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As one of the world’s most influential business hubs, the Middle East requires expert attention. Business Extra provides those experts, as well as news and insights from The National’s esteemed team of business editors and reporters, who are on top of the markets, technology, the energy sector and more.
Episodes
Thursday Aug 30, 2018
Malaysia develops for foreigners, then takes it away
Thursday Aug 30, 2018
Thursday Aug 30, 2018
In this week's episode of the Business Extra podcast:
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday he wanted to prevent foreigners from buying residential units in the $100 billion Forest City project, a setback for the Chinese developer Country Garden as it tries to revive faltering demand for the site. What is the rationale for the change in direction?
Tesla Chief Executive Musk said late on Friday he would heed shareholder concerns and no longer pursue a $72 billion take-private deal. Musk's take-private plans for Tesla have evaporated, but the company's looming debt needs remain. How much is Musk's erratic behaviour hurting the company?
Emirates is adding a fourth daily flight on its route from Dubai to Riyadh starting from September 1. From Sept 1 there will be 91 weekly flights to the kingdom.
And we have a chat with Anna Skigin, who founded the company Frank Porter, which helps people in Dubai rent their apartments on AirBNB.
Thursday Aug 23, 2018
Greece is free from bailout but far from financial freedom
Thursday Aug 23, 2018
Thursday Aug 23, 2018
Greece is free of of its final bailout from the European Union, allowing Athens to borrow from financial markets for the first time since 2010. But the end of financial woe in Greece is far from over, as we discuss this week on the Business Extra podcast.
Also in this episode:
We analyse the move by Venezuela to devalue its currency the bolivar and launch a new one.
Elon Musk continues to fall under the microscope with his erratic behaviour, leaving Tesla's investors to wonder what's next for the company.
And host Chris Nelson interviews Maryam Amiri, a professional public speaker who specialises in large events and advising business professionals on their communication techniques.
Thursday Aug 16, 2018
Elon Musk's Twitter steers Tesla into trouble
Thursday Aug 16, 2018
Thursday Aug 16, 2018
In this week's Business Extra Chris Nelson and Andy Scott discuss Elon Musk's increasingly erratic behaviour. The maverick billlionaire and CEO of Tesla tweeted this week that he was considering taking his company private - a move that has caught the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The mercurial genius may have been the inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man but right now he would do well to avoid the limelight. He tweeted that he planned take Tesla private at $420 a share, valuing the company around $72 billlion, a 20 per cent premium on the share price that day.
As the car company has only posted two quarterly profits since its float eight years ago and last year lost over $2 billion it is not certain who has that much faith in Mr Musk.
The current currency volatility in emerging markets and the British pound are also under the microscope.
Tuesday Aug 07, 2018
DP World's row with Djibouti will have far-reaching consequences
Tuesday Aug 07, 2018
Tuesday Aug 07, 2018
DP World is asserting the validity of a London arbitration court ruling in its favour against the government of Djibouti over the seizure of the Doraleh container terminal. This is a row that will have far-reaching consequences for investment in Africa and confidence in DP World's vision.
Hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Chris Nelson discuss this and more in this week's Business Extra podcast. Also discussed in this episode:
The first half of 2018 saw lots of activity in the downstream-energy sector. Jennifer Gnana helps us analyse these developments and how changing consumer habits could affect segments the energy industry.
Enormous profits by Japanese company SoftBank seem to vindicate moves made by founder Masayoshi Son. His Vision Fund, set up last year, has grown SoftBank from a telecoms conglomerate to a holdings group with investments in the world’s most influential technology companies. What was Son's best deal?
A recent survey finds many job-seekers fresh out of university have not received proper help with career advice before joining the job market. Our hosts have some pointers of our own.
Thursday Aug 02, 2018
The unravelling of Abraaj, plus summer spending tips and more
Thursday Aug 02, 2018
Thursday Aug 02, 2018
The fall from grace of private-equity firm Abraaj Group took a new turn this week as founder Arif Naqvi faces another criminal case surrounding a bounced cheque, this one for the sum of Dh798 million.
For years, Abraaj projected a lavish and strong brand to the group's many high-profile investors. Now Naqvi and the group are under fire for being unable to pay for loans he had taken out to prop up the company. Will the Abraaj brand be able to recover?
Host Mustafa Alrawi discusses this and more in this week's Business Extra podcast.
Also discussed in this episode:
The National's personal-finance writer Alice Haine gives tips to the many on holiday this summer who might be wondering how best to get the most out of their funds while abroad.
Tourism numbers for Abu Dhabi showed growth over last year while Dubai's stayed flat, a sign of resilience for the UAE's tourism industry while at the same time global tourism numbers are mostly down.
Apple's strong third-quarter numbers have the company on pace to become the world's first trillion-dollar company.