523 per litre, having started the year on US$ 0.490; last year’s increase was 6.5%.

DEWA is planning to invest  a further US$ 907 million to increase its spend to US$ 2.72 billion for building  97  132/11 kilovolt (kV) substations over the next three years. The utility has a US$ 17.7 billion budget to meet increased demand over the next five years. Its current capacity is 10k megawatts, serving 800k customers, with a 2016 peak load of 8k MW – 4% higher than a year earlier.

Dubai Wholesale City has launched a 1.5 million sq ft complex of light industrial units and refrigerated warehouses specifically for the emirate’s food and halal sector. The TECOM global integrated wholesale trading hub aims to become one of the industry’s major global players.

Du held an auction for 50 mobile numbers which raised US$ 2.02 million. It can only be Dubai when one such number sold for US$ 1.23 million with Indian businessman, Balwinder Sahni, paying this amount for number 058 888 8888.

It is reported that Abraaj Capital has acquired Middlesex University’s overseas campus in Dubai from a group of local investors. Although the actual value of the deal was not known, it is thought that it was equivalent to 11 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) which would put the price of the 13-year old facility at about US$ 75 million.

Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group, a division of Dubai Holding, the 13-year old investment arm for HH Sheikh Mohammed, posted an 8.0% rise in profits to US$ 1.72 billion on the back of a 16.0% surge in revenue to US$ 4.59 billion. Dubai Holding has a US$ 35 billion asset base and is involved in a myriad of business sectors in 20 countries. This week, its only chairman, HE Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, resigned to concentrate on his federal government role as Minister of Cabinet Affairs.

Emirates REIT posted a 37.6% rise in 2016 cash profit to US$ 11 million, on the back of an 8.0% hike in revenue to US$ 3.23 billion, driven by increases from both rental income and property income – up by 22.8% to US$ 45 million and 22.2% to US$ 51 million respectively. Interestingly, this week Emirates NBD has transferred a seven-property US$ 314 million portfolio to set up their own real estate investment trust (reit). As with Emirates REIT, this will be listed on Nasdaq Dubai.

The DFM opened Sunday at 3634 and closed 1.4% down on Thursday (02 March 2017) at 3584. Volumes still remain at low levels, closing the day at 360 million shares, valued at US$ 175 million, (cf 349 million shares for US$ 120 million, the previous Thursday). Emaar Properties traded US$ 0.01 up, to US$ 2.08, with Arabtec, shedding US$ 0.01 to US$ 0.25; its share value has fallen 35.8% over the past three weeks. In February, the bourse shed only 13 points to close the month on 3630, with Emaar nudging US$ 0.01 higher to US$ 2.03 and Arabtec plummeting US$ 0.12 to US$ 0.25.

By Thursday, Brent Crude was US$ 0.09 higher to close on US$ 55.90, with gold marginally down (US$ 7) to US$ 1,233 by 02 March 2017. Brent traded 0.5% lower in February to US$ 56.56, whilst the yellow metal gained 3.5% to close the month on US$ 1,254.

The Joint OPEC / Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee has announced an 86% conformity level in relation to the 1.8 million bpd output reduction agreed by all participants last December.

The year-old proposed US$ 30.4 billion merger between London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse is having problems with EC approval; it could collapse unless the LSE sells its 60% stake in MTS, a fixed-income trading platform. It looked as if this were a done deal especially after the London bourse divested part of its clearing business, LCH,  to satisfy the EC’s competition concerns.

As expected, the Royal Bank of Scotland posted its ninth straight annual loss with a 2016 deficit of US$ 8.6 billion bringing the cumulative total for the period to US$ 71.3 billion. To cap it all off, chief executive, Ross McEwan, acknowledged there was more to come! The bank is planning cost cuts of US$ 2.5 billion over the next four years which will see inevitable retrenchments.

Ford is considering cutting its UK workforce in Bridgend by as much as 65% to just 600 within the next five years. This comes after the US car giant decided to cut investment in the new generation Dragon petrol engine project, just six months after its announcement.

Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox is seeking EC regulatory approval to acquire European pay-TV entity Sky for US$ 14.4 billion. Its bid to take full control of the rest of the UK company is unlikely at this stage because of potential political problems, as was the case in 2011.

Having lost US$ 350 million, because of two security breaches (the biggest in internet history) that impacted 1 million users, Yahoo has punished Marissa Mayer. The CEO will not receive her annual bonus nor a potentially lucrative share award.

Despite worries that the economy may hit the ropes early in 2017, Q4 data indicates that Australia will continue to grow and break the Netherlands’ record (1982 – 2008) of over 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth. Because of increases in both consumer spending and exports, Q4 growth came in at 2.4%. December business investment also moved higher after three years of decline. With commodity prices on the up and the country relying less on its resources investment boom, 2017 growth may well top 3%. Another sign of the good times saw Q4 company operating profits climb by 20.1% and an impressive 26.2% on the year.

Following President Trump’s Congressional Address, the Dow Jones closed on Wednesday at a record 21115 with the bourse gaining 1000 points over the past three weeks. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also headed north closing at highs of 2397 and 5904 respectively. With tax cuts and a boost in infrastructure investment in the pipeline, allied with a sentiment that economic expansion has arrived, a Fed rate hike is becoming increasingly likely and may be as early as this month. There is no doubt that worldwide, investors are feeling more positive about the global economic environment with many indicators continuing to head upwards.

The danger of over-reliance on using the cloud was brought home by Amazon’s cloud computing service’s outage in the east of the US. This week, its simple storage system, Amazon S3, reported “high error rates” that impacted on several of the company’s cloud service.Also this week, the UAE received welcome rain, abetted by the National Center of Meteorology & Seismology. The agency has been involved in enhanced cloud seeding that has assisted in increasing the amount of rainfall.  Get Off My Cloud!

