Dirhams & Dollars

Lab-grown meat; those aren’t words that gets most people salivating but that hasn’t stopped the food industry from turning it into a billion dollar industry. Proponents of lab-grown meat, also known as cultured meat, talk up its many benefits, including how it is more ethical than factory farming, less harmful to the environment, and less susceptible to disease. But how does it taste? And will people accept it? At least one burger chain is betting that people will, and the industry is expected to be worth trillions by the middle of next decade. We discuss the various meaty issues surrounding this tasty subject.

Last week was a tumultuous one for the Dubai Financial Market. A number of listed companies, including Marka and DSI, were forced to disclose that they were either in talks to liquidate, or were under investigation. In today's episode, we delve in to where things went wrong, and what investors can do to remedy the situation. Are the region's shareholders too passive? Do they need to make their presence felt, instead of standing idly by whilst board members run the show?

Are shorter working hours in Ramadan just a myth? by Gulf News

Musicians have, for whatever reason, long avoided making Dubai a fixture on their world tours. With a handful of notable exceptions, the Middle East has never been graced with the sames caliber of artists that Europe or Asia has. So, when the press release for the new Dubai Arena, since renamed the Coca-Cola Arena, said that the venue filled a void between Istanbul and Singapore, they may very well have been right. So we look at what the new arena is promising to offer in terms of sports, comedy, and music, how it sizes up to its international competitors in other key cities, and what to expect logistically if you decide to visit. We also ask how it will impact the other, smaller venues in Dubai, and what kind of ticket prices will need to be realised in order for Meraas, the developer, to justify the millions of dollars it has presumably spent building the state-of-the-art arena.

Expo 2020. This is what every business in the UAE is waiting for; the exposition that is coming to Dubai next year, and bringing with it a Dh122-billion benefit to the economy. We delve into a report by EY discussing exactly what the Expo will mean for the UAE economy and its different industries. Who stands to benefit most? And why exactly are some of us less than thrilled about this mega event? We discuss our own takes on the Expo, and guesstimate how it will affect people both while it takes place and years after it’s over.

What is the future of transport in the region? On this meandering and discursive episode of the podcast, the team talk about fantasy transportation methods, what kind of transportation the Middle East needs more of, and whether flying cars will ever be a thing. We discuss questions like: Why are electric scooter rentals illegal? Why is car pooling illegal? When will they build a train between Dubai and Abu Dhabi? Okay, maybe not flying cars, but what about flying motorcycles? Dubai Police says they are on their way…

After months of speculation, ride-hailing firm Uber finally announced its acquisition of local hero Careem, in what was the region’s largest tech acquisition ever. When the news broke, many were concerned that Careem, which has a strong local affinity with the UAE’s population, would be swallowed in to Uber and cease to exist. Others were pleased to see a home-grown start-up exit at such a high valuation. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss the pros and the cons of the acquisition, the factors that laid the groundwork for the deal, and the potential knock-on effects.

Credit cards, news, & TV: All the latest from Apple by Gulf News

In the finance world, there are banks that are “too big to fail.” In the tech world, there are the likes of Facebook, Google, and Amazon that are too big to…go offline, shall we say? The tech giants have been garnering a lot of attention over the past two years for what lawmakers see as a failure to protect democracies and a failure to keep consumers' personal details safe. In the wake of the New Zealand mosque shootings, lawmakers are once again pointing fingers at the likes of Facebook for failing to identify what was a hate-filled manifesto. So, what do we do now? Do we break up these tech companies? Scott thinks so, but Ed and Sarah disagree because even with broken up companies, there are troubles. Tune in to hear them argue that one out.

Headlines this week have been dominated by news of the tragic crash of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, killing all 157 people onboard. Coming so soon on the heels of the Lion Air crash in Indonesia, which similarly involved a new Boeing 737 MAX 8, the disaster has led to aviation authorities and airlines across the world grounding the model until it can be confirmed that there is indeed an issue with the aircraft. On today’s episode, we look at whether the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is safe to travel. We ask whether aviation authorities have been right to ground the plane so quickly, before details of Sunday’s accident are fully understood. We also discuss why the US federal aviation authority (FAA) has yet to close its airspace to the jet. The FAA is standing its ground in the face of mounting pressure, as aviation authorities around the world continue to forbid the plane from flying in their countries. Could it be to do with government dysfunction? Or is it simply the correct approach? We also look at the d

Are folding phones worth getting excited about? With both Samsung’s and Huawei’s folding phones expected to be hugely expensive, on today’s podcast we ask whether these phones are just a flash in the pan, or a genuine attempt to create the new form of phones for the future. As you might expect, opinions differ. Nonetheless, the team can agree on one thing: Whatever happens, mobile phone companies like Samsung do need to push the envelope to fight slumping sales. Whether that is through new phone designs or something different under the hood remains a point of contention. Ultimately, perhaps whether these devices are genuinely useful or just the latest trend comes down to who is using them.

