Mashreq has dropped our rate twice in the last three months.

Interesting TOD.

What are you paying now if I may ask. Is this a standard variable reducing balance loan or a Shariah Loan?

Info much appreciated

The former, looking at my statements again, I had a 0.4% increase in August 2008, a teeny weeny 0.005% drop in November and more substantial 3.2% drop in December. (the teeny weeny bit may have been a bank 'correction' so my not actually count, but the direction was encouraging no matter how small!)

I am in agreement with the general mood of the thread - inflation in UAE is a serious issue for all of us.

Regards

TOD

I don't know what you all think but since christmas the price increases have been huge, everything from getting your car washed at the jinglymatic to a loaf of bread. My better half just paid 8dhs50 for one manky red pepper from Choitrums:eek:
Ek have to be real with the payrise 5-10% is not going to cut it we all know the REAL inflation here and it isn't 10%.
Pilots are not leaving at the moment however with how things are going and with the shocking rosters that have been issued this month that could change very quickly.

Just getting better and better... 12% now for 2008
 

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/50978...-inflation-hit

Businesses have been badly hit by rising inflation, with costs increasing faster than they can be passed on to customers

Question is: With the much favorable context of monopoly in the UAE, do you expect more than the predicted forecasted 12% of inflation for 2008 to be passed on us eventually? Will it affect your lifestyle? And what is your guess of the real inflation in Dubai?

I say 20% easy... my guess!

Forgive me for being dumb, but...

I thought it was against Islam or the Koran to charge interest??

This in 7 Days:

http://www.7days.ae/en/2008/02/01/ua...-rate-cut.html

This in Gulf News

http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Ban.../10186459.html


Its going to get a whole lot worse.....
Like previous years any salary review will bring us slightly short of where we were this time last year and for the rest of the year savings will be diminished. This has been going on for at least 10 years to the point where a joining F/O is earning half of what he did ten years ago when adjusted for inlflation.

Interests...
 

"""Forgive me for being dumb, but...

I thought it was against Islam or the Koran to charge interest??"""



So this is how it goes...

_"What's the interest rate?"
_"There's no interest rate sir, this is a PROFIT rate"
_"Ahhh, and what's the difference ?"
_"Well, we don't apply any interest but we charge a profit on your transaction"
_"Ahhh, so what's the difference ?"
_"Well, we will buy the goods under our name, apply a fee, then sell it back to you, you repay a fraction of it every month"
_"Ahhh"

If you dig more, they will try to make you understand that the profit rate is an administrative fee...

A mate of mine in the financial industry here tells me that the banks have been instructed by the Federal Government to mantain their current interest/profit rates for at least 6 months as measure to control inflation. Too bad the government does't follow its own policy on inflation control. If they did they would not have awarded government employees a 70% payrise which is starting to push inflation to unprecedented levels after government payday last month:ugh:.

How does paying more for something that should be less get explained as controlling inflation?

Lower housing payments would be a relief on my pocket.

Sounds like a great excuse for making more money. Now the government wouldn't have a vested interest in the banks would they.......

UAE inflation in danger of hitting 12% this year
 

"Inflation in the UAE is in danger of hitting a 20-year high of 12% this year unless the dirham is revalued or depegged from the US dollar, investment bank Merrill Lynch warned on Sunday. The firm said in a report the absence of a tight monetary policy, combined with strong capital inflows and weak fiscal prudence would likely up drive inflation across the Gulf.

"Inflation is likely to stay on an increasing trend in the short term," the bank said. "With heated domestic demand, pegs to the sliding US dollar not only import inflation and fuel domestic liquidity but, more importantly, they also import easing monetary policy." Gulf states' peg to the dollar forces them to track US monetary policy at a time when the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates to stimulate the economy.