The latest Asteco report indicates that this year 31.5k apartments and 12.5k villas are scheduled for delivery, compared to actual 2016 completions of 8.8k and 5k. That being the case, there could be a further softening of the market; however, if past history is anything to go by the actual handovers at the end of 2017 could be half of that total. Furthermore, Dubai’s population is expected to grow by at least 150k – all of whom have to be housed (admittedly not necessarily in the emirate). This would see a supply shortage with the obvious conclusion that prices will rise – by how much is the US$ 64k question.

Azizi Developments is to build 180 residential and retail units in Meydan One – a community that will be home to a shopping mall, with a 150mt x 80mt retractable roof, the world’s largest “dancing fountains”, an indoor ski slope, a 4km canal and a 300 mt “beach”.

Earlier in the week, the first Trump-associated property to open since the president’s inauguration was The International Golf Club in Damac Hills (formerly Akoya). The president’s two sons, Eric and Donald Jnr, who now control the Trump empire, were at Saturday’s glitzy launch.

Danube Properties’ US$ 109 million Miraclz Tower, with 591 apartments (ranging from studio – 2 bedroom), has already been 95% sold – a sure indicator of the buoyancy in the affordable housing sector.

With infrastructure design by Dar Al Handasah almost 80% complete, Nakheel will recommence work on the 266 mixed-use Madinat Al Arab. The 522 hectare site, ideally located close to the Dubai World Central mega-airport, the Expo 2020 site and the newly-opened theme parks, is a major part of Waterfront project

Nakheel also reported that it had begun work on a 55-storey residential tower, adjacent to The Gardens community. The US$ 232 million Ibn Battuta Residences 2 will have 279 apartments, along with retail space and a multi-storey car park, and is in addition to the developer’s 48-floor twin tower project, housing 531 units, announced last year. The company will also increase its current retail space by 53k sq ft, introduce a 16-screen dine-in cinema complex and add a further 600 parking spaces.

With the Dubai Marina Yacht Club closing its doors in January, Emaar has announced that a Vida hotel will be built in its place. It is expected that the new building will house both a hotel and serviced apartments but as yet no further detail are available.

DXB Entertainments (60%) and Merlin Entertainments Group (40%) have joined forces to build the region’s first Legoland Hotel adjacent to Legoland, part of Dubai Parks and Resorts. Every one of the 250 rooms will have a Lego theme to it.

Saudi Arabia’s Al Tawfeeq for Development and Investment (ATDI) expects its US$ 136 million First Avenue to open in Q2. The project, located in Motor City, comprises a shopping mall and a 150-key Park Inn by Radisson hotel. Five anchor tenants – Carrefour, Prime Medical Centre, Fun Block, Reem Al Bawadi and ACE Hardware – account for 40% of the mall’s leasable area, which will host a further 80 outlets.

With the commercial property sector finally showing signs of recovery, a recent Knight Frank report indicates that rents will remain flat, as premium locations see new supply eating into any potential upturn, whilst lesser grade buildings may witness a slight decline. 2016 was a year blighted by a slowing local economy and marked employment cutbacks in certain sectors which had a negative impact on the Dubai market.

It was no surprise to see the retail sector continuing to struggle for a variety of reasons including a strong greenback, low consumer confidence, a dip in shoppers’ purchasing powers and a flattening of the sales curve. Despite these problems, the larger, better managed malls continue with high occupancy levels but with new supply coming on line, and a growing demand for online shopping, 2017 could present further problems.

According to a recent Cluttons report, demand for Dubai industrial realty has fallen on the back of a sluggish global economy and an increase in the supply of new warehouses. With capital market values slipping across the board – but markedly in older stock – there is now opportunities for purchasers to buy in the hope that the bottom of the market has been reached, especially with Expo on the horizon and oil prices nudging higher.

5-year old Snapchat has opened its first ME office in Dubai Internet City, as it tries to extend its reach in the area, targeting advertisers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The company, that could be valued up to US$ 25 billion, currently has 150 million active daily users.

The doom and gloom merchants will be surprised to read a report from BNC’s Construction Analytics that indicates that Dubai has 4k active construction projects, valued at an impressive US$ 313 billion. Of this total, 3.2k can be found in the emirate’s urban construction sector, accounting for 78.3% of the total spend (US$ 245 billion).

Dubai public transport recorded another record year in 2016, with total passenger traffic up 4 million to reach 543.6 million. The metro, posting a 7.1% increase in numbers to 191.3 million, accounted for 35.2% of the total, followed by 33% using taxis. Interestingly, there were significant increases in bus and tram users – up by 12.2% to 151.1 million and 32.7% to 5.4 million – whilst 14 million used marine transport.

The RTA will buy 200 Tesla electric vehicles (Model S sedans and Model X SUVs), fitted with autonomous driving technology, for use in its limousine taxi fleet. At the same time, it was announced that the US company would also open a Dubai office for distributing and maintaining its vehicles.

Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery announced that in November it delivered 404k tonnes of white sugar – the largest ever quantity by a single deliverer. The Al Ghurair company is the largest global port sugar refinery, with 50% of the product destined for the UAE market.

UAE’s love affair with Mars continues. Last November, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the country’s Mars Hope probe, scheduled to reach the red planet in 2021; now the Ruler has announced the Mars 2117 project which targets a miniature city being built there within the next century.

In a bid to increase their flagging non-oil revenues, the 6-country GCC bloc still hopes to introduce a 5% VAT on 01 January 2018. However, it appears likely that UAE will lead the rush and that some other countries will delay implementation until procedures are in place. Currently, the government would want the tax levied across the whole economy but may well look at education, healthcare, renewable energy, space, technology, transport and water in a more sympathetic light. The cut-off for registered companies may start with revenues as low as Dhs 365k but residents will have to wait and see until the UAE VAT law is finally approved and enshrined into law.

Currently, only individual emirates can issue sovereign bonds but this is set to change with the federal government introducing measures that could see the country doing likewise. Funds raised in this fashion would be utilised mainly in the banking sector, as a means for the Central Bank to better manage its liquidity requirements.

Dubai Investments has  made a US$ 51 million profit as it sold its 100% stake in Marnum Holding and United Sakes Partners to Elite Agro.

