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In this Op-Ed, Mohammad S. Moussalli analyses the detrimental aftereffects of indecisiveness and inaction of the international community and world leaders on the world. He argues for change in the criterion through which people select their leaderships We often hear many senior citizens, parents and grandparents talk nostalgically about the good old days of their time. […]
With the approval of the EFSF funds by the IMF, there is a wave of cautious optimism in the financial markets about the prospects of the Greek economy moving forward. With smiles on their faces and shakes of the hand, leaders of the Eurozone plunged into unknown Greek bailout territory. […]
Despite facing challenges of a weak global economy and volatile domestic politics, the MENA region is showing robust economic performance. According to the QNB Group, the region’s economy will grow by 3.5 to 4 percent this year. Further improvements are expected in 2014 along with growth rates of 4.5 to […]
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has now passed 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in 3 million years. After resting comfortably below 300ppm for the past 30,000 centuries, CO2 levels in the planetary atmosphere have suddenly jumped to 400ppm within the past 2 centuries. “It couldn’t be us, […]
The International Monetary Fund has once again called for countries in the Middle East and North Africa to withdraw heavy energy subsidies and instead, focus on social spending. The IMF believes that such subsidies, amounting to about USD 240 billion annually, place severe stress on public funds and do not […]
There is a clear divide between what Egypt wants in order to address its economic woes and the options it has in order to make it happen. On one hand, it wants to achieve economic stability and political certainties in order to kick start its economic growth and development To […]
US secretary of state, John Kerry, has emphasised that in order to get any sort of aid from the IMF, Egypt needs to get its tattered economy back on track. Even though it seems like the first priority for Egypt would be to get its political house in order, there […]
It seems like that even though the Greek debt crisis has been going on forever, the leaders are now finally getting to terms with the beast that is on their hands and they are now getting to terms with how to solve or even begin to solve this issue. After […]
Today’s top business and economy news from the Middle East and North Africa: Top UAE banker says Islamic finance ethical model for global banking A top UAE banker said on Sunday Islamic finance can be an ethical and sustainable business model in the global financial landscape in order to avoid a […]
The International Monetary Fund on Monday urged Gulf Arab oil exporting countries to cut down government spending in order to make their budgets more sustainable, warning their combined surplus could turn into a deficit around 2017. “While expansionary fiscal policies helped the region weather the global financial crisis, given the healthy […]
The International Monetary Fund has painted a dim picture of Sudan’s economy in its semi-annual World Economic Outlook report released in Tokyo on Monday. The report was immediately rejected by some Sudanese economic experts. Anayir, a Sudanese economist, blasted the “unfair and inaccurate” IMF report, and insisted that the outlook for […]
At the onset of this millennium, the World Bank (WB) established a set of international development targets, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to reduce poverty by half on 2015. On that point, during the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) held in Dubai, […]
Egypt Local Development Minister Ahmed Zaki Abdeen announced on Thursday the government is planning to cut the fuel subsidy bill towards the end of this year. The government official said plans are in place to start printing the coupons for subsidised gas. Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi’s administration was eyeing mid-October for the […]
Egypt’s foreign reserves recorded a fall of $84 million in September but held above the $15 billion seen as necessary to shore up the pound for a third straight month after foreign donors began fulfilling promises of aid. With the reserves still close to danger level, economists cautioned against reading […]
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan announced at a party congress on Sunday Ankara will clear its remaining $1.3 billion of debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by next April. Turkey has heavily relied in the past on IMF loans to meet its financial shortfalls, but has managed to do without […]
Today’s top business news from the Middle East and North Africa: Dubai state firm to take over troubled Zabeel – report A report published by Reuters said on Thursday state-owned property firm Dubai Real Estate Corp (DREC) has taken over management of troubled Zabeel Investments, which is owned by the […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday it expects oil rich Saudi Arabia, which has been running big budget surpluses on the back of high oil prices, to post a small deficit as early as 2016. “The projected trend decline in oil prices over the medium term will reduce the surpluses, […]
Today’s top business news from the Middle East and North Africa: Dubai introduces rewards system for safe drivers Dubai Police announced they have started a white points system to encourage motorists to follow traffic rules and help cancel black points, local media reported on Wednesday. Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, […]
Egyptian Finance Minister Mumtaz Al Saeed announced on Wednesday its budget deficit reached 11% of gross domestic product for the fiscal year ending in June, far higher than the 8.6 per cent originally forecast. The finance ministry attributed the rise to public sector salary increases and a drop in tax revenues […]
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of hike in fuel prices and VAT after more than a week of protests across the West Bank over the spiralling cost of living. “The price of fuel will be returned to what it was in late August, starting Wednesday,” […]
