Death by a thousand cuts

The Fed cuts interest rates, the UAE Central Bank, pegged to the dollar, is forced to follow suit. The difference here is that the US is hurtling towards recession, the UAE is not. In fact, it is trying to get a grip on a boom.

Today's comment doesn't need to come from Kipp. We'll leave it to Shaikh Sultan bin Saud Al Qasimi, chairman of Barjeel Geojit Securities and managing director of the Sharjah-based Al Saud group. Cheaper money will only fuel consumption and, in particular, push up property prices, he tells Khaleej Times.

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Landmark branding

A consortium of Qatari funds is stumping up the $3.88 billion to fund the building of London's "Shard of Glass" skyscraper. The 310-meter tower, described as "Europe's most recognisable commercial property landmark", will add two million square feet of commercial space to the City.

It is another example of cash-rich Gulf funds stepping in to finance credit-crunched Western ventures. This one differs slightly in that it is a new build, high profile and slightly risky; nearly 400,000sqft of space has been pre-sold but filling the rest could prove sticky.

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Creating a Culture of Productivity

"There is no possibility of achieving competitiveness without raising the culture of productivity," said Professor Michael Porter, addressing the audience at 2nd Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh on Monday. If past experience of conferences in Saudi are anything to go by, half his audience would have been snoozing, the other half considering their lunch options.

Not that this should stop the Porter, professor at the Harvard Business School, an expert on economic competitiveness and paid north of $50,000 for making the trip, from delivering his presentation.

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Got talent

A global study of MBA students at top European, US and Asian schools has revealed that the Middle East needs to do more to attract top international talent. File this one under 'No Shit, Sherlock'.

To be fair, a closer look at the study (Hill & Knowlton's eighth annual Corporate Reputation Watch) does throw up some interesting insights, and explains what most of us already knew. MBA students much prefer publicly-listed companies to government or family-owned; one fifth are prepared to move abroad; and three-quarters would be happy to switch industry.

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First the World, tomorrow the Universe

Nakheel, developers of the three Palm islands and The World, plans to build The Universe. The project will comprise of a series of islands strung along the Dubai coast, stretching from Palm Jumeirah to Palm Deira. The construction will take 20 years to complete; choosing the name couldn't have than longer than 20 seconds.

As if to head off any criticism that its offshore developments were creating an environmental disaster zone, the news was preceded by the announcement Nakheel is to commit $55m to raise awareness of coastal development issues.

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