http://blogs.zawya.com/topic/economy/ Economy & Politics homepage en-us Copyright 2008 ABQ Zawya Ltd. All rights reserved. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT 27 http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080714082704/       In its spring issue, Foreign Policy, a US-based political magazine, published a list of the world's 100 top public intellectuals in alphabetical order. The magazine then asked its readers to vote for those they deemed most deserving of the highest honours - 500,000 public votes later, an interesting fact emerged: the top 10 was dominated by intellectuals... Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080714120000080714082704 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080630035533/ Inflation and the Dutch Disease of the Gulf For over a year now the hottest topics in many cities of the GCC have been the rising cost of living and the depreciating value and purchasing power of the local currency, both of which link directly to the issue of inflation. But why is any one surprised? This is a most natural phenomenon in a region know... Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080630120000080630035533 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/farhan.mahmood/080629080402/ US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visited Saudi Arabia in May for his first official trip to Kingdom to stress US openness to GCC-based investments as well as assess the dangers to economic growth from surging oil prices. With much talk and speculation about the Saudi riyal's revaluation or depegging versus the greenback, the visit provided Mr.... Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080629120000080629080402 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080623191231/ The numbers are staggering. Not in their wildest dreams did the Arab Gulf states, known by the acronym GCC, expect to rack-up such large revenues. Their GDP, the value of all goods and services produced in a year, has crossed the $1 trillion mark, according to the International Monetary Fund, and their foreign assets, which increase by $1 billion per... Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080623120000080623191231 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080530225205/ There are generally three accepted kinds of corruption[1] that are standard in the world today, organised corruption which includes gangs and criminals, petty corruption which involves small amounts of money and business or political corruption which in the Gulf is yet to be officially recognised as a crime. Some GCC countries have ranked quite well... Fri, 30 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080530120000080530225205 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080518212108/    There is a community of 1.3 million Arabs living within Israel but outside the Arab world. They have been neglected, ignored and often looked down upon by their fellow Arabs as traitors who have stayed behind while many Palestinian Arabs fled the violence of the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948. Upon the founding of the state of Israel, hundreds of... Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080518120000080518212108 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080513100431/ Do you believe in heroes? Not the kind found in animated comics but those who really exist. Heroes who risk their lives for the betterment of man, who leave behind safe environments, their families and their homes to travel to war zones to give others - people they have never met and possibly will not meet again - a better life. They change into special... Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080513120000080513100431 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/Dr Alon Ben-Meir/080508054110/ The killing by Israeli undercover troops of four Palestinian militants in Bethlehem, on March 12, raises questions not as much about Israel's right to self-defense but about the context and the circumstances under which this right is exercised. Even the right to self-defense and matters of national security must be balanced against the prevailing conditions.... Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080508120000080508054110 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/matein.khalid/080507061249/ The risks of an accidental showdown between the US Navy and Iran in the Gulf have only increased now that the Pentagon has deployed a second aircraft carrier battle group to the region and replaced Admiral Fallon with General Petraeus as the new commander of CENTCOM. Defence Secretary Gates pointedly termed the deployment a "reminder" for the Iranian... Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080507120000080507061249 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080428223209/ Many of us have heard of the famous advertising empire known as Saatchi and Saatchi, laughed at the jokes of Jerry Seinfeld, tapped our feet to the beats of Paula Abdul and shopped at Max Azria's BCBG stores. So what do all these successful people from various industries have in common? They are all of Arab origins.The Jewish presence in what is now... Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080428120000080428223209 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080421092216/ A quiet revolution is taking place in the Arab states of the Gulf, but this one needs no demonstrators, slogans or weapons. It is being undertaken by the pen, the book and the abaya. In what are supposed to be some of the most patriarchal societies in the world, women are taking the helm with and without the consent of men.At colleges and universities... Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080421120000080421092216 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/matein.khalid/080407060039/ While consumers, savers and financiers in the Gulf fret about the current inflation surge and rightly attribute it to the dollar peg, offplan madness and the property speculation bubble, the prices of cement and steel, rent spirals, wage spikes, the money supply, 30 per cent bank credit growth and the tooth fairy, I am convinced that the Middle East's... Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080407120000080407060039 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080402073325/ It seems like not a single day can pass without yet another extravagant announcement of a new real estate project that defies gravity, the law of nature and the laws of finance. There is something to be said about the lack of government supervision that extends from allowing firms to issue press releases that are clearly stretching the truth to broken... Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080402120000080402073325 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/080304081547/ It was the stuff that dreams, or nightmares, are made of, depending which side of the fence you sit on. Kuwait finally caved in to the demands of hundreds of citizens to write off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of loans that they have accumulated in mortgages, personal loans and car loans. To any GCC pundit this shouldn't come as a surprise.... Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080304120000080304081547 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/farhan.mahmood/080227115108/ Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, has investments totalling roughly $850 billion. To put things in perspective, this is equivalent to the GDP of Egypt, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan combined..... Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080227120000080227115108 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/Dr Alon Ben-Meir/080206113147/ I have just returned from an extended trip to the Middle East, hoping that I would come back feeling recharged by the progress made in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, especially in the wake of the Annapolis peace conference. To my dismay, not in Israel or in Jordan or in talking to Palestinian and Egyptian officials, have I felt or seen much optimism.... Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080206120000080206113147 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/gulfcapital01/080127053731/ Cheer up - it is a bloody Tuesday for the stock markets As I am writing these words stock markets around the world are witnessing one of the most dramatic free falls in their history. The sub-prime problem is now snowballing to become a global recession. Banks are hesitant to even lend to each other. Central bankers are panicking. The Federal Reserve... Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080127120000080127053731 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/matein.khalid/080107072652/ The assassination of former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, the looming confrontation between the Thai military high command and Thaksin's populist PPP party after the December 23 election and Congress's defeat to BJP chief minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat demonstrates that Asian equities face ominous political risk. Moreover,... Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20080107120000080107072652 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/gulfcapital01/071209070246/ The funds raised in the first 9 months have increased by 20% from $1.9 billion in 2006 to $2.3 billion in 2007. Great news - on a first glance. However, the $2.3 billion includes $1.2 billion raised by Abraaj's Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund, and conceals the untold truth that many funds are struggling to raise money. The easy money days of 2005 and 2006 seems to be over. Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071209120000071209070246 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/farhan.mahmood/071209063626/ There are a total of 16 commercial banks operating in the Kingdom, including five branches of foreign banks. Last year, net profits of banks climbed to USD 9.25 billion, rising by 35% while their total foreign assets rose by 42% to USD34.60 billion. Consolidated profits of banks surged from 2004 to early 2006 primarily on the back of a bull run in the... Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071209120000071209063626 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/farhan.mahmood/071209063104/ A very positive development for the banking sector is the anticipated Saudi Arabian Mortgage Law, expected to be approved by the end of this year. As mortgage finance becomes readily available, it is expected that potential demand from consumers for potential home ownership will increase significantly. Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071209120000071209063104 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/shawkat.hammoudeh/071203064331/ By  Shawkat Hammoudeh and Ramazan Sari, Abstract:Given the secrecy that wraps the flows of the GCC countries' petrodollar surpluses to the United States and the pressures on these countries to spend and recycle more, this study attempts to uncover the causal relationships between the GCC financial accounts and the US current account deficit. It also... Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071203120000071203064331 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/farhan.mahmood/071127112144/ Since the beginning of this year, the US dollar has seen a sharp depreciation against major currencies. Such a steep decline is causing concern that the US dollar's weakness may augur the end of its reign as the dominant currency for trade, financial transactions and central-bank reserves. A combination of factors has caused this depreciation, including... Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071127120000071127112144 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/071121063621/ According to the IMF, the GDP of the GCC in 2007 will reach a whopping $750 Billion[1], placing it roughly above Australia as the 16th largest economy in the world[2]. And yet this number does little more than aggregate the economies of six geographically close countries that practically might as well be on six different continents. It is inconceivable... Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071121120000071121063621 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/Dr Alon Ben-Meir/071107074454/ The most momentous declaration that came out of the Arab world was the Arab Initiative which was re-adopted by the Arab League in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in March 2007. It would be tragic to allow the Initiative to die the way it withered and died in Beirut, Lebanon, when it was first introduced by Saudi Arabia in March of 2002. The Arab Initiative offers... Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071107120000071107074454 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/shawkat.hammoudeh/071105131148/ Using a structural cointegrated VAR, this study examines the impacts of external shocks originating from the dollar, euro and yen zones as well as the regional shocks on the oil-rich countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), viewed as a prospective monetary union. It focuses on the implications of shock impacts for selecting an apposite common exchange rate regime Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071105120000071105131148 Open http://blogs.zawya.com/farhan.mahmood/071105091150/ Before we relocated to Riyadh over a year ago, I had been following developments across the GCC and thought I had a fairly good idea of the robust economic landscape here. However, I did not anticipate such a powerful magnitude of business and level of economic activity. In retrospect, I underestimated the economic potential of the region in general... Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT Zawya 20071105120000071105091150 Open