U.A.E. May Be Next to End Dollar Peg, Forwards Show

U.A.E. May Be Next to End Dollar Peg, Forwards Show
By Matthew Brown

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates may be the next Middle Eastern country to stop pegging its exchange rate to the U.S. dollar, according to trading in currency forwards.

The second-largest Arab economy may follow Syria and Kuwait, which both said in the past two weeks that they would dump the dollar peg to curb rising import costs and inflation. Middle East currencies have been dragged lower by declines in the dollar, pushing up the cost of imports from Europe and Asia.

Maktoum launches largest education foundation with $10b endowment

His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, today launched the 'Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation', a major initiative to promote human development and provide hope and opportunity by investing in education and knowledge-development in the region. His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed, made the announcement in a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum for the Middle East being held in Jordan.

dubai employment

Figures released by the Dubai Statistics Centre reveal that the emirate has an unemployment rate of 2.6%, one of the lowest in the world. The Dubai Labour Force Characteristic Survey 2006 also shows that population has increased by 7% to reach 1,370,714 of which 78% are male and 22% female.

DCCI figures

UAE is Britain’s largest export market. The exports from United Kingdom to the GCC totalled more than Dh37 billion for the first nine months of 2006, a report from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said. The UAE was Britain's largest export market, accounting for Dh20.7bn of this, while Saudi Arabia was second with Dh8.57bn.Motorists who do not yield to emergency vehicles will face strict action, warned the Civil Defence. Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said not yielding to fire engines and other emergency vehicles hinders rescue operations and costs tens of millions of dirhams which are invested to reduce the response time. "The authorities concerned will take strict action to check the lack of cooperation by some motorists who do not realise the losses they are causing,"

Emirates To Launch Non-Stop Flights To Newcastle (10 January 2007)A massive boost for travellers and cargo shippers throughout the UK’s North-east region, with a new non-stop connection to Dubai.

Middle East’s Richest Running Event Just Got Richer (9 January 2007)A brand new Toyota Yaris Sedan will go to the first marathon runner home

Dubai will be the world's safest city by 2010, when a "smart system" project to be established over the next two years will protect 100,000 establishments, a civil defence official said.The project depends on an electronic monitoring system on every building that will trigger the fire extinguishers and report accidents, once they happen, via satellites linked to the civil defence operations room.So far, 540 buildings, 1,500 houses and 390 flats in two Dubai Marina have the smart system. There will be some 4,600 installations of this kind, in more than 8,000 buildings, including apartment towers, said the official.Direct alarm systems are obligatory for all categories of buildings, whether new or old, and they will be installed provided the basic electronic infrastructure is available.

fools of today the kings of tomorrow . . . remember

UAE considers cut in dollar reserves
By Peter GarnhamMon Oct 30
The United Arab Emirates, the second-largest Arab economy, signalled on Monday that it might cut its holdings of dollars by almost half, highlighting a recent trend of reserve diversification away from the US currency.
Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi, the governor of the central bank of the United Arab Emirates, told a meeting of central bankers from Gulf states in Abu Dhabi that the bank wanted eventually to lower the dollar's share of its foreign currency reserves to a range of 50-90 per cent. Currently the UAE holds 98 per cent of its $25bn foreign exchange reserves in dollars and 2 per cent in euros.
"It is our investment policy to diversify," said Mr al-Suwaidi. "We are still waiting for the appropriate time."
Mr al-Suwaidi said that the central bank was still planning to convert as much as 8 per cent of its dollar holdings into euros - a scheme it first proposed in March amid fears that the US currency was set to depreciate. END

dubai gold

http://www.ipsnews.net a mine of world news from which I gleaned the follwoing informationA survey conducted by Sarwat Abdul Razzak, director of Dubai's ARY gold and jewellery firm, reveals that shoppers in the UAE spend, 30 times more on gold than in the rest of the world. South Asians constitute 70 percent of buyers, followed by East Asians with 22 percent. Arab and European consumers make up four percent each. The survey, covered 3,200 people across the country. An average person in the UAE buys 30 grams of gold annually compared to the global average of less than one gram. About 350 outlets in the Gold Souq display about 20 tonnes of jewellery at any given time. Some five million Indians work in the Middle East countries and each time they fly home they are certain to carry along some gold, either as family investment or as jewellery that will contribute to a dowry. With increasing affluence and lowering of customs duties, Indians have been flying to Dubai in increasing numbers just to buy gold jewellery in a market where caratage is assured.Shopkeepers say that there has been a 30 percent drop in sales ever since prices skyrocketed recently -- reaching nearly 80 dirhams (around 22 US dollars) per gram about two months ago. prices (per gram) have dropped to around 65 dirhams (about 18 dollars) now Gold and silver jewellery is the third biggest contributor to the economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after construction and petroleum.According to the Gold Fields Mines Survey (GFMS), the British industry watchdog, consumption of gold continues to rise in both global and regional markets despite high prices. Dubai imported 525 tonnes of bullion worth 10.5 billion dollars last year, which is projected to double in five years.