Merrill said inflation in Saudi Arabia might average 6% this year, compared with 4% last year, while in Oman inflation may rise to 7.2%, from 4.4% last year, and in Bahrain to 4.5% from 3%. Despite breaking ranks with neighbouring Gulf states and depegging from the dollar in May last year, Merrill said Kuwait was also likely to see inflation surge in 2008/09 to an average of 6.6% from 4.4% last year due to rising house prices.

The bank said Qatar, which has the highest level of inflation in the Gulf at 14% last year, may see inflation drop slightly to 13% for 2008/09 due to housing supply coming on to the market. Merrill said inflation would continue to keep pressure on Gulf states to revalue or depeg their currencies from the tumbling dollar. "In a region with constrained policy choices, we expect currency strengthening to be used as a policy tool in the fight against inflation. Therefore, de-pegging and/or revaluation of the currencies will remain under spotlight," it said, highlighting the UAE and Qatar as the most likely to change their monetary policy.

"In a region with constrained policy choices, we expect currency strengthening to be used as a policy tool in the fight against inflation." The bank also disagreed with GCC governments' assessment that inflation was just temporary, and said non-market measures such as higher subsidies, allowances, "irrational" wage increases and caps on rents would only mask the problem and not solve it."

Its already past 12%. Latest estimate is foreign labour is suffering 15% inflation. Source - Financial Times:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/23d469ba-c...0779fd2ac.html

For Locals there is no inflation, only Jubilation. Government workers with a 70% payrise and Local Pilots get the <special UAE Allowance WAYYYYYYYYYY above the ERP>

15 years ago THEY NEEDED YOU to build up Dubai - and THEY PAID YOU FOR IT.

Now that every pom and his mate ( as well as Eastern European, South American, Aussie, Saffers and the like ) WANTS to come to Dubai the tables have turned.

NOW YOU NEED THEM to make a living - AND YOU WILL PAY FOR IT.

Simple demand and supply:ugh:

Because if borrowing costs are lower people will borrow more to buy more stuff. In a free market economy (ie without price controls) more money chasing fewer goods will cause inflation.

I agree that residential mortgage rates should be reduced as this should improve supply and reduce rents in the log term with everyone getting a fair shake of the dice but once you have lived here for any length of time you realize that the economy is terribly slanted toward making a section of society filthy rich at the expense of others.

Gulf News, I see your point but I think it will backfire. If there is a peg it should remain in all aspects. If certain areas are slanted the peg will get strained with unpredictable consequences.

Liquidity being extracted from other markets needs a place to go. American Dollar holders and borrowers can now use these dollars to buy dirhams and invest in middle east property. They will pay borrowing rates far lower than available in the UAE. This will push up property prices (and everything else) inflating the bubble. There is no currency risk as the two are pegged.

If the disparity gets any worse we will have a carry trade on the Dirham with no currency risk!

Everything, absolutely everything.

You won't save much here with this inflation
 

The rising cost of living is having a direct impact on employees' ability to save money. To illustrate, 41 per cent of UAE-based expatriates reported making no savings on their income, the highest figure in the Gulf.

http://www.ameinfo.com/141739.html

It is really out of control, these are just not rumors, they are hard facts.

2006 was 9.3%
2007 was 12.0%
2008 well your guess

We need to get 12% on all parts of our famous package just to stay where we are. Well i think we are heading for a definitive pay cut this year. What do you think? :rolleyes:

Inflation vs Salary Increases
 

In the 1997 Pay review, a First Year F/O got AED 15720. There was no flying pay.
On the EK Recruitment website today a First Year F/O gets AED 20840. Flying 75 hours he will get a further AED 2625 making a total of AED 23465.

The increase over 10 years of 15780 to 23465 represents an annual increase of 4.1% per year.

You dont need to be a genius to see that compared to published inflation figures, salaries have fallen drastically and continue to do so.

Against realistic figures tracked on non-government websites, the situation is far more depressing.

has anyone had leave bought back

Here's an interesting link to a report published by a recruitment agency in Dubai:

http://www.costoflivingdubai.net/2007.aspx

It refers to, not surprisingly, the cost of living in Dubai in 2007.