I was listening to a podcast today by Nader Kabbani, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development. He provided a background on the Qatar-Gulf crisis, which has gone on for three months, and outlined its social, economic, and political implications.

He noted that Qatar has shifted its air and land routes, and although it can take longer to get from A to B the difference is not significant. Flying to Europe and Asia takes about 20 minutes longer, while to Africa it can take longer.

I'm working on some projects that require financing from the Middle East. It's undoubtedly more challenging than before to raise finance in that part of the world, as this article that was published on August 16, 2017 in Arabia Inc confirms.

Working capital metrics for firms have been weakening each quarter beginning from the fourth quarter of 2014.

The crash in oil prices and subsequent economic pressures have impacted the working capital performance for companies big and large, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

If, like me, you’re wondering what is going to happen to US President Donald Trump, I was more convinced than ever that Trump could be impeached, sooner rather than later.

A few weeks ago I was listening to a talk by a former Professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware and he anticipated that Trump will hang on until the second half of his term in office. This is because it takes a long time to get the legal issues in place if impeachment is to happen. And enough Republicans votes would have been gathered to make impeachment possible.

 I continue to argue that the feud between Qatar and the other Gulf Arab States- mainly the UAE and Saudi- is economic rather than political. The fact that Qatar is wealthier than either Saudi or the UAE, because of gas, and that it has worked hard to carve out a foreign policy that is distinct from the other Gulf countries- it has been accused of punching above its weight- has not gone down well with Saudi or the UAE.

All of these countries can be accused of either encouraging or supporting terrorist groups at some point, to some extent. It’s a well known secret that a number of the world leaders have ended up in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

Between reading about the pros and cons of Brexit and the political intrigue at the West Wing it’s hard to know what’s more interesting. As far as I’m concerned, they both are. This time though I’ll stick to a survey about President Trump that came out four days ago. Even though the article focuses on the negative- that is only 27% of Americans think that Trump will serve a full term- the positive, from a Trump perspective, is that 27% of Americans think he will serve the full term.

Increasingly, we're hearing about the importance of personal branding. It shapes who we are and how other people see us, supposedly. It's hard finding a personal brand. But now we are told that we are better not to have a personal brand. People do not have a brand, says Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook. This is what she said, as recorded by the BBC.

I’m always intrigued to read about foreigners getting into trouble in Dubai. It must be easy to think that the emirate is so “Western”. On the surface, it is. Go beneath it, it is not.

 This article about an unmarried couple having consensual sex in the UAE is shocking by Western standards. It is true. The UAE has strict laws. But it’s not nearly as cut and dry as this story might suggest.

 In the first instance, the couple did not have sex in Dubai; it was Sharjah, an adjoining emirate, which has adopted Saudi rules. There is no way anybody would have allowed any hanky panky there.

The diplomatic row between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies, such as the UAE, shows no signs of abating. The latest story to come out is that the UAE is accused of hacking Qatar state media, an accusation that the UAE obviously denies.

Having been a journalist in the region for 8.5 years, I am fully aware that neither country is known for its propensity to be kind to journalists, and governments of both countries are prepared to become involved in the editorial process.

It is likely that this diplomatic argument is not only about “terrorism”. All countries involved are accused of that. It could be about money too; who has the most and will it continue? The falling oil price is not helping; meanwhile liquified petroleum gas (LPG) prices upon which Qatar is reliant are remaining steady.

The falling price of oil is not good for GCC economies, but this can’t be any real surprise? The question now is how this problem is going to be resolved in a region where there has been little attempt to diversify the economies?

Dubai, which has never been an oil-producing emirate, started to diversify earlier than other countries in the region. In this respect, the emirate has been very successful. Logistics is now the driving force behind the Dubai economy; tourism is probably number two. However, the emirate is still dependent on Abu Dhabi for its oil revenue.

The Gulf crisis –that is Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain imposing a land, sea and air blockade against Qatar is likely to be ongoing. Kuwait and Oman are remaining neutral, which is typically the case. Saudi Arabia and its allies cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and have accused it of funding terrorism- an accusation that Qatar denies. They later issued a 13-point list of demands, among them being the closure of the news network Al Jazeera, that have been rejected by Qatar.

I’m posting this article after attending a lecture tonight by Dr Mark J Miller, lecturer in immigration, refugees, trade policy among other things, at the University of Delaware. Of course, Donald Trump and his views towards immigration came up again and again, inevitably. Yes, we know they are extreme. Is it because he believes them, is playing to a certain audience, or is he just being reactionary? He’s probably taking on a a bit of all three. Or is it because his behaviour is abnormal.

