APRIL 2008

Unfinished business

Closing the doors on oil’s big boys
IOC’s good ol’ days are over

Did they ever get it wrong…
Bush & Co. missed the boat on Middle East policy

Are UAE consumers starting to feel the pinch?
Consumer confidence wanes

NATO looks to the region
Atlantic alliance in the MENA

USS Cole comes to Lebanon
Destroyer making show of force

The silent Right
The Mid East's moral stand

Growing US-Syrian trade
Big business despite sanctions

Fighting the same enemies
Bush battling Saddam’s rivals

Orient‘s budding markets beckon equity industry
Orient‘s budding markets beckon equity industry

Uncodified knowledge: The Middle East‘s unique innovation opportunity
Uncodified knowledge: The Middle East‘s unique innovation opportunity

A Universe Apart
A Universe Apart

Which investments have been money-makers in 2008? How to invest in global macro hedge funds and commodities
Which investments have been money-makers in 2008? How to invest in global macro hedge funds and commodities

Energy – Stifling Solar, Waffling Wind
Government gridlocks shorting out megawatts of renewable potential

Agriculture – Organic growing pains
War, political deadlock and lack of awareness stunt harvest

Liquified natural gas – In the pipeline
Egypt set to begin supplying gas

Education – Still a lot to learn
Public education system failing those who need it most

Beirut Stock Exchange - Struggling for momentum
Will BSE return to the bull market?

Trading heritage
Retail shopping malls take off as the market opens

Euphrates trade flows
Damascus learning there’s money to be made on the road to Baghdad

The dying sea
Dead Sea Industry threatened by lower water levels

A friend amidst foes
Ankara plays pragmatic politics for its greater economic interests

Migrant Labor
Ensuring rights and better treatment is essential in retaining workers

Kish: The reply to Dubai?
Tehran invests heavily in island’s technology and tourist infrastructure

Gulf drives for the green
World’s leading oil producers pumping billions into cutting carbon

Taxed up the Nile
Chaos in South’s tariff system crippling commerce and trade

Tipping the scales
Moroccan citrus feeds the Russian appetite

Emerging to the world
European and Arab backing brings Algiers within reach of WTO seat

Building its place
Casablanca looks to become offshore hub for foreign companies

Uncle Sam knows best
Moroccan school stays true to US model amid swirl of confusion

Heavy on the pocket
The cost of living rising around the region

Syria - Banked by Lebanon
Lebanese lending institutions branch eastward

HSBC - Middle East strategy
Bank bullish about prospects both in Lebanon and throughout region

IPO Watch – Sector Surging
Nothing but positive growth in regional markets

Money Matters by BLOMINVEST Bank

Company bulletin

Regional equity markets
A look at Arab World indices for January

Global economic data
Percent of part-time workers; consumer price increases

USA – Primary mistakes
America's pursuit of global popularity is misguided