Dh3 million
Visa’s “impossible deals” initiative during this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival delivered Dh3 million worth of savings for its cardholders. The global payments provider said a record 125,000 signed up for the promotion with 425 winners rewarded with deals on mobile phones, watches, jewellery, gold and cars. While 10 shoppers drove home an Infiniti QX50 worth Dh181,000 for just Dh25,000, a total of 200 cardholders had iPhone 7s delivered to their door for just Dh600.
Residents apply multiple times for finance
UAE residents were forced to apply for multiple loans to secure personal finance last year. While 1.6 per cent fewer people actually applied for personal loans in 2016 compared to the previous years, according to the financial comparison website compareit4me, those who did apply had to make numerous applications to actually get a loan — something illustrated by the 10.26 per cent increase in the number of applications.
Quote:
“It needed a few quarters of good performance for them to warm up and get more interested. This is what is happening now.”
Michael Bolliger, the head of emerging-market asset allocation at UBS Wealth Management on its clients’ interest in increasing their emerging-market holdings after last year’s rally.
ADIB launches Snapchat channel
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank announced a new Snapchat channel this week, in a bid to better connect with its customers and the wider community. The channel will act as an online platform for customers to engage with the bank and also share its news and promotions.
US credit card thieves move online
The use of stolen card data to pay for merchandise on US websites in mobile apps and via call centres surged 40 per cent last year, according to a report from Javelin Strategy & Research released on Wednesday. That is forcing merchants to spend billions on online fraud protection in an effort to detect when a crook is using someone else’s card number.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
RACECARD
6pm Emaar Dubai Sprint – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Turf) 1,200m
6.35pm Graduate Stakes – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm Al Khail Trophy – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 2,810m
7.45pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
8.20pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 2,000m
8.55pm Downtown Dubai Cup – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 1,400m
9.30pm Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,600m
10.05pm Dubai Sprint – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.