Dubai Investments, a conglomerate in which sovereign fund Investment Corp of Dubai owns an 11.5 percent stake, has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Dubai Investments Industries Al Mal Capital PSC has acquired its second US investment – the 153k sq ft Poinsettia Plaza shopping centre in Ventura, California; it had exited its first US foray – a Louisiana residential complex – in 2015. This week, the company has also made a US$ 51 million profit as it sold its 100% stake in Marnum Holding and United Sales Partners to Elite Agro.

As part of its continuing expansion strategy, Dubai Investments Industries have invested US$ 300 million in various global sectors; these include Emirates Aluminium Rolling (US$ 30 million), Kings College Hospital Healthcare (US$ 50 million) and Modul University Dubai (US$ 9 million).

Dubai Islamic Bank increased its sukuk listing on Nasdaq Dubai to US$ 4.25 billion, with a US$ 1 billion issue on Wednesday. The local bourse is now considered the largest global venue for sukuk listings, totalling US$ 47.8 billion.

With the 2016 reporting season in full flow, there were many results announced this week – some good, some bad. As 2016 group revenue increased 1.9% to US$ 14.27 billion, Etisalat posted a 1.9% rise in profits to US$ 2.29 billion. Meanwhile, the country’s second telecom, Du, disappointed the market with a 20.0% slump in Q4 profits to US$ 101 million; some of the fall has been attributable to higher government royalty payments.

Emaar Properties has seen a 56.0% hike in Q4 profits to US$ 438 million as revenue from its property developments rose; 2016 profits came in 28.0% higher at US$ 1.43 billion on the back of a 14% hike in revenue to US$ 4.23 billion. International activity, at US$ 726 million, accounted for 17.2% of total revenue, with Dubai property sales of US$ 3.92 billion showing a 41% jump on the previous year’s returns.

On the other hand, Arabtec is going through a torrid time and its Q4 and 2016 results do not make happy reading. The Dubai-listed contractor posted a Q4 deficit of US$ 804 million, more than seven times the US$ 110 million recorded last year, and an annual loss of US$ 929 million (compared to US$ 640 million a year earlier). The board has agreed to a US$ 409 million capital restructuring plan.

Dubai developer, Damac, reported a 1.3% rise in Q4 profits to US$ 233 million, with annual profits falling 18.2% to US$ 1.0 billion. Shareholders will be happy with a US$ 0.068 cash dividend – 66.7% higher than last year. Over the year, the company handed over 2.4k units, with 45.8% of that total occurring in Q4.

Union Properties posted a 51.4% decline in 2016 profits to US$ 58 million, as revenue tumbled 23.5% to US$ 308 million. Its total asset base nudged 1.7% higher to US$ 2.3 billion.

Although still in the red, Drake and Scull International reduced their 2016 loss by 16.2% to US$ 214 million, with a Q4 loss of US$ 133 million (compared to a US$ 3 million profit in the same period of 2015). 2016 revenue was down 22.6% to US$ 886 million.

Despite a 35% hike in 2016 revenue to US$ 79 million, Marka reported an annual loss of US$ 7 million. The Dubai-listed group still remains confident with the regional retail sector, despite the current difficult economic environment.

Amanat Holdings saw annual profits down 24.1% to US$ 10 million with Q4 just breaking even, down 96.2% on 2015’s profit of US$ 11 million.

Gulf Navigation recorded their best annual figures since 2008, as profits surged by almost sevenfold to US$ 37 million, with Q4 returns 20.0% higher at US$ 1.5 million. However, much of the gain arose from a US$ 25 million write back of a “derecognition” of liabilities.

Meanwhile Amlak Finance came in with a 23.0% fall in 2016 net profits to US$ 29 million. Although revenue was 63.0% higher, at US$ 207 million, net operating profit dropped by 13.3% to US$ 66 million; its total assets also dipped 4.6% to US$ 1.77 billion.

Dubai-listed Shuaa Capital reduced its Q4 loss by US$ 39 million to US$ 5 million despite revenue being 12.5% lower at US$ 10 million. Revenue for the year was down 2.2% at US$ 47 million, whilst the loss narrowed by 30.0% to US$ 36 million.

Emirates Investment Bank saw profit up 20.3% to US$ 92 million, with both total assets and customers’ deposits higher – by 12.1% to US$ 3.2 billion and 8.2% to US$ 935 million respectively.

Dana posted major falls in both Q4 and 2016 profits by 94.8% to US$ 7 million and 77.1% to US$ 33 million respectively. It is estimated that the company is still owed nearly US$ 1 billion from debtors in Kurdistan (US$ 713 million) and Egypt (US$ 265 million). This week, the Dubai-listed company won a ruling in its four-year dispute with the Kurdistan administration over certain rights and outstanding payments.

The DFM opened Sunday at 3683 and closed 0.9% lower on Thursday (16 February 2017) at 3651. Volumes were significantly lower, closing the day at 442 million shares, valued at US$ 211 million, (cf 866 million shares for US$ 354 million, the previous Thursday). Emaar Properties traded US$ 0.03 higher, to US$ 2.08, with Arabtec tanking, losing 23.0% on the week to close at US$ 0.28.

On Tuesday, Brent Crude nudged US$ 0.07 higher to close on $ 55.81, with gold continuing its recent upward moves with a 0.9% increase (US$ 11) to US$ 1,240 by 16 February 2017.

Latest figures indicate that the 11-member OPEC cartel has cut production by about 1.2 million bpd to 29.92 million bpd largely in line with cuts agreed late last year. At the same time, Russia and ten other countries had agreed to reduce by 0.6 million bpd but have only managed 40% of that total.

It is reported that talks between Abu Dhabi’s IPIC and Malaysia’s 1MDB fund have broken down at the London Court of International Arbitration. The case could drag on for a further 18 months before a decision about the Abu Dhabi state fund’s US$ 6.5 billion claim could be reached.

With a Q4 GDP growth of 0.2%, Japan recorded an annual gain of 1.0% (well down on the 1.4% growth forecast expected at the end of Q3); although the figures disappointed the market, the country has recorded growth for four straight quarters.

