Alice Haine | June 12, 2013
When it comes to other people’s money, we are all a little bit nosy. We want to know what credit cards our friends have signed up for, which mortgage they have, and at what rate, and which car loan they have. Some will tell us, others are more secretive, which is why a new list from Souqalmal.com, the region’s leading price comparison website, allows us to be as nosy as we want. The website compiled its list of the top-five most viewed financial products across four categories: credit cards, personal loans, home loans and car loans – with Emirates NBD [...]
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Alice Haine | June 10, 2013
The UK has recently introduced major changes to the way it assesses whether you are resident or not. For the majority this will have absolutely no impact, but for a significant minority, it could have major consequences. Here James Thomas, the regional director at Acuma Independent Financial Advice, offers a guide to the new rules: Firstly, by way of background, what were the old rules? Previously the rules were based upon the number of days you were resident in the UK during a particular tax year, and assuming you did not go over this amount of time, you would be [...]
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Felicity Glover | June 22, 2012
Financial literacy – in particular the lack of it – has long been an issue that we have made a priority in our coverage of personal finance in the Emirates. There were times, especially in the beginning, when it felt like we were a one-man (sorry, woman!) band. But slowly, we began to see some change – and a validation of what we were trying to achieve: empowering UAE residents to take control of their personal finances with smart money management skills. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank last year launched a campaign to teach its customers about the fundamentals of financial [...]
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Felicity Glover | June 15, 2012
Imagine this: it’s a year or two before the financial crisis is about to hit. You have arrived in the UAE as a new expat and start living big. You borrow up to your eyeballs to fund your new, luxury lifestyle, which requires a host of accessories: the luxury SUV, the expensive villa complete with pool, five bedrooms and just as many bathrooms, brand-label clothes, nights out in costly restaurants and clubs, long weekends away; a few quick trips over to Europe or Asia for good measure. And then, suddenly, you are teetering on the financial edge. It’s reality-check time. [...]
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Felicity Glover | June 8, 2012
In a country where car insurance is mandatory, it’s incredible to learn that only 5 to 10 per cent of the UAE’s population have bothered to take out home contents insurance. I guess that’s because many people think that the country’s relatively low crime rate and lack of rain negate the need – and expense – of protecting their belongings. But the recent spate of apartment block fires in Sharjah – and today’s fire in a tower of flats in Dubai Marina – prove just how important it is to have home contents insurance. Not only does it mean you [...]
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Felicity Glover | May 17, 2012
I’ve been thinking a lot about Facebook’s IPO lately and what has struck me most is that “mums and dads” investors have been left out of the world’s biggest tech listing. It’s all very well for Mark Zuckerberg, the social-networking site’s chief executive, to court institutional and wealthy retail investors as it seeks to raise up to US$16 billion. But what about the core of Facebook’s nearly 900 million users? Who are they? They are mums and dads investors, the very people who have helped Facebook become the success it is today. Without them, where would Facebook be? I’m sure [...]
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Alice Haine | April 17, 2012
National Bonds now has more customers under the age of 18. That’s incredible when you consider the entire customer base stands at about 660,000. Work out the percentage and the under 18s make up 16 per cent of the total number of bondholders. According to the organisation’s chief executive, Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, not only are the number of young bondholders increasing, but the amounts they are saving are going up as well – by 25 per cent no less in the past year. This year alone, 7,000 youngsters have already signed up to the scheme and the organisation reports [...]
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Felicity Glover | April 11, 2012
It’s ironic that just last weekend, I wrote about the high cost of cybercrime in my On The Money column last weekend. While banks have a responsibility to protect their customers from the likes of phishing (bogus, but realistic-looking websites set up to “lure” people into revealing their user names and passwords), online scams and card fraud, I lectured, we, the people also were responsible for protecting ourselves. I’d like to think I’m pretty aware of the dangers of cybercrime and have managed to avoid getting stung by Nigerian e-mail fraudsters and other ruses to get my personal information. Unfotunately, [...]
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Alice Haine | April 4, 2012
Companies and individuals with any legal concerns can have their worries dealt with for free by a top lawyer at a pro bono clinic organised by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts. The clinic, which was first launched in February to help those with limited funds gain access to the best legal advice, will be held on April 12 at the Monarch Hotel in Dubai. Scott Hutton, a senior associate at the Dubai office of the US law firm, Kilpatrick Townsend, volunteered his time for the first session and says he heard enquiries related to real estate, employment and [...]
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Alice Haine | April 1, 2012
This weekend’s cover story in Personal Finance looks at the benefits of going to university. While the education system stresses that getting a degree is the only way to build a good career, many have proven that they can achieve the same success, if not more, by skipping college and going straight into the workplace. To prove this point, we interviewed Simon Dolan (pictured above), one of the UK’s leading entreprenuers and the author of How To Make Millions Without A Degree. Mr Dolan, who left school at 16 without any qualifications and now heads a £100 million (Dh585.76m) empire, [...]
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