DFM General Index decreased by 4.7% in March

Dubai Financial Market General Index decreased by 4.7% to 1648.9 points at the end of March compared to 1730.4 points at the end of February. At the sectoral level, five out of the nine indices represented on DFM ended the month in the red, with Industrials sector decreasing the most by 10.7%, followed by the Real estate and Transportation sectors by 8.3%, and 6.4% respectively. Services index rose by 10.6%, the Financial and investment services up 5.2% and the Telecommunication index up 1.6%. The consumer staples sector has not witnessed any changes during this month. Read more

Dubai population tops two million

Dubai-based population increased by more than 22,000 people, according to official data. The emirate’s population totalled 2,000,113, according to the population clock of the Dubai statistics centre.

The figure means that the emirate’s people increased by 22,113 since the end of September and by around 100,000 since the end of 2010. Read more

Dubai residential sales up in Q1 of 2012

Mortgage lenders are competing to offer the most attractive packages

The Lakes, the Springs and the Greens have all seen price gains from Q3 2011

The resonance of the ‘Arab Spring’ continues to help the Emirates maintain its ‘safe haven’ status

Cluttons announced its Q1 market report for Dubai’s residential market 2012. The overall trend in the marketplace is positive, with stability and even growth seen in certain locations over the past six months. Residential sale transactions saw a natural increase in January and February particularly in the villa market, aided by the confidence given by the resurfacing of the local mortgage market. Read more

Gold range trading pattern likely to persist

 Gold investors and traders remain focused on the prospect for further US quantitative easing. Ben Bernanke continues to talk about the need for sustained accommodative policy until the end of 2014, fuelling expectations amongst gold bulls that QE3 will occur. The Fed chairman spoke on Monday, lifting gold prices.

However, gains were brief and over the next three days the market declined until a modest recovery on Friday saw gold close  higher for the second week in succession. Read more

Dubai to host Middle East Schools International Rugby Festival

Dubai Set To Host Emirates Airline Middle East Schools International Rugby Festival

Event held at 7he Sevens 5^th-7^th April

 The inaugural Emirates Airline Middle East Schools International Rugby Festival is set to take place in Dubai at 7he Sevens this April, bringing together hundreds of skilled rugby players from the UAE and the UK.

Talented rugby teams from 25 of the UAE and UK’s top secondary schools will take part in the three day rugby tournament from the 5th to 7th of April. The all-male teams will be divided into four categories including an Under 18, Under 16, Under 14 and Under 12 division. Read more

Underlying outlook for silver remains constructive

  Last week, silver had posted the first positive quarterly performance since Q1 2011.

The silver market is  up 16.18% on the quarter and while January and February’s very sharp gains made the market the star of the major commodities initially this year, trading has moderated over the last month. The market is holding above the underlying bull trend from 2008 and sustaining the one year moving average. Read more

Dubai saves record 216MW during Earth Hour

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said the Earth Hour 2012 celebrations drew overwhelming support from all sectors of the community in the emirate and helped achieved a record saving of 216,000 KW/h and 130,000 kg carbon emission.

Announcing the achievement, Dewa said thanks to the support of people in Dubai, the global event, held to mark the single largest act of conservation for the betterment of Earth, had resulted in a 6 per cent increase in saving compared to 2011. Read more

Global Village Tremendous Commercial Success

 Global Village, the largest outdoor family entertainment venue in the region and member of Tecom Investments, brings its 16th and longest season ever to a triumphant close. Almost 5 million visitors were welcomed through the 151 day event. This included a new record of 165,000 visitors in a single day. The volume of trade generated in the park exceeded AED1.5 billion, making it an astounding success for investors as well. Read more

Christian Louboutin expands in the Arabian Gulf

Ladies, ready your credit cards to splash some cash on a new collection.

Christian Louboutin joined the never-ending list of boutiques at the Dubai Mall mall in 2011, making it the second store in the region for the famed designer.

In 2010, the maker behind the red-soled shoes opened his first standalone shoe store in Mall of Emirates.

Fast forward, a new Christian Louboutin boutique will open its doors April 2012. The stand-alone store will be located in Qatar’s unique shopping destination, The Villaggio Mall in the capital city of Doha. Read more

Internet marketing can top traditional models

Marketing Effectiveness: Getting the right returns from brand investments

Results of a Nielsen study looking at marketing of products in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa concluded that not all paid media dollars expect a lift in consumer product revenue. Sometimes brands need to weight more promotional price discounting and Internet buzz into the mix.

For these products, mass media spending was 16% more than average and commanded an average of 31% higher share of category spending. Read more

Next Page »