China reported its lowest level of foreign exchange reserves in almost six years, with a January return of just under US$ 3 trillion. The prime cause was the weak yuan which fell by 6.6% to the US$ resulting in the Central Bank having to prop up its currency by selling its dollars. (interestingly, Germany has a bigger current account surplus than China whilst the USA has the world’s biggest deficit).

The IMF has reiterated that the US economy continues to improve under the new Trump administration. In 2016, the economy expanded 1.6% but the world body now expects growth over the next two years to increase by 2.3% and 2.5%. It also expects the global economy to marginally improve on 2016’s 3.1% growth with forecasts of 3.4% and 3.6% in 2017 and 2018.

However, the country’s 2016 trade deficit topped a massive US$ 502 billion – its highest level since 2012. The main driver behind this was the strong greenback as trade deficits with China, Japan and Germany fell to US$ 347 billion, US$ 65 billion and US$ 69 billion respectively.

January inflation figures saw the UK’s consumer price inflation rise two notches to 1.8% – its highest rate in over 30 months – driven mainly by the weak pound pushing up imported prices. This is in line with the Bank of England’s forecast of inflation touching 2.0% in Q1 and rising to 2.7% over the next twelve months.

UK’s December trade figures pointed to a monthly 7.2% reduction in the deficit to US$ 4.12 billion as exports to non-EU countries surged by US$ 1.37 billion. Overall, both exports – at US$ 60.86 billion – and imports of US$ 64.98 billion were at record highs.

This week, the RTA announced a world first – the trial run of a successful autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) capable of carrying a human. The Chinese-built EHANG 184 has been compared to a driverless flying car, capable of carrying a passenger for a maximum of 30 minutes at a cruising height of 3k ft, with a speed of 160 kph. The craft, with eight main propellers, will allow a passenger to choose a selected route and then sit back and land at the chosen destination. Come July, Dubai residents could see more than a Spirit In The Sky!

Dubai Properties has awarded a US$ 272 million contract to Dubai Contracting Company for the construction of 1/JBR – a 46-storey luxury tower; the development will include 161 2-4 bedroom apartments, along with several 5-bedrooom penthouses, with the average price for a 2-bedroom unit starting at US$ 1.47 million. Enabling work began last year and project completion is due by Q4 2019.

This week saw the launch of Plazzo Residence in Jumeirah Village Triangle. Prices for studios, 1-bedroom and 2-bed apartments will start at US$ 109k, US$ 191k and US$ 286k respectively.

Despite all its problems – including a strong greenback, Brexit and a Saudi economic slowdown – Dubai 2016 tourist numbers climbed 4.9% to 14.9 million, well on its way to hit its 20 million target by 2020. To reach this, it needs an annual 8% growth over the next four years – no doubt Expo will see this figure being surpassed.

In partnership with the Bin Haider Group, the Rezidor Hotel Group has announced that two Radisson Blu hotels will open in 2019, in addition to

a 432-key property on Dubai Waterfront, set to open by June 2017. The two hotels will be located in International Media Production Zone (and will have 356 rooms) and Dubai Studio City, with 290 keys.

Central Hotels expect to double its portfolio with the opening of three 4-star hotels this year – two on Palm Jumeirah and the third in Business Bay. This will bring the Dubai-based developer’s room total to 1.2k keys, all located in the emirate.

UAE-based Smartotels has announced the launch of its first flagship brand Form Hotel to be built in Dubai’s Al Jeddaf area. Although no financing details were available, the 143-room property will open in Q1 2018.

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s head, Hamad Buamim, has a part-solution to assist the ailing retail sector – malls should consider reducing rent to compensate for a marked contraction in retailers’ turnover figures in 2016. The sector has also not been helped by the inflow of 260 sq mt of new retail space, (the highest annual volume in seven years), with a further 600k sq mt due to be released over the next two years. Furthermore e-commerce is on an upward curve and represents another problem for traditional retail outlets.

MAF is to spend US$ 90 million over the next year to upgrade its City Centre Mirdif car park, as it adds 1k new parking places and improves accessibility.

As expected, Emaar Properties has agreed a US$ 332 million settlement with Orient Insurance for the claim following the 2015 NYE fire at the Address Downtown Dubai.

The Al Shafar Group of Companies (ASGC) is planning to spend US$ 48 million to double the size of its steel fabrication plant in Dubai Industrial Park; US$ 27 million will be spent on building four new facilities, with the remaining US$ 21 million balance for new machinery. The project will take up to 18 months to complete, following which annual production will be ramped up by 30%, whilst the payroll will reach 2.3k. The Dubai-based family company has other construction interests including contracting, MEP, ready-mix concrete and a precast concrete factory.

Apple has announced the recall of 89k iPhone 6s in Dubai, manufactured in September/October 2015. The Chinese made phones have defective batteries but present no safety issues.

It is reported that the Dubai government is in the final throes of securing a seven-year US$ 3 billion syndicated loan to be used to part finance expansion at the new US$ 35 billion Al Maktoum International. On completion in 2028, the airport will have the capacity to handle 220 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo every year. The government will also be looking for a further US$ 9.8 billion to finance the Expo 2020 site – US$ 7.0 billion – and the Dubai metro extension (US$ 2.8 billion).

In a bid to entice highly talented and better qualified talent to the country, the UAE cabinet has approved an integrated entry visa scheme. The country aims to be a global talent hub, with the first phase of the strategy focusing on educational, health and tourism visas.

According to a recent PwC report, the country will need a further 175k places in the K12 segment of which 90% will be placed by private schools. It estimates that Dubai will need an extra 50 schools to house the additional inflow of 74.5k students. Al Najad Education is keen to jump on the bandwagon and has plans to double its school/nursery student roll to 28k over the next two years. The Dubai-based education provider is expecting to invest up to US$ 150 million to further expand the business.

The latest Brand Finance Global 500 report indicates that the Emirates brand – having gained 170% the previous year – has shed 19.7% of its value to US$ 6.1 billion. This fall has seen the airline lose its premier regional spot to Saudi Telecom Company (valued at US$ 6.2 billion) as it moves down 83 places in the global ranking to 264^th. Meanwhile, Etisalat, valued at US$ 5.5 billion, moved up 111 places to 293^rd.