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates said the federation’s economy has shown “sustained resilience” and is likely to grow faster than the International Monetary Fund forecast for this year. The apex bank said in its first “financial stability review” that the UAE’s economy, apart from oil receipts, may […]
Egypt’s prime minister said on Sunday he expected to reach a $4.8 billion loan deal with IMF in the next few weeks and is holding talks for additional budget support worth about $1 billion with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Cairo has been negotiating with the […]
Today’s top business news from the Middle East and North Africa: GCC integration plan needs more discussion – statement A plan to integrate six Gulf countries as proposed by Saudi Arabia last year in response to Middle East turmoil needed more discussion, Gulf Arab foreign ministers said on late Sunday after […]
Standard and Poor’s warned Egypt on Thursday that much-needed support from international lenders could weaken Egyptian institutions if authorities are unable to effectively address ongoing economic, fiscal and external challenges. The international ratings agency also said it was keeping Egypt’s foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at ‘B/B’ because of […]
Egypt is facing difficulties in importing fuel as foreign banks and traders are refusing credit and charging high premiums due to concerns over its financial and political stability, trading and banking sources said. Cairo requested IMF up to $4.8 billion on Wednesday. Many analysts believe without such ad-hoc interventions, Egypt […]
Egyptian officials said they have requested a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund during a visit on Wednesday by its chief Christine Lagarde to discuss helping the ailing economy. Cairo said last week it would discuss a bigger-than-expected loan from the fund, whose support could help to stave […]
An International Monetary Fund delegation, headed by Christine Lagarde, will visit Egypt to discuss the possibility of a bigger-than-expected $4.8 billion loan, its finance minister said on Thursday. The IMF confirmed in a statement that Lagarde would be present and said the delegation’s visit would start on 22 August. “Her visit […]
Middle East Business News Review – A look at today’s important financial news and business updates from the Middle East and North Africa UAE Middle East M&a leader – report The UAE, which has leapt six places to 20th in the past five years, has performed strongly on the world’s […]
The International Monetary Fund announced on Wednesday a $2bn loan agreement has been reached with Jordan as it struggles with surging borrowing costs and political unrest. The Washington-based lender said on its website it agreed to a request for a 3-year stand-by accord “in support of the government’s economic reform programme”. […]
The President of Tunisia Moncef Marzouki announced on Wednesday the removal of Mustapha Kamel Nabli from his position as the Governor of the Central Bank in line with Article 26 of the Interim Law of Public Authorities from 16 December, 2011. The National Constituent Assembly will now have 15 days to […]
Middle East Business News Review – A look at today’s important financial news and business updates from the Gulf, Levant and North Africa regions of the Middle East: Qatar Telecom interested in $1.9 billion Wataniya stake Qatar Telecom (QTEL) has expressed its interest in buying a stake valued at about […]
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday gave strong indications it is ready to help Egypt kickstart the economy and deal with socio-political issues after the new president takes office at the end of this month. “The election of a new president is an important step forward in Egypt’s transition,” a […]
Middle East Business News Review – A look at today’s important financial news and business updates from the Gulf, Levant and North Africa regions of the Middle East: Dubai posts 6.6% foreign trade growth rate in Q1 2012 Dubai posted a 6.6% growth during the first quarter of 2012 in […]
The UAE will see a year on year GDP growth of 4.5% in 2012 while Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain will record a year on year growth of 4.9%, 4% and 3% in 2012 respectively, according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) data. The data also suggested that continued upward […]
Middle East Business News Review – A look at today’s important financial news and business updates from the Middle East and North Africa region: Kuwait court dissolves newly elected parliament day after suspension Kuwait’s constitutional court ruled on Wednesday the country’s Islamist-dominated parliament was elected unconstitutionally and restored the previous […]
A look at today’s important financial news and business updates from the Middle East region: Qatargas, Tepco enter long-term LNG accord Qatargas said on Monday it has entered into a new long-term agreement with its largest Japanese LNG buyer, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), to provide liquified natural gas (LNG). Under […]
The International Monetary Fund warned the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries could face major financial repercussions if the eurozone contagion spreads across global markets. The global financial institution said in a report that countries depending on foreign financing and having financial links to Europe will face serious risks and difficulties. […]
A look at today’s important financial news and business updates from the Middle East region: UAE govt-related firms to repay $30bn debts due in 2012 – IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest report that around $30 billion of maturing loans have to be repaid by government-related […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest report that around $30 billion of maturing loans have to be repaid by government-related companies in the United Arab Emirates. The global financial institution added that companies also face a “significant” amount of debt due in 2014 and 2015. “Several government-related […]
A look at today’s important financial news and business updates from the Middle East region: Sanctions on Iran having moderate impact on Dubai economy – official A top Dubai official has said the emirate’s economy has felt only a modest impact on trade from international sanctions against Iran so far. […]
