MEED
Issue No 01 2 - 8 January 2009
View all stories from this issue.
-
Blair needs Obama's support to succeed as Middle East envoy
For all his passion, Tony Blair has little to show for his 18 months in the role. -
Breaking the deadlock: Fayyad and Blair's hopes for Middle East peace
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and international Quartet envoy Tony Blair talk to MEED about the prospects for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. -
Downturn offers political test as Obama enters White House
A new administration is to take office in the US and elections could also lead to changes in the leadership of Israel and Iran, but radical political change appears unlikely in the coming 12 months. -
Energy outlook: Gulf energy demand to soar
Energy subsidies must be revised if the region is to meet gas and oil production targets. -
Energy outlook: Gulf energy demand to soar
Energy subsidies must be revised if the region is to meet gas and oil production targets. -
Financial crisis takes its toll on credit ratings
Ratings agencies adopt a dark perspective of the banking sector as hope fades and the market slows. -
Kingdom offers some hope for real estate
What is emerging is a crash of spectacular proportions in Dubai. Saudi Arabia is still in far healthier shape than the UAE market. -
NOC oil giants should keep investing
National oil producers to reprioritise investment plans as cuts in oil production are made. -
People to watch 2009
Twelve key figures for the coming year. -
Project finance sector faces crisis of confidence
Banks reined in financing in 2008, leaving the future of many developments in doubt, but as cautious optimism returns to the market the biggest challenge for the project finance sector is to hold its nerve. -
Ratings agencies downgrade Gulf banks
Weak operating conditions prompt review of the stability and outlook of the region's institutions. -
Region failing to boost gas supplies
International Energy Agency to put pressure on Middle East to meet rising demand for gas, which is set to increase further by 2030. -
Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical approach contractors over Ras Tanura
Joint venture floats build-own-operate terms in a bid to minimise costs. -
Sector outlook 2009: Banking
The global liquidity squeeze will affect Middle East banks' performance throughout 2009. -
Sector outlook 2009: Construction
Labour supply is set to outstrip demand this year as the effects of Dubai's real estate crash hit the region. -
Sector outlook 2009: Energy
As demand for oil and gas products declines, the Middle East's refinery projects face major delays. -
Sector outlook 2009: Industry
GCC governments are being forced to re-evaluate and prioritise their spending as oil prices fall. -
Sector outlook 2009: Petrochemicals
With falling demand, the outlook for the Middle East petrochemicals sector is increasingly gloomy. -
Sector outlook 2009: Power and water
After long delays in 2008, shorter lead times for materials and lower project costs are stimulating activity. -
Sector outlook 2009: Project market faces major slowdown
With investor confidence at an all-time low in the private sector, Gulf governments will have to dip into their savings to shore up key projects. -
Sector outlook 2009: State spending to speed recovery
Governments are poised to step in and fund key projects to mitigate the fall in oil prices as the global downturn threatens to undermine the economies of the Middle East and North Africa. -
Sector outlook 2009: Transport
A series of major transport projects will go ahead this year, despite a slowdown in other sectors. -
Special Report: Sector outlook 2009
MEED looks at what the year holds in store for the key sectors - banking, construction, energy, industry, petrochemicals, power and water and transport - as well as taking an overview of oil, projects and the Mena economy. -
Suez Canal confronts global crisis after record year of revenues
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is considering a new tariff structure to contend with falling revenues and traffic volumes, in the face of the global economic crisis, which has led to a downturn in international trade. -
The GCC in 2009: Facing up to the downturn
GCC economies will face sharp contractions in 2009, but a recovery is possible in 2010. -
Value of UAE contract awards collapses by 85 per cent in a year
Update coming soon.
