Inflation in Kuwait Reaches 10%

In its quarterly report, the Kuwaiti Central Bank has said that the average of inflation in the country has exceeded 10% in February.
The bank said that the reason behind this rise is the increasing prices of real estates and houses, food stuff, as well as the costs of medical health and education.
It is worth mentioning that Kuwait is the only country within the GCC countries which disengaged its currency partially with the Dollar last year in an attempt to face the problem of
As a result, the value of the Kuwaiti Dinar rose by 8, 3% opposite to the Dollar although it declined by 10% opposite to the EURO and the Japanese Yen.
Since a a big part of the Kuwaiti imports come from Europe and Asia, inflation remained high, despite the fact that it is much less compared to the other Gulf countries whose currencies are still engaged with the Dollar.
It is worth mentioning that the Kuwaiti government, encouraged by the surplus of the oil exports, has decided to increase wages by a big percentage last February for facing the surge of prices.

Algerian Internet Hackers Sneak to the Web Site Of the Israeli Web Site

The Israeli Central Bank closed its E-Web site after a successful attempt by Algerian pirates of sneaking to the website, leaving a message on one of the website pages saying: " you are a nation whose destiny has been determined and you will be defeated in the war.

50000 Job Opportunities Provided by The Tourist Investments in Syria

Syrian Minister of Tourism Sadallah Agha al-Qala has said that 50000 direct job opportunities will be provided by the investment tourist projects under construction in Syria, and which will put to service by 2010
In a statement to the Syrian News Agency, Al-Qala further added that the tourist sector in Syrian needs a big number of qualified cadre but we are still very far from securing this number , that is why we offered many investment projects in the rehabilitation, education, hotel training and tourist fields.

Google Profits Reach $ 1,3 Billion

The big American Internet Services Company Google has said that its profits have risen by 30 % , reaching $1,31 during the first quarter of this year despite the slow growth rate of the American economy and its possible recession.
The company further added that its revenues have risen by 42%, reaching $ 5, 19 billion and that half of its revenues came from outside the U.S.

"Al-Doha" Bank Plans for Acquisition Deals by a Value of $ 300 Million in 2008

Emirates Business newspaper has quoted the Executive Chairman of "Al-Doha" bank as saying that the bank intends to spend more than $ 30 million this year on acquisition deals in the U.S..
Accordingly, the bank will postpone also selling Islamic bonds with a total value estimated at $ one billion till next year.
The newspaper went on to say that the bank is considering choices for buying shares in the fields of banking, insurance, assets management, and broker .

Calls for Including the Free Zones Within The Agreements of Trade Zones

The first Investment Meeting, which concluded its activities in the Jordanian capital Amman, has called for including the Free Trade Zones within the framework of the Arab Free Trade Agreements and expanding the horizon of exempts as well as granting more facilities with regard to investments in these countries.

Small Indexes

 "Dave Brook", the Regional Chairman of the Emirati "Del" company has asserted that the Emirati market comes first in terms of the company’s sales of personal computers in the Gulf region.
 Sheikh Khalifa Ben Zayed Al-Nahyan, president of the UAE has decided to grant the Syrian people half a million ton of wheat to the Syrian people in a sign of brotherhood and solidarity among the two peoples.

Companies Indexes

 "Tamweel " company announced yesterday that it will establish "Tamweel" company for Investments and Real Estates with a total paid capital estimated at 400 million Dirham as well assets under circulation estimated at more than 4 billion Dirham.
 The South Korean cars company "J M Daewoo" & Engineering has said that the volume of its sales have declined last May by 17% compared to the same period of last year.

Indicators is a daily economic watch newsletter about the Near East, issued by New Orient News agency in Beirut, Lebanon. It is available on Voltairenet.org in Arabic, English and Spanish. Also worth a read is Tendencies, the daily Near East political watch newsletter, available in Arabic, English, French, German, and Spanish languages.