Someone who clearly thinks this might be the case is Julia Gillard, former Australian Prime Minister. She is now chair of the mental health organisation, Beyondblue. Here is what she thinks.

Last week saw the reshuffle of the ruling family in Saudi Arabia, something that many observers expected to happen a couple of years ago. By Western standards, the hope, and expectation, is that the country will become more open and transparent, with a respect for human rights. For some in Saudi, there might be the same expectations, for others there may be not. The views across the Kingdom differ widely.

A couple of years ago when I was attending a conference in Riyadh (wearing the abbaya, but not the head gear) one presenter, who argued that Saudi Arabia should allow more women to join the work force, said “women are no less moral than men”.  It's a comment I have never forgotten.

I find everything about President Donald Trump fascinating. The fact that he has yellow hair and is in government and is so bad at it; the fact that he is so good at demonising the media- "fake news versus real news" is a case in point- and that he lies so well. The closest I've got to that is when someone (in Dubai) refused to be taped (I presume because it's easier to contradict what the other person has said when the interview is not recorded). So I was fascinated when I read this article about why Trump supporters are not as 'simple" as we like to think; they are often sophisticated. Take a look at the article below and see what you think. Maybe you can write something similar for your country.

Working in the Arab Gulf for 8.5 years, most of the time surrounded by Indian, Pakistani and Philipino workers, I've become accustomed to some of the difficulties of working in the region principally poor living conditions, low pay, and the heat. I know someone who was so poorly paid that he was scarcely able to send money back to his family in India, even though he had been in his position for 30 years.  His monthly income was about US$300 per month, if that. Of course, I raised the matter with management, which was not the thing to do. That is the way to get into trouble. I ended up being pulled up on the road while in a car, but that only proved to be a close shave.

I read this article published in The Washington Post with a great deal of interest. I’ve a Saudi friend who tells me that the issue of women driving is more to do with business and economics rather than religion. If women are banned from driving it keeps businesses like chauffeurs, limousines and taxis profitable. If women drive, these firms would get far less business.

I also know a Westerner who married a Saudi, and can’t get a visa to go to that country. The marriage took place in a non-Arab country, under British law, so it is not deemed valid, as far as the Saudis are concerned. It’s just as well there are no children involved.

Media coverage of President Trump has rarely been positive. But is it surprising when Trump has never been nice about the media. In any case, it is not the media's role to be nice. It is incumbent upon the media to probe, ask questions- even hard ones- to analyse and even to criticise. I thought this article in "The Washington Post" summed up the role of the journalist well.

The Gulf Arab crisis has prompted me to think about how it will affect journalism in the region. This is because I was a journalist based in Dubai for 8.5 years, first on a national newspaper, Khaleej Times, and then head of a newswire service, Mergermarket,that focused on mergers and acquisitions across North Africa and the Middle East.

 During that time, particularly in the latter years, I used to fly to Doha in Qatar a great deal, mainly on FlyDubai- a low cost airline that started in 2008. Emirates Airline supported the airline in its early stages. Consequently with no flights currently between the UAE and Qatar I would not have been able to do my job.

I’m more than a little bit curious abut how this latest row between the Arab Gulf States will pan out. Will there be a military standoff between Qatar and the other Gulf States and Egypt? Will all nations suffer because of this? Given that Qatar is punching above its weight, and its threatening the supremacy of Dubai in the region - with its developing financial system, strong and growing airline, and a world-class news network- I can’t help but think that this row with Qatar has more to do with the economic threat it poses to the UAE than with ideology.

It has been known for some time that the UAE, along with the some of other Gulf countries, have been forming a closer bond with Israel, as a buffer to Iran. This article from the Qatar-based Al Jazeera confirms this.

 It also shows how the UAE is increasingly concerned about the strength of Qatar, especially as a financial centre. Qatar also has different political alignments from those of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which this article highlights.

Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Graeme Wheeler, confirmed that interest rates would remain low for the “foreseeable future”. He was speaking at a business lunch in Queenstown on Friday 2 June.

“I don’t think we will see high inflation in the global economy for a long time,” he said, noting that the Reserve Bank had cut interest rates seven times since mid-2015.

 Interest rates in New Zealand stand at an historic low. While mortgage interest rates are about 2.2 per cent the official cash rate is 1.75 per cent. This is high when compared to Europe, which is about 0.5 per cent or less, Wheeler said.