Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah revised Lebanon’s projected GDP growth for 2009 to 3 percent from 5 percent in light of the global financial crisis and the expected economic slowdown in the oil-rich Gulf Arab states. The minister also projected inflation to reach 5 percent this year.

The World Economic Forum, in partnership with the Government of Dubai, held its inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai from 7 to 9 November 2008.

Private sector salaries in the Gulf region increased at an average rate of 11.4% over the last year, according to figures released today by GulfTalent.com, the Middle East’s leading online recruitment firm. In its fourth annual survey of salary trends in the region entitled “Gulf Compensation Trends 2008”, GulfTalent.com revealed the following increases in basic salary by country, over the twelve-month period to August 2008:

The unfolding financial crisis, the worst since the Great Depression, is now affecting the real economy, with lending at a trickle, unemployment rising and retail sales falling, William R. Rhodes, Senior Vice-Chairman, Citigroup; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Citibank NA, Citi, USA, warned participants in a session on the risks to global growth at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2008.

Bahrain's position as a regional leader for foreign investment has been confirmed after it was ranked number one in the GCC for inward foreign direct investment in the World Investment Report announced recently at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva.

His Excellency Sheikh Fahad Bin Faisal Al Thani, Deputy Governor, Chairman National Anti Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Committee has responded positively to the findings of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) review of Qatar's anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework and has reiterated Qatar's commitment to fighting money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

Colliers International, the global real estate consultancy, today launched its Q2 2008 International House Price Index for Dubai.

In an environment where soaring oil prices have led to the massive accumulation of surplus cash for the oil-producing Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, it might have appeared earlier in the year that the global credit crunch would simply pass them by.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) last month released a report assessing the progress being made by GCC countries to achieve the convergence criteria for a GCC Monetary Union (GMU) that were endorsed by the Supreme Council of the GCC at its 27th session held in Riyadh in 2006. The report is the first in a series of reports to be released by the Centre focussing on issues affecting the region’s economy.