DP World announced that in 2016, gross container volumes expanded by 2.2% on a like-for-like basis and 3.2% up on a reported basis to 63.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units. Interestingly, in Q4, gross reported volumes climbed 6%, compared to the same period in 2015.

Dubai Customs and Dubai Trade have joined with IBM in an initiative to advance Dubai’s government blockchain strategy; one of its aims is to introduce a trade finance and logistics solution for the import and re-export process of goods that will see parties receiving real-time information.

Spending on beauty care products in the UAE was estimated last year at US$ 2.1 million, equivalent to 22.6% of the total GCC spend. Analysts expect these figures to rise by 28.6% to US$ 2.7 billion (UAE) and 46.2% to US$ 13.6 billion (GCC) over the next four years.

Just to emphasise what everybody already knows, Colliers latest Cost Benchmarking report reiterated that cash flow remains the biggest issue facing the local construction sector, with sustained payment delays continuing to blight the industry. (Indeed, the French credit insurer, Coface, estimated that payments were delayed on average 123 days longer than the contracted payment schedule). However, some good news indicated that over the past two years, commodity pricing has remained flat although some items – including aggregate, concrete, glass and sanitary ware – headed north whilst the likes of cement, diesel, switches and timber fell.

The January Emirates NBD Purchasing Managers’ Index, with a 55.3 reading, indicates that the local non-oil private sector is in rude health. Most indicators – including output, new work, increased payroll numbers, faster new order growth and export orders – all tracked higher.

Three-year old Dubai-based Emirates Reit has joined forces with RAK’s Al Hamra Real Estate Development and National Bonds to establish the country’s first residential real estate investment trust, comprising 500 units, 74% of which are in Ras Al Khaimah and the balance in Dubai. The value of the investment is US$ 141 million, split almost equally between property in Dubai and RAK. It is thought that a further US$ 141 million will be raised prior to the company being floated on a local bourse, possibly later in the year.

The Commercial Bank of Dubai was one of the last big players to release its 2016 accounts, posting a 6.7% hike in operating profit to US$ 433 million but a 6.5% decline in net profit to US$ 272 million, driven by increased provisions. Both total assets and loans/advances were higher by 10.7% to US$ 17.5 billion and 7.5% to US$ 11.4 billion.

Despite a 12% decline in 2016 trading volumes to US$ 36.2 billion, the DFM managed to confine the fall in profit to just 2.9% over the year to US$ 69 million; revenues dropped by 2.6% to US$ 120 million. However, the bourse ended the year on a high, with Q4 revenue and profits both heading north – by 89% to US$ 36 million and 406% to US$ 21 million respectively.

The DFM opened Sunday at 3701 and  closed on Tuesday (07 February 2017) at 3718. Volumes were slightly lower, closing the day at 593 million shares, valued at US$ 286 million, (cf 691 million shares for US$ 283 million, the previous Thursday). Emaar Properties traded US$ 0.07 higher, to US$ 2.04, with Arabtec remaining flat at US$ 0.37.

On Tuesday, Brent Crude shed US$ 0.51, since the previous Thursday, to close on $ 56.05, with gold continuing its recent upward moves with a 3.9% increase (US$ 46) at US$ 1,236 by 07 February 2017.

Although BP’s Q4 profits (measured by underlying replacement cost profit) more than doubled to US$ 400 million, the annual figure fell 56.3% to US$ 2.58 billion. The oil giant is still paying for the Deepwater Horizon accident and the US$ 799 million charge has brought the total cost to a massive US$ 62.6 billion. With that disaster almost finalised – and with oil prices nudging higher than the average US$ 44 last year – the oil giant can look forward to a more stable environment in 2017. It expects to spend up to US$ 17 billion in capital expenditure this year.

Aldi is now the fifth largest UK supermarket chain with 6.2% of the total market share, behind Tesco (28.1%), Sainsbury’s (16.5%), Asda (15.6%) and Morrisons (10.9%). Less than a decade ago, the German interloper accounted for less than 2% of the market but in 2016 alone attracted an additional 826k more shoppers to its 700 stores. (It can only be a matter of time to see the likes of Aldi and Lidl trading in Dubai).

In line with most airlines, Ryanair posted a 7.8% fall in Q3 earnings to US$ 102 million, as fares fell (by 17%) in a highly competitive market, with surplus capacity; however, load factors did reach a record 95%. The company, with a market value of US$ 19.2 billion, still expects an annual profit of US$ 1.45 billion by the end of the next quarter.

Although its 2016 profits declined 2.7% to US$ 9.43 billion (including US$ 500 million in foreign exchange losses), GM posted a US$ 12 million profit in North America. Consequently, its US hourly paid workers will receive a US$ 12k bonus (based on US$ 1k for every US$ 1 billion of profit).

RBS, still 70% owned by the UK government, is planning a US$ 425 million bonus pay-out. This figure is well down on the US$ 1.8 billion pot of 2009 and 5% down on last year’s figure; however, it comes at a time when the bank is expected to announce one of its biggest losses since its 2008 government bailout. Indeed there are not too many companies that can afford to pay bonuses when losses are being made!

In Italy, UniCredit, having posted a massive US$ 12.6 billion 2016 loss, on the back of loan writes downs, started this week trying to raise US$ 13.9 billion to rebuild the bank’s capital base. It is little wonder that the three major shareholders, Capital Research (6.7%), Aabar (5%) and Black Rock (5%), have yet committed to exercise their rights; along with all other shareholders, failure to do so could result in a 70%+ dilution of their shares.  Under a December restructuring plan, UniCredit will have to offload US$ 18.9 billion in bad debts, as it cuts costs by retrenching 3.9k staff, with a further 10.1k to leave over the next two years.

