Dubai Retail Recovers

The retail sector in Dubai is on the mend.There is growing optimism this is a solid trend as tourists and shoppers return in droves.At the iconic Mall of the Emirates,consumer traffic is up 15% on the year.
Gulf region consumers think Dubai is retail central.The consumption of luxury goods is up 3% and projected to double.The regional consumers are supplemented by a gaggle of shopping tourists from both Saudi Arabia and the Indian subcontinent.
The Mall of the Emirates has 520 stores,anchored by the hypermarket Carrefour,the incredible Ski Dubai indoor slopes,CineStar Cinemas and several others.There are eighty eateries,two hotels and 60 luxury designer stores.Child care is also available at the huge emporium.
According to noted researcher Jim Bianco,the high end is doing better than the Wal-Marts of the world.The wealthy are benefiting from the higher stock market.If stocks start to slump,all bets are off for the consumer discretionary business.
For now,though,the woes of the financial crisis are fading in the desert sun.

Investing in Emerging Markets

According to Nicholas Smithie,emerging markets strategist at UBS,the emerging markets have had a splendid decade.We know there is an overhang about sovereign debt.They are trading lower than 75% off other periods,pricing at distressed valuations.We think investors go for them for their high rate of domestic growth.
In the emerging markets,domestic consumption and infrastructure are really starting to take off in Thailand,Indonesia and the Philippines.Investor holding periods have become very short:they want all their returns all at once.Those in it for the long haul will benefit.
We think that Chinese equities have fallen to very low valuations,pricing in a hard landing.In the second half of the year,Chinese growth will come through.We'd be buying,Mr.Smithie advised.
China has just raised interest rates for the third time this year,a sign that growth is still so strong,even with the tightening measures already taken,the government is afraid of the economy overheating into more inflation.
UBS offers wealth management,asset management and investment banking globally,as well as retail banking in Switzerland.Founded in 1854,it is based in Zurich and Basel,Switzerland.UBS has offices in more than 50 countries.
UBS AG(UBS)

A World Bank Perspective

With regards to the European debt crisis,my guess is,the International Monetary Fund and the European Union will muddle through,says World Bank President Robert Zoellick.The developed markets have obviously been stumbling along.China does seem to be slowing a little bit,but I think it's appropriate so as to avoid a bubble situation.
People are gonna be moving at different speeds with different issues.That's the nature of the new global market we are in.
Food prices are about 50% higher,but the risk is,the stocks for wheat and grain are very,very low,making them vulnerable to price shocks.The low income countries and big wheat importers in the Middle East are hurt the most.We've launched a pilot with JP Morgan Chase providing some additional credit support and access to commodities markets derivatives to insure some of these players.
The European Union is pretty slow,with its low population growth.As they muddle through,the question is whether they will make the necessary structural changes,Mr.Zoellick wonders.
The World Bank offers financial and technical assistance to developing countries worldwide.It provides resources,shares knowledge,builds capacity and forges partnerships in the public and private sectors.Founded in 1944,it has more than 10,000 workers in over 100 offices around the globe.
JP Morgan Chase(JPM)

Indonesia Earns High Marks

Indonesia has been called the next Brazil,the next BRIC nation.As trade minister Mari Pangestu points out,they've seen a robust export growth,increasingly with Asia-up 30% this year.There is much more trade with Vietnam,Thailand and Korea.
Indonesia could grow at 8%,once they address infrastructure bottlenecks.They are growing at 6.5% now.Medium term,many infrastructure projects are coming on stream.
Indonesia has become a lot more prudent since the financial crisis.It is on the right path to weed out corruption.People are getting it,as far as becoming more hospitable,Ms.Pangestu believes.
President Barack Obama spent four years of his childhood in Indonesia.He is regarded by the Indonesian people in a special way,as being one of them.Mr.Obama visited Indonesia in November 2010,after a two year delay.
Indonesia's students are actively recruited by U.S. colleges and universities.They are seen as intellectual assets who add diversity to the campus environment.
iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund(EIDO)

OPEC:Bitterness in Vienna

By the end of June,Saudi Arabia will raise its oil production by up to 300,000 barrels a day,in order to restrain the price per barrel.When OPEC ministers met in Vienna recently,there was resistance to the Saudi example.OPEC,the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries,failed to reach an output consensus.It was basically Saudi Arabia versus Venezuela and Iran.
OPEC will evaluate the situation after three months.The next meeting is scheduled for December 13-14 in Vienna.OPEC stocks are currently three days above the five-year average,according to OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri.
Saudi Arabia is committed to supply the needs of the market,Saudi oil minister Ali El-Naimi said.This was one of the worst OPEC meetings he's ever had,Mr.El-Naimi remarked bitterly.A veteran of six decades of meetings,he saw that six countries were opposed to an increase in production,while six others supported it.It has been at least a decade since OPEC failed to reach a consensus.
OPEC is to maintain its current output for now.Nonetheless,in actuality,Saudi Arabia and three other Persian Gulf states are able to to boost production to the desired quota by themselves,should they so choose.
In spite of all the contention,Mr.El-Badri declared he was confident the cartel will reach a quota deal at the December meeting.To fail again would call the organisation's utility,and indeed its continued existence,seriously into question.

Qualcomm Posts Global Profits

One of the biggest success stories in the telecom space,Qualcomm has added 38 billion dollars in market value,posting 5.6 billion dollars in profits in the last year.Its vision is to power mobile phones and tablets with Qualcomm chips.The company is spending much on innovation.
CEO Paul Jacobs says Qualcomm's customers want micrographics technology.They want a lot of bandwidth.Qualcomm is getting to innovate in a lot of different areas for them.
Qualcomm is the single chip supplier to Windows mobile phones.The sales of its Snapdragon chip set have really taken off.Microsoft will use the Snapdragon chips in devices running its new Windows 8 platform.
Windows 8 is to be compatible with tablet PCs.It is the biggest upgrade since Windows 95,Qualcomm's partner Microsoft announced.
Based in San Diego,California,Qualcomm has 159 offices worldwide,including a major commitment in Asia.From Manila to Mexico,the company strives to assist the underserved wherever it does business,improving lives through connectivity.
Founded in 1985,Qualcomm is one of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies To Work For.
Qualcomm(QCOM)

Newsletter Editor Favors Uranium

Mark Skousen,PhD,editor of the Forecasts and Strategies newsletter,has deep concerns about the economy.He believes the U.S. is obviously doing something wrong.We need to unburden business.These are burdens keeping the Great Recession with us.Higher interest rates would get us out of this.
Dr.Skousen,a noted economist and author of the textbook Economic Logic,as well as The Making of Modern Economics,continues his longstanding investment advisory work.He likes the Canadian uranium miner Cameco.This is a great recovery story.Uranium prices fell sharply,but are now stabilising and starting to go back up.China and India plan to expand their nuclear energy assets,and Cameco stands to gain from this,in Dr.Skousen's opinion.
He also favors Spain's Telefonica.Over 70% of this company's business is outside of Spain and Europe,and it pays a 9% dividend.
As for another of his picks,Rare Earth Elements,Mark Skousen says we're gonna take our profits.It's too volatile for a long term holding beyond six months.He will personally keep holding the stock as a speculator,however.
Mark Skousen,who has a doctorate in economics from George Washington University, served in the Central Intelligence Agency from 1972-75 and is also a scholar in Benjamin Franklin studies.
Cameco(CCJ)or TSX:CCO,Rare Earth Elements(REE),Telefonica(TEF)