Special Reports » Best of 2009

Despite the downturn, 2009 has not been all doom and gloom, our Special Report for the Year reveals.

(Getty Images) (Getty Images)

2009: What a year it's been!

Despite the downturn, 2009 has not been all doom and gloom, our Special Report for the Year reveals.

Photos

Obama becomes US President

Arabian Business takes a look at the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44th President of the US.

Iran election result sparks riots

Arabian Business witnesses the angry reaction to the Iranian presidential election result.

Sheikh Mohammed opens metro

Dubai's ruler takes the metro to Al Rashidiya Station after officially opening the new service

Window cleaners atop Burj Dubai

Arabian Business looks at the courageous window cleaners at work atop the world's tallest tower.

Poll

Authorities in Dubai say they will begin charging individuals AED20 per day after 1 June if they have not begun the application process for an Emirates ID card. Have you:

Videos

Dubai ruler inaugurates metro - 1
Burj Dubai's gutsy window cleaners
The men who jumped off Burj Dubai
Wrath of the rains in Jeddah
Footage of Jackson's 1984 fire accident
Minutes after the Dubai building collapse
Silvestre stars at Dubai's Arsenal Soccer School

Interviews

DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem speaks during a news conference in Dubai. In easily the biggest confrontation between a SWF and the West, Dubai-owned DP World was forced to sell US port terminal operations it acquired through its takeover of UK-based P&O in 2006 amid a political firestorm that the deal posed a threat to American national security. (Getty Images)

Ports in the storm

DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem explains why he is leading the charge into Africa.

1

Best of British

Owners of Great Britain on Nakheel's ‘The World' project are determined to beat the real estate slump.

8

Simply the truth

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, director general of DNRD sets the record straight.

6
Media speculation has been rife over Immelt’s future as CEO of GE. However, the man himself has no plans to resign despite the firm’s sliding profits.

Electric’s chair in the hot seat

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO and chairman of the US industrial titan, GE talks ratings, writedowns and ‘Immeltdowns’.

Blame it on the bankers

Mashreq chief Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair argues that the US & European banks are to blame for their own downfall.

1

'The worst is yet to come'

Former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn warns that the global economy is facing a long road to recovery.

5

Jimmy no mates

i-mate CEO Jim Morrison talks for the first time about what caused his company's collapse.

It ain't over yet

Dr Eckart Woertz, one of the Gulf’s most influential economists, is predicting a ‘nasty surprise’ in 2010.

3

The man who sold the world

Saatchi & Saatchi boss Kevin Roberts thinks the global economy cheerleaders are about to get a nasty shock.

Features & Analysis

Recession bites

In lean times, fast food chains rack up fat profits. AB finds more about Gulf's most...

By: Joanne Bladd
The first known carrier of the swine flu virus was Edgar Hernandez, a four-year-old boy from Mexico. More than 3,000 people are now thought to have been infected with the virus.

Outbreak

Hundreds are dead, and thousands are thought to be affected. Is the Gulf prepared...

By: Joanne Bladd

Crash of the Titan

With Chapter 11 proceedings underway, a leaner, stronger GM is expected to emerge...

By: Rob Morris

Back to basics

Islamic finance must return to its roots in the wake of the financial crisis, report...

By: Liau Y-Sing and Frederik Richter
Emaar chairman Mohammed Alabbar said last November that he would be open to a merger with Nakheel.

Real value?

How will Emaar merger with three Dubai Holding cos affect its investors and the emirate...

By: Alex Delmar Morgan
The hajj is the world’s largest annual pilgrimage, attracting more than three million Muslims from 150 countries each year.

The hajj sell

Joanne Bladd reveals how Saudi's religious travel market is bucking Gulf tourism...

By: Joanne Bladd 1

A marriage of convenience

Yahoo's takover of Maktoob could give Arab web enterprises a much needed shot in...

By: Soren Billing

Changing times

Allowing overseas firms full ownership of their business in the UAE would open the...

By: Alex Delmar-Morgan 1

More from Best of 2009

Featured articles
UAE issues more residency visas that it cancels - minister
Gov't will not guarantee Dubai World debts - official
Villa prices fall by up to 45% amid real estate slump
Property agent publishes guide to Dubai rents
Salary Survey 2009
UAE tycoon takes over Portsmouth FC
Emirates airliner 'centimetres' from disaster - paper

Photos

Obama becomes US President
Iran election result sparks riots
Sheikh Mohammed opens metro
Window cleaners atop Burj Dubai
Dubai's labour camps
Dubai building collapse drama UPDATE 2
Dr Who filming in Dubai
Michael Jackson Dubai Island designs
Saudi sandstorm drama
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This Week's Magazine »
Arabian Business - 2012-05-20

Cover Story 2

Abu Dhabi: The final frontier
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is to build its second spaceport in Abu Dhabi, with the aim to reduce the flight time to the US to just an hour within the next decade. The company’s CEO and former NASA executive George Whitesides outlines the business model behind the new space race

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