Capital flight threatens Bahrain, FX peg safe
DUBAI: Capital flight from Bahrain is starting to pressure its currency and threaten its position as a Gulf financial center, though it looks likely to avoid a full-blown currency crisis…
SODIC posts 2010 net profit, reversing loss
CAIRO: SODIC, Egypt's third-biggest listed developer, swung to a net profit of LE 135.3 million ($22.8 million) in 2010 and doubled project sales, it said on Thursday. The high-end real…
Egypt’s enduring tourism appeal
CAIRO: There are signs that Egypt’s tourism industry may be set to recover far more quickly than expected from the two months of political turmoil and protests that brought the…
Iraqi city rushes to get ready as Islamic culture capital
A half-billion-dollar effort to showcase Iraq's holiest Shia city to the world is coming down to the wire as many contracts remain unsigned and funds are being hastily re-allocated. Preparations…
Egyptian experimental film rediscovered
In the long history of Egyptian cinema, experimental film has always been a rarity, overlooked by critics and ignored by art-house audiences. Produced in early 1970s, Nagy Shaker’s experimental film…
Not up to the task
The Obama administration had no contingency plan for addressing revolutions in the Middle East. Intelligence officials explained that regime changes were possible: this particular country faced dangers of one kind,…
A wakeup call for Americans
LOS ANGELES, California: Last month, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief sponsored a fundraising dinner in Yorba Linda, California to raise money for women’s shelters and hunger relief…
Asia’s chains that bind
TOKYO: Asian manufacturers have always migrated in search of cheaper labor. Until recently, China seemed their ultimate destination, claiming an ever larger share of investment by Asia’s huge production networks.…
Jobs and structure in the global economy
NEW YORK: The global economy is at a crossroads as the major emerging markets (and developing countries more broadly) become systemically important, both for macroeconomic and financial stability and in…
Arab uprising, Japan quake hit air travel: IATA
GENEVA: Unrest in the Arab world and the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan are expected to have hurt first and business class travel in February and March, the International…