KUWAIT. Kuwait's laws are hampering progress and the Gulf state needs to improve its insolvency laws so that distressed companies can restructure properly.
INTERNATIONAL. Bahrain has maintained its position as a key insurance hub and continues to post growth in its insurance market despite a prolonged period of political turbulence.
UAE. "The general trading atmosphere is sufficiently negative for gold to enable sellers to have a firm grip on the market. However, I fail to see how the rally in the stock markets can be put into any sensible relation to the economic plight of the underlying countries."