Research and Studies

A new study investigating running behaviours and mental health during lockdown including 14,000 people globally, reveals more people are running to cope and feel free.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, today announced sustained performance in the reinsurance sector.  

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that demand for air services is beginning to recover after hitting bottom in April. Passenger demand in April (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs), plunged 94.3% compared to April 2019, as the COVID-19-related travel restrictions virtually shut down domestic and international air travel. This is a rate of decline never seen in the history of IATA’s traffic series, which dates back to 1990.

Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) released its latest UAE Banking Pulse for Q1 2020 today. The report suggests that the top 10 UAE banks reported a combined 6.3% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) drop in interest income, largely due to the low interest rate environment. The net profit declined by 22.4% QoQ, on account of a 3.6% drop in operating income and a 35% increase in provisioning. Consequently, the average return on equity (RoE) for the universe was impacted by the reduced operating income due to a series of rate cuts and increased provisioning.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets in April showing that demand dropped 27.7% compared to the same period in 2019 - the sharpest fall ever recorded. Still, there was insufficient capacity to meet demand as a result of the loss of belly cargo operations on passenger aircraft.

New data released by Google has revealed how countries across the GCC responded to the ongoing COVID-19 global health crisis during Ramadan.