If you have been living under a roof, and not a rock, this past year or so, you may have noticed that rents have been dropping rapidly. How much further do they have to fall? Well, if you own a property, you would probably hope that prices are close to bottoming out. If you rent, you presumably wouldn’t mind seeing them fall even further? So what is actually likely to happen? To answer that question, we asked Manoj Nair, property editor at Gulf News, to join us on today’s show. Manoj has been tracking property prices and rental rates for many years, and writes regularly about the state of the market in Dubai and the UAE. We talked to him about what caused the rents to fall as much as they did, the underlying factors influencing current prices, and where the market will likely go from here.

If you could go back in time and tell yourself what to invest in, where would you put your money? Well, on today’s Dirhams & Dollars we talk to a man who knows better than most where you should invest your money in 2019, and how to avoid that regret. Maurice Gravier, chief investment officer at Emirates NBD, sat down to talk to us about a wild 2018 in which most investments performed poorly, and why this year will be slightly different. He gave us his perspective on both the local and global markets, while sharing with us his top picks for investors in 2019. Gravier also shares with us his top risks for 2019, which include a number of regional concerns weighing on his investment outlook. Listen in to find out where the oracle of Emirates NBD, one of the Middle East’s largest banks, thinks investors should put their money this year.

After thousands of jobs cuts in the media industry in the span of just two weeks, we look at whether there is a future for journalism or not. Will everyone just continue to get their news from Facebook? And will that just encourage more ‘fake news’ to spread? We are joined by Alex Malouf, an Abu Dhabi-based communications professional and a former journalist, who discusses how newspapers went from being a goldmine to a loss-making investment. We also attempt to tackle bigger questions including whether we can afford to have free news much longer and whether we need to start taxing the tech giants in order to finance the media. (P.S. It’s kinda bleak.)

Dubai: Apple's latest financial statement, released on Tuesday night, outlined a tough environment for the tech giant: Last year saw sales slow across global markets, even while the Americas grew. The slowdown was largely caused by emerging market currency devaluations, according to CEO Tim Cook, making the company's already-expensive phones that much more pricey. In response to this, Apple says it will absorb that margin, keeping the prices of its devices at a more affordable level in places like China and Japan. But Apple's strategy to continue growing goes beyond price control: The company recently unveiled a new public programme of free classes that will be held at every Apple store around the world. The move will solidify the firm's spot as one of the most successful retailers in the world, while Apple hopes it'll introduce a whole new generation of users to its products. On today's episode, we discuss the merits of this strategy, what we can glean from Apple's financial results this week, and what

What exactly does Davos mean to you? Apparently that was a difficult question to answer for the Dirhams & Dollars team, with arguments raging throughout the episode on whether or not the event, which attracts business leaders and politicians from around the world, was even still relevant. It didn’t help that some of these arguments took us on tangents dealing with populism, nativism, and ‘the man on the street.’ But back to the point: Amid a backdrop of global unrest and mounting economic woes, leaders will meet this week in Switzerland to discuss issues facing the world. But will it even achieve anything?

The exit plan UK Prime Minister Theresa May has spent the past two years negotiating with the EU lay in ruins on Tuesday night, following a historic defeat in the House of Commons. Now the fun part begins: What the hell happens next? Where does Brexit go from here? The answer to that is complicated, and involves a number of possibilities. We try and dissect those different avenues on the podcast today, talking about what happened in the vote, and the likely outcome of the no confidence motion. Will there be a general election? A second referendum? A modified version of May’s deal? All of which will need to take place in the next eight weeks, if the UK wants to avoid asking for an extension to the March 29 deadline by which it must have exited the EU. All options remain on the table. Soft Brexits, Hard Brexits, No Brexits. Everything is still to play for. This brings much uncertainty. On Wednesday, it felt like the markets were holding their breath, waiting to see what came next. May’s defeat, if not its

With CES taking place in Las Vegas this week, we sat down to talk tech. But the good kind! On today’s episode, we discuss the best gadgets coming out of the consumer electronics show, including smart home appliances, health tech, and flying cars. We debate whether smart home technology really works in the Middle East, or if the cost of rewiring your whole house is worth it? Also on this episode, we argue about whether technology has become too invasive, and what the trade-off between convenience and intrusiveness costs us. Get ready for self-driving taxis, wearable heart monitors, and shirt folding machines… It’s CES time baby!

The biggest, silliest, most surprising stories of 2018 were... by Gulf News

One of the most underreported stories of this year has been the Dubai stock market’s slow bleed. The emirate’s main stock index is down 25 per cent so far this year, and ranks as the worst performing market in the world in 2018. On today’s podcast we ask why? To help answer this question is Mohammad Ali Yasin, chief strategy officer at Al Dhabi Capital, who explains some of the reasons behind this dive. Is it a soft real estate sector, or a lack of new businesses listing on the bourse? We attempt to get to the bottom of what is going on, and look ahead to 2019. We also discuss whether things will get worse before they get better, and what signs of life the local market needs to see before investor confidence returns to the Dubai Financial Market.