United Arab Emirates
The announcement that Dubai World will be prepared to sell its “prized assets” to pay off its debt indicates the government-owned entity has been unable to secure support from Abu Dhabi....
Confirmation that the Japanese tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz last month was by a suicide bomber indicates that there is an increased Al Qaeda activity in the GCC....
The release on bail of Israeli suspect implicated in the forging of passports allegedly used in the assassination of the Hamas leader in Dubai has embarrassed the UAE authorities....
A survey has revealed over 85% of UAE residents have personal debts of over US $135,000 each....
Repeated and prolonged power cuts in the UAE emirate of Sharjah has damaged the emirates' economy....
The UAE government announced that “BlackBerry is operating beyond the reach of UAE law”, casting doubt on the future of the popular mobile e-mail and messaging service in the Emirates....
Nakheel has presented an offer to creditors to restructure the debt. This is seen as a cautiously positive move....
The UAE announced that a committee tasked with unifying the country’s financial laws has met....
Reports of an attempted coup in the northern-most emirate of Ras Al Khaimah are unraveling....
The UAE and Dubai economies appear to be decoupled. The UAE is projecting growth of up to 4% next year, while Dubai continues to slump. Further contraction in Dubai is expected this year....
Naval exercises by Iran in the Straits of Hormuz have prompted GCC leaders to strengthen their joint defenses and call for a united effort against Iran....
Tensions have risen between the UAE and Iran over the three disputed islands in the Gulf....
The UAE has announced that laws that will reduce monopolies, increase competitiveness and harmonize laws across the federation have been drafted....
Members of the UAE legislature, the Federal National Council, are increasingly becoming vocal that no election date has been set....
The UAE ministry of labour has stopped 800 of the country’s large companies from hiring staff. This came as a result of the ministry’s efforts to address non-payment of wages to staff....
Contradictory remarks by the Dubai government and Dubai World are further indication that issues of governance, transparency and communications are not being addressed....
Nakheel has indicated that it may not pay back the Islamic bonds – sukuks, which mature in May 2010. A default by Nakheel could trigger an array of downgrades of Dubai government-related entities....
The stoppage of work by Arabtec on Nakheel projects indicate that the Dubai problems in general are far from over and that chances of a quick recovery are remote....
The assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Dubai threatens to tarnish the image of the emirate as one of the region’s most open, yet safest....
The call by British Business Secretary Lord Mandelson calling on Dubai to resolve its debt problem puts further pressure on Dubai to put its act together....