This week, the IMF reiterated that it believes that Greece needs further debt relief from its creditors but remains unsure on which direction the country’s finances should take. This is in contrast to the eurozone who are reluctant to introduce another “hair-cut” on the current debt and wants Greece to work towards a 3.5% of GDP budget surplus, with the IMF maintaining the feasibility of a 1.5% surplus. The dispute will not go away and will continue to delay a further payment of US$ 92 billion bail-out funds – and could well impact on forthcoming elections, especially in Germany.

Despite President Trump saying the Pentagon’s most expensive defence programme was “out of control”, the Department of Defense has ordered a further batch of 90 F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin for US$ 95 million. Over the next three decades, it is expected that a further 2.4k planes will be bought.

Another busy week for President Trump – on Friday, he signed an executive order to scale back on the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and some of its major regulations. The aim is to cut back on over-regulation in the financial services sector, introduced to counteract the banks’ shortfalls and failings culminating in the GFC. Not surprisingly, the ECB president, Mario Draghi, voiced his displeasure with Mr Trump’s actions, saying that a relaxation of banking rules is the “last thing we need”.

Improving data indicates that the doom and gloom messengers, espousing a sinking US economy following President Trump’s election, have once again been proved wrong. December new orders for manufactured goods jumped 1.3% (following a 2.3% November fall) whilst orders for non-durable goods were 3.1% higher. Also higher for the last month of the year were shipments of manufactured goods (by 2.2%) and inventories of manufactured goods by 0.1%. To top off the good news reading, January non-farm payroll employment was up to 227k, following an upward December revision to 175k. However, the annual rate of average hourly employee earnings growth slowed by 0.3% to 2.5% in January – this may be an indicator that the Fed will not be pushing for a rate increase until at least mid-year.

Co-founders, 26-year old Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy could be the big winners if their six-year old company, Snapchat, realises US$ 3 billion in the sale of a small percentage of shares which could value the messaging app at US$ 25 billion – and their stakes at US$ 5 billion. How can a company that recorded sales of only US$ 404 million and made a loss of US$ 515 million be worth that much money? Mama Weer All Crazee Now!

Early 2017 property reports seem to have different findings. JLL estimate that only 15k units were handed over last year and this was the highest annual number in five years. ValuStrat put this number even lower at 11k which was 33% of initial estimates of 33k at the beginning of 2016. Most reports seem to indicate that the 2016 market was at best flat but could not agree on the rates of decline. It did seem that lower cost housing was performing better and elsewhere price falls varied between different locations and different types of units (apartments generally holding up better than villas).

What is worrying are the differences and lack of agreement between studies on what is historical and factual data. If consultancies cannot agree on what has happened in the past, there is little hope of agreeing what will happen in the future.

There is a divergence of views on which way and when prices will move. Cluttons do not expect a recovery until at least the end of 2017, whilst Phidar Advisory believe that the market will remain subdued with a continuation of “further gradual softening”. Knight Frank stated that prices in the mainstream market fell 7% in 2015 and at a slower 5% rate last year, whist the falls in prime areas were at 4% and 5% in 2016. They now expect prices to rise from mid-year. In contrast, ValuStrat indicate that property prices had fallen 13.7% since their peak in 2014 but now expect a cyclical soft recovery stage. In the same camp are Core Savills, who have noted that prices have already started rising in the mid-market sector, and JLL, who forecast price rises in 2017. Now these are four of several firms that are calling the bottom of the market indicating that for Dubai property, the only way is up!

Arab Health should bring some joy to the embattled local hospitality industry, as organisers expect 120k visitors to attend the 4-day exhibition that ends today (02 February). The 5.1% increase in exhibitors to 4.4k indicates the fact that Dubai is now considered a world-class hub for the healthcare medical sector.

EY’s MENA Hotel Benchmark confirms earlier reports that Dubai maintains its position as the leading regional market despite most indicators heading south. The emirate boasts the highest occupancy rate (80%) and RevPar (US$ 200) but has seen 2016 average room rates and room yields fall by 7.8% to US$268 and 7.4% to US$ 200.

Riviera Group has launched its 7^th project in Jumeirah Village Circle. The 22-storey, US$ 34 million building will house 144 apartments, with prices starting at US$ 157k, and two ground floor retail units. Completion of La Riviera Apartments is expected by the end of next year.

Al Shaya has signed an agreement with Nakheel to lease 100k sq ft of shop space in the upcoming Al Khail Avenue Mall. The Kuwaiti retail conglomerate has many well-known brands in its portfolio including American Eagle, Boots, Debenhams, Footlocker, Mothercare and PF Chang’s. The massive development, located in Jumeirah Village Triangle, will have 1.2 million sq ft of retail space and will house 350 shops, along with dining outlets and a cinema.

With 2017 revenue set to decline by 2.8% and infrastructure spending 26.6% higher, Moody’s expects Dubai’s US$ 680 million budget deficit, equivalent to 0.6% of GDP, to have little impact on public debt levels. It also expects the emirate’s GDP to grow faster than in 2016 – from 2.4% to 2.9%. Dubai has managed to cut its direct government debt levels from 33% to 25% over the past six years but the ratings agency expects this figure to nudge higher to 30% by next year. However, Dubai’s total public debt is relatively high at 128.7% of GDP – up from 113% over the past five years.

The local economy will receive a welcome boost when World Expo 2020 awards 47 construction contracts, valued at US$ 3 billion, this year. According to the IMF, the trade fair will result in GDP growth of over 5%.

With no new establishments opening this academic year, GEMS Education will only be recruiting up to 1.2k new teachers for the 2017/2018 school year (compared to 1.7k the previous year). The management company operates 47 schools in the UAE and 250 globally.

On Monday, the world’s leading optical and digital precision technology company, Olympus launched its new regional HQ, located in Dubai Science Park. The 2k sq mt facility will be responsible for 72 countries in MEA and will report to Hamburg-based Olympus Europa.

Also this week, printing and packaging company Delta Group opened a US$ 200 million, 250k sq ft plant in Dubai’s National Industries Park. The company has an 800 workforce.

