August Third Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business News
New Best Cities for Expats: Lisbon, Bangalore Emerge to Rival Hong Kong - Bloomberg
Kuala Lumpur
– the Malaysian capital is becoming increasingly attractive to global businesses because of its large English-speaking workforce, easy flight connections around the region and relative affordability. In 2021, the city ranked first in a worldwide survey of some 12,000 expats by InterNations, scoring top for housing.
Lisbon
– One of the oldest cities in Europe, Lisbon has reinvented itself as a hipster destination, hosting events such as the annual Web Summit and offering a mix of culture, nightlife and warm weather within easy reach of some of Europe’s most spectacular beaches
Dubai
– The desert state has been challenging Hong Kong and Singapore for expat traffic for more than a decade now and the combination of the pandemic and war in Europe has made the Emirate even more popular
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
– Venture capital is flowing into the southern Indian city faster than to London or San Francisco by one estimate, surging to $7.2 billion in 2020 from $1.3 billion in 2016. With a growing expat community has come international schools, as well as bars and bistros that serve everything from craft beers to pork ribs.
Mexico City
– Mexico topped the global ranking in InterNations’ 2022 Expat Insider ranking of the best countries to live in and its high-altitude capital is home to foreigners from all over the world. Blending seven centuries of history with some of the region’s most progressive policies — the city was the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriages — the capital is also home to one of the most vibrant restaurant scenes in the Americas.
Rio de Janeiro
– While the city suffered a decline in the 1990s, overshadowed by financial hub Sao Paulo, the laid-back vibe and world-famous beaches of Rio continues to hold an allure for foreigners moving to South America’s largest economy.
UAE Makes First Major Turkish Acquisition Since Relations Eased - Bloomberg
– A unit of Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Co. acquired the stake in renewable energy firm Kalyon Enerji Yatirimlari AS for 1.8 billion dirhams ($490 million.
– In November, Turkey and the UAE signed accords for billions of dollars of investments, including in technology and energy.
– In June, Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ bought Birgi Mefar, a small Turkish pharmaceutical firm.
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Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Gets Chunk of Developer Emaar in $2 Billion Deal - Bloomberg
– Emaar will buy Dubai Holding’s 50% stake in the Dubai Creek Harbour project and finance the deal equally in cash and shares, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s holding firm said in a statement late on Thursday.
– The Dubai Creek Harbor deal is the latest in a series of asset sales by the state-backed conglomerate.
– In 2019, Dubai Holding unit Meraas set up a $1.4 billion joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management Inc., giving the Canadian firm a degree of control of some of the city’s most prized retail assets. Dubai Holding is also behind Tecom Group, which in June raised $454 million in an initial public offering.
Dubai Inflation: Year of Discounting Ends as Companies Feel Cost Pressures - Bloomberg
– Competition in the emirate has meant that non-energy private firms didn’t always pass on higher costs even as their margins suffered. But while input cost inflation eased in July after four months of gains, businesses “reported a stable trend in prices charged for goods and services,” according to a report from S&P Global on Tuesday.
– While not as intense as in other parts of the world, inflation is percolating in the oil-rich Gulf. The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part, is among countries in the region that set aside billions of dollars in inflation relief.
The World’s Cotton Supply Keeps Shrinking, Hit by Drought, Heat - Bloomberg
– This confluence of extreme weather events brought on by climate change has sent cotton prices soaring by as much as 30%.
– Earlier this year, they touched the highest level since 2011, squeezing the margins of clothing suppliers around the world and threatening to raise the costs of everything from t-shirts to diapers, to paper and cardboard.
How the US Toppled the World’s Most Powerful Gold Trader - Bloomberg
– The case has shone a light on how JPMorgan’s traders — including Nowak and the bank’s long-time lead gold trader Gregg Smith — for years allegedly manipulated markets by placing bogus orders designed to wrongfoot other market participants, principally algorithmic traders whose high-speed activity became a major source of frustration.
– Alex Gerko, the head of an algorithmic trading firm, complained about Smith’s activity in the gold market as early as 2012 to CME Group Inc., which owns the futures exchanges where the US alleged thousands of spoof trades took place.
– At the Justice Department, the road to JPMorgan began with a decision to begin hunting down traders who made bogus offers to buy and sell commodities that they never intended to execute.
– In his testimony, Edmonds, who’d started in an operations role at JPMorgan, described spoofing on the desk as a daily phenomenon and felt obliged to take part because it was part of the normal strategy.
– At JPMorgan, Edmonds said the practice was referred to as “clicking” rather than spoofing, and the traders never discussed it as being illegal despite the firm’s own compliance policies making it plain.
– Even after the crackdown, some market participants say spoofing still takes place.