Economics and Policy
Occupancy at Beirut hotels declined 10 percent in the first quarter of 2013 as room yields dropped 35 percent, Ernst & Young’s monthly survey of the MENA hotel sector showed.
Israel's security cabinet on Sunday discussed proposed cuts in defense spending of over a billion dollars, as public opposition mounts to austerity plans.
Companies and Business
A planned flotation of Doha Global Investment Co, a $12 billion Qatari investment firm backed by assets from the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, has been postponed pending necessary approvals, a senior bourse official said on Sunday.
State-run Kuwait Airways will spend 850 million dinars ($2.98 billion) on 25 new Airbus jets and aims to lease a further 13 to upgrade its ageing fleet, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Sunday.