Developers in Dubai are routinely overcharging home buyers thousands of dirhams in registration fees and for service charges, property experts say.

The practice is "massively widespread", said Michael Lunjevich, a partner in the law firm Hadef & Partners.More buyers are complaining about the fees in Dubai, as cash-strapped developers finish projects started in the boom years.Ratnakar Mallar is challenging Dh8,000 (US$2,100) of administration and registration fees a developer is demanding before he can take over a two-bedroom apartment in a new development in Dubailand.

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Abu Dhabi's economic performance dipped in the first quarter of the year, the results of a newly launched business cycle indicator in the capital show.

Weakening business and household sentiment helped draw to the indicator down compared with the same period last year, according to the new index from the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED).Officials say the DED's Abu Dhabi Business Cycle Indicator will provide the most accurate and timely gauge of the health of the emirate's economy.Published every quarter, the index is a composite of five individual indicators: the number of new business registrations from the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; firms' assessments of the current business situation; data on personal income; the performance of stocks on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange; and oil prices.

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Saudi Arabia's central bank expects moderate inflationary pressures in the Gulf oil producer in the second quarter of 2011, it said yesterday, but analysts remain wary of import inflation and dollar weakness.
Inflation in the world's top oil exporter has eased since touching an 18-month high of 6.1 per cent in August 2010 as a rise in food costs subsides."Available data ... show possible continued domestic inflationary pressures, at moderate rates, during the second quarter of 2011," the central bank said in a quarterly inflation report.
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With summer drawing close, and people gearing up to spend holidays abroad, the ministry has released instructions to the citizens planning to holiday outside the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials on Sunday urged citizens to adhere to the laws of the destination countries.

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Abu Dhabi is re-evaluating plans to build the country's biggest road project using private finance, calling into question the viability of billions of dirhams' worth of future deals.

The Department of Transport has for the past three years been preparing a public-private partnership (PPP) to build a Dh10 billion (US$2.72bn) road to Saudi Arabia from the capital. Last month, the department declared it had selected a preferred PPP bidder for the Mafraq-to-Al Ghweifat Highway project and that formal approval could be weeks away. But this week it said it was "currently evaluating different options" for the 327km road project in the interests of ensuring "best quality and value".

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The Dubai skyline is set to be transformed by the Dubai Pearl development. Jayne Alverca takes a closer look at the planned complex which creates an impression of awe and wonder.

By the end of 2013, the Dubai skyline will have been transformed. At the heart of the Dubai Technology and Free Media Zone, a new and iconic landmark will soon appear. Overlooking the Palm Jumeirah Island, Burj Al Arab and the clear waters of the Arabian Gulf, four 73-storey towers, connected at the summit to give the impression of a single dramatic structure, will create a breathtaking new skyline. The Dubai Pearl development will translate the culture and heritage of the city into a landmark that befits the city’s growing importance and status in the Middle East of the 21st century.

It is envisaged as a world class, mixed-use, 20 million square foot integrated development under the ownership and management of Pearl Dubai FZ LLC, a consortium of investors led by the UAE’s Al Fahim Group. The group’s portfolio also includes oil field support, automotive and industrial development, hospitality, travel and tourism, and it is already recognised as one of the leading real estate developers in the region.

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A year after delivering the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, Emaar Properties has had a 79 per cent drop in home sales.

The company's net profit fell 44 per cent to Dh420 million (US$114.3m) in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, as the region's biggest developer felt the impact of Dubai's sagging property market. Overall revenue fell 32 per cent to Dh1.9 billion.

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Dubai government-owned Emirates Airline posted a 52 per cent rise in net profit last year, with strong demand in the early part of the year offsetting a more challenging second half.

The Arab world's largest carrier made a net profit of $1.5 billion, Emirates said.Net profit for the wider Emirates Group rose 42.9pc to $1.6bn last year. Revenue for the airline in 2010 was $14.8bn, an increase of 25pc.

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The broadband market in Oman is ripe for growth as an emerging tech-savvy generation of entrepreneurs drives up demand for cutting edge technology, according to Ross Cormack, Chief Executive Officer of the telecommunications provider Nawras.

Cormack told Oxford Business Group (OBG), the global publishing, research and consultancy firm, that a growing number of Omanis were keen to have full, fast Internet access both at work and at home.“Broadband devices are the future for the development of ICT. Wherever you go, you should be able to access high speed Internet easily and efficiently,” he said. “There is a vibrant base of business leaders in Oman and having the technology already available for them can only help to boost entrepreneurship further.”

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NakheelNakheel, the property arm of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World, expects to reach a deal to pay part of its debt to local contractors this month, its chairman has said.

However, Ali Rashid Lootah said claims made by the contractors for the payment of Dh8 billion were highly exaggerated, adding that some of them had agreed to renegotiate claims and payment.

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One of Dubai's largest property developments, located near the Palm Jumeirah, has lost a crucial early shareholder and has slowed down construction.

Dubai Pearl, the US$3.8 billion (Dh13.95bn) development near the entrance of the Palm Jumeirah, has lost one of its largest investors and construction activity has been scaled back.Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Investments, the commercial arm of the financial free zone, pledged Dh3bn to buy 29 floors of the east tower of Dubai Pearl in late 2008. The deal was one of the last major announcements in the peak of the property boom that year.

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Abu Dhabi and Dubai no longer feature among the world's 10 most expensive office markets, according to a Knight Frank report.

Abu Dhabi has moved from sixth to 13th on the property company's list of the most expensive markets last year, while Dubai now occupies 12th place after ranking seventh in 2009. Lagos, Nigeria and Geneva are among the markets above the UAE cities.

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The death of Osama Bin Laden apparently failed to change a new tendency by Bahraini newspapers to highlight local news over international news, regardless of how earth-shattering the news is.

Only one paper, Al Wasat, gave prominence to Bin Laden's death on its front page while the other dailies devoted front-page space to other news.In neighbouring Qatar, the dailies were more generous with reports on his death, although they remained mostly neutral.

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Bin Laden was staying in a prominent million-dollar, high-security residence in an area full of soldiers and close to the country's premier military academy.

John Brennan, a counter-terrorism adviser to Barack Obama, told journalists at the White House: "People have been referring to this as hiding in plain sight. We are looking at how he was able to hide out there for so long."

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Mr Obama said that the Saudi-born Islamist had been killed in an American special forces operation in Pakistan and that his body was in US custody in Afghanistan. He said the operation took place last week in Islamabad.

Recalling the terrorist attacks on American on Sept 11, 2001, the US president said "justice has been done".

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