UAE. AT Kearney analysis confirms recovery of GCC banks' profitability and insists banks urgently need to enhance their capabilities and level of customer service, after several years of relatively low investments.
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."