Local delivery app Fetchr, that employs 1k in the region, is expected to finalise its Series B funding by the end of March; last June, the 4-year old Dubai-based start-up received the largest ever ME Series A funding at US$ 11 million from the leading venture capital (VC) firm in the world, New Enterprise Associates.

Although the number of 2016 cases heard by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts was similar to a year earlier, the value of these, at US$ 1.6 billion, was 5% higher. Of this total, the DIFC Court of First Instance reported a 22% hike in case value to US$ 734 million.

DWC reported an 84.5% hike in 2016 passenger numbers to 851k, with Q4 up 39.9% to 248k; however, actual aircraft movements dipped 5.6% to 39k. Surprisingly freight only showed a marginal 0.8% rise to 898k tonnes. (Although IATA reported that 2016 regional freight volumes jumped 6.9%, and 11.2% in December, compared to a year earlier, the rate of growth for ME carriers was the lowest since the GFC).

Fuel prices went up yesterday for the second consecutive month – this time, Special-95 jumped 5.0% to US$ 0.515 per litre, with diesel rising 3.1% to US$ 0.545. This is in line with recent global oil price hikes.

Already with a presence in two South American countries – Columbia and Peru – Abraaj has bought a majority stake in a Chilean home design company, Casaideas. Founded in 1993, the company also has outlets in Bolivia and Peru.

Having seen a 3.2% increase in their levels of personal debt (including loans and credit cards) to US$ 11.6k, it now seems that UAE residents have started to tighten their financial belts, with average debt levels expected to decline. Furthermore, with banks having to account for falling deposit balances as well as to accommodate the commercial and public sectors, bank liquidity is tight. Latest figures indicate that the total of personal loans is US$ 118.3 billion, of which US$ 80.4 billion (68.7%) are for business reasons.

The UAE Central Bank confirmed that last year the country’s total foreign assets fell 8.9% to US$ 84.7 billion, as foreign deposits jumped 29.2% to US$ 40.3 billion, year on year.

If the current market rally continues to mid-year, it appears that Dubai Investments (DI) may well start IPOs for some of its subsidiaries, with Emicool top of the list. Meanwhile, the company posted a 9.8% hike in 2016 net profits to US$ 365 million, (including a US$ 51 million gain on the disposal of a subsidiary) as revenue surged 14.8% to US$ 845 million.

ICD, government-owned and a 12.5% shareholder in DI, also announced its third debt listing on Nasdaq Dubai – a 10-year US$ 1 billion sukuk. (This has strengthened the Dubai bourse’s claim to be the world’s largest exchange for sukuk listings with a current total listing of US$ 47.2 billion).

Within weeks, the parent company of Du, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co, will launch Virgin Mobile as the third operator in the country. Although its growth trend is heading upwards, Du has had to lay off staff in a cost cutting restructuring programme, resulting from increasing government royalty payments.

Nakheel posted a massive 13.2% hike in 2016 profits to its highest-ever mark of US$ 1.35 billion, with Q4 22.3% higher at US$ 260 million. The results were helped by growths of 70% and 50% in the developer’s retail and hospitality sectors. During the year, the company also repaid all of the outstanding US$ 1.17 billion of its trade creditors sukuk.

Majid Al Futtaim continues to go from strength to strength with a 9.0% hike in revenue to US$ 8.15 billion which drove a 8% increase in EBITDA  (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation), to US$ 1.12 billion. The private Dubai family company has total assets valued at US$ 14.4 billion, with a net debt balance of US$ 2.6 billion.

Emirates Refreshments Co posted disappointing Q4 figures with a massive 92.3% dive in profit to just 3k, as 2016 profits dropped 16.4% to US$ 958k.

Tabreed reported a 6.0% increase in 2016 profit, with revenue rising at the same rate to US$ 349 million. The district cooling company had added a further 74k refrigeration tonnes (including Dubai Parks & Resorts) to its capacity in 2016 and last month acquired a plant servicing ICT’s Nation Towers in Abu Dhabi. 63 of the 71 plants operated by Tabreed are located in the UAE.

Although revenue showed a 2.4% hike to US$ 1.36 billion, flydubai posted a 68.6% fall in 2016 profit to US$ 9 million on the back of “a difficult pricing and operating environment”. Passenger numbers were 14.4% higher at 10.4 million, with the budget airline increasing the size of its fleet of 737-800 aircraft to 57 over the year

Aramex posted a massive improvement in Q4, with profits climbing 128.8% to US$ 36 million. Although the Dubai-based courier company also showed an 18.1% rise in revenue to US$ 316 million, it still maintains a cautious outlook on future prospects as economic uncertainties continue. Two important shareholders are Mohammed Alabbar (16.45%) and Australia Post (4.5%) – in October it established an e-commerce JV with this junior international shareholder.

Emaar Malls, 85% owned by its parent Emaar Properties – with the balance by retail investors – belied the current malaise in the retail sector by recording a 3.9% hike in Q4 profits to US$ 123 million and an annual 12.6% revenue increase to US$ 510 million.

The DFM opened Sunday at 3701 and, after another flat week,, lost 77 points (2.3%) to close Thursday (02 February 2017) on 3624. Volumes were slightly higher, closing the last day of the week, at 691 million shares, valued at US$ 283 million, (cf 601 million shares for US$ 266 million, the previous Thursday). Emaar Properties traded US$ 0.10 lower, to US$ 1.97, with Arabtec remaining flat at US$ 0.37. In January, all three indicators had headed north – the DFMI a tidy 3.2% higher at 3643, Emaar Properties up US$ 0.08 to US$ 2.02 and Arabtec a tad US$ 0.01 higher at US$ 0.37.

This week Brent Crude gained US$ 0.32 to close on $ 56.56. Gold also moved in the right direction with a 2.4% increase (US$ 29) at US$ 1,190 by Thursday (02 February 2017). For the month of January, Brent traded US$ 1.33 lower (2.3%) to US$ 55.49, whilst gold was US$ 61 higher (5.3%) at US$ 1,212.

It is reported that Royal Dutch Shell is to sell a large portion of its North Sea assets, including nine of its oil fields, to Chrysaor for up to US$ 3.8 billion. The Anglo Dutch energy colossus wants to focus efforts to streamline its portfolio, following last year’s US$ 45.8 billion acquisition of BG Group. It also reported 8% dips in both Q4 and 2016 profits to US$ 1 billion and US$ 3.5 billion respectively, even though prices had more than doubled over the past 12 months.

Despite taking a US$ 2 billion impairment charge, in writing down its value of oil and gas reserves, Exxon Mobil still managed to post a US$ 1.7 billion Q4 profit – a 40% decrease compared to the same period in 2015.

Q4 figures from Facebook were more than impressive as both revenue and profit surged – by 53.6% to US$ 2.3 billion and 131% to US$ 3.7 billion respectively. The world’s leading social network saw user numbers up 17% to 1.86 billion. However, a US court has found Facebook guilty of illegally using Zenimax computer code to launch its own VR headset and ordered a US$ 500 million payment to be made for this infringement.

Apple also reported strong Q4 figures with net sales up 3.0% to US$ 78.4 billion – its strongest Q revenue ever, following three successive quarters of declining revenue. Unit sales of the iPhone were 4.7% higher at 78.3 million, accounting for US$ 54.3 billion (69.3%) of the company’s turnover.

As expected, VW (with 10.3 million vehicle sales and including Audi, Porsche and Skoda) deposed Toyota (10.175 million) as the world’s top selling auto maker. This achievement is more remarkable considering VW has had to deal with the fall-out from the emissions-cheating software scandal which cost the company US$ 4.3 billion in fines and penalties, levied by the US Department of Justice.

For its nefarious role in a Russian money-laundering scheme, Deutsche Bank has been hit with a US$ 603 million fine by US and UK regulators. Illicit activity between 2011 and 2015 resulted in the illegal movement of some US$ 10 billion out of Russia.

Another financial institution in the news is HBOS with two former bankers, along with four so-called turnaround consultants, found guilty of bribery and fraud that saw customers and shareholders being fleeced of several hundred million US$. The scheme involved the bank recommending its clients to use a firm of consultants to help the business with their “experience and expertise”. The opposite happened with the “consultants” charging high fees and using their relationship with HBOS to bully business owners and in many cases strip them of their assets and take over ownership.

Ant Financial, the digital payments division of China’s Alibaba, has bought MoneyGram for US$ 880 million. The US-based on-payment firm has 350k global outlets, whilst the e-commerce giant has over 630 million users.

In a move that surprised the market, Tesco is to acquire Booker for US$ 4.6 billion. The low profile food wholesaler operates the UK’s biggest cash and carry network, with 200 branches and also owns store chain brands, including Budgens, Londis and Premier, which cover over 5k sites. The market acted positively with Tesco shares up 9% and Booker surging 16%.

Sinking DVD and home entertainment sales have seen struggling Sony posting a US$ 1 billion write down in its accounts. To make up for any loss because of this impairment charge, the Japanese conglomerate will divest shares in its medical web service M3.

The Australian economy took advantage of improving commodity prices, with the latest quarter’s terms of trade surging 12.2%, as export prices soared by 12.4% whilst imports were up by a marginal 0.2%. For the year ending December, both figures were higher by 12.4% and 4.6% respectively. Despite global political and economic uncertainty, the “lucky country” continues to confound observers; the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Survey has a reading of 118.1 – well above the 100-point division between pessimism and optimism.

Although the Thai economy is being hamstrung by political uncertainty, its economy grew by 3.2% on the back of tourism (which accounts for 11% of GDP and saw a 9.2% increase in visitor numbers to 32.6 million) and further investment in military government projects.

The Bank of Japan has upgraded its October growth forecasts for the country from 1.0% to 1.4% and from 1.3% to 1.5% for fiscal 2017. It was also confident the inflation rate would reach its 2.0% target by fiscal 2018. Japan’s exports and manufacturing data indicate an economic upturn driven by a weaker yen, improving commodity prices and confidence returning to the global economy. Like the rest of the world, it has to closely monitor what is happening with Trump-era monetary and economic policy, in Europe with Brexit and debt issues in Greece, Italy and other countries, as well as geo-political turmoil in many troubled hot spots.

With inflation moving higher towards its target level of 2.0%, and unemployment at its lowest level in almost eight years (but still at 9.6%), there is every chance that the ECB may curtail its QE programme sooner than planned. It currently stands at US$ 86 billion a month to be scaled back to US$ 65 billion in April, prior to closing at the end of 2017. Q4 growth came in at 0.5%, pointing to a 1.7% annual rate. However, the Brussels bureaucracy will have nagging worries on whether events, including Brexit, Trump policies and elections – in France, Germany and Netherlands – could scupper further short-term progress.

In Q4, the UK economy continued to amaze the Remain camp by expanding a further 0.6%, driven by confident consumer spending and a burgeoning service sector. Despite fake reporting and scaremongering prior to the Brexit vote, the country grew by over 2% and the feared slowdown has not materialised. Indeed even Mark Carney of the Bank of England has upgraded his growth forecast from November’s 1.4% to an updated 2.0% less than three months later.

As he had already indicated pre-election, President Trump has called on the pharmaceutical sector to cut “astronomical” drug prices, as well as imploring the industry to manufacture more of their products in the US. In return, he has promised to cut taxes and speed up the approval protocol for new medicines.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold, still in the range of 0.5% to 0.75%, having raised the benchmark indicator by 0.25% in December 2016 – only its second increase in ten years. With near full employment and the prospect of higher inflation, hitting 2% this year, (as the president is on record indicating tax cuts, higher public spending and more deregulation), the Fed appears to be bullish on the country’s economy.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology has announced that a deep low pressure over the UAE this weekend will see temperatures dropping to below zero degrees on the mountains and the risk of snow in parts of the northern emirates. It is a pity that both the Dubai Tour Cycling and the Dubai Omega Desert Classic (including one Eldrick Tont Woods) will be impacted by the inclement weather and blowing sands – this weekend, the country is experiencing a Hazy Shade of Winter!