Recently released market study: United Arab Emirates Insurance Report Q1 2011

PRLog (Press Release)– Mar 07, 2011– The development of the UAE - particularly Dubai - as a regional hub for insurance and other financial services will likely be complicated by the volatility in the markets following the problems experienced by Dubai World in late 2009. Nevertheless, the UAE's physical infrastructure, the willingness and ability of the government of Abu Dhabi to continue to provide support to Dubai and the UAE's competitive advantage in logistics and pharmaceuticals mean the insurance sector should continue to develop.

Dubai's problems have overshadowed other challenges. The UAE's insurance sector, like its counterparts in other Middle Eastern countries - and developing countries where commerce is driven by patronage networks focused on wealthy families (eg: the Philippines) - is fragmented. Most insurance companies are small operations by the standards of anywhere other than the Middle East and are listed affiliates of local industrial conglomerates. Few have the benefits of economies of scale or have access to the advantages that come from being a part of a broader multinational group. Few have access to the skills and resources that would allow them to compete as providers of life insurance and other long-term savings products or expand beyond the UAE. On the basis of figures provided by companies to the stock exchanges of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, BMI believes Oman Insurance Company (OIC) is the largest local player, accounting for approximately 20% of total premiums written by national companies, or 14% of total premiums. We believe that by this measure, the next largest insurance companies, Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) and Islamic Arab Insurance Company, are about half the size of OIC.

Over the long term, it is reasonable to expect that the UAE will play a significant role in the development of Islamic finance in general and takaful in particular. In the short term, however, structural problems such as the general lack of popular understanding of shari'a-compliant products and the shortage of suitably qualified shari'a scholars is likely to continue.

In this report, we provide a breakdown of the insurance sector by line from the point of view of the regulator or trade association. The UAE's insurance sector is dominated by accident liability products, which account for half of non-life products. Life products are limited and make up less than a sixth of the market.

At the time of writing, we were able to ensure that the report includes actual data for 2009. We have generally been able to use data published in 2010 to adjust our estimates for the year as a whole. We estimate total premiums in 2010 of AED25,001mn. This includes non-life premiums of AED21,717mn and life premiums of AED3,283mn. In 2015, the corresponding figures are forecast to be AED39,046mn, AED34,072mn and AED4,975mn. In terms of the key drivers that underpin our forecasts, we expect nonlife penetration to rise from 2.03% of GDP in 2010 to 2.40% in 2015, and for life density to increase from US$186 per capita to US$242 per capita. BMI's Insurance Business Environment Rating (IBER) for the UAE is 54.2 out of 100.

Issues To Watch

Availability Of Skilled Talent

Until late 2008, the economic boom in the UAE meant that it was often difficult to find suitably skilled local staff to meet the requirements of the laws directing the 'Emiratisation' of the workforce. With the downturn in Dubai, this situation may well have changed.

Consolidation

In harder times it is less clear whether all the UAE's entrepreneurial families will remain committed to (generally non-life) insurance if it is a non-core activity for their business groups. There may well be mergers and acquisitions as some players seek to boost scale in a challenging environment.

Deal Making Through The DIFC

Prior to the problems with Dubai World in late 2009, the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) had successfully attracted a variety of financial services companies seeking to establish representative offices. However, deals that were actually booked through the DIFC were fairly small in number and size, particularly after the global financial crisis reached its critical point in September 2008. The number of organisations present at the DIFC and, more importantly, the number of deals that are actually being done, will provide a useful indicator of how Dubai is developing as a regional financial centre.

Islamic Finance

The figures that have been published by the national insurance companies which are listed on the stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi indicate that in H110 much of the growth in overall premiums was accounted for by leading takaful operators. Salama and Aman alone accounted for AED329mn of the AED619mn growth in gross written premiums (ie: for H110 compared to H109) achieved by the listed Emirati companies for which reports were available.

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How You Can Purchase Silver Jewelry Inexpensively During Times Of Rising Silver Prices!

PRLog (Press Release)– Mar 07, 2011– Silver jewelry isn't only stunning; it's extremely a lot in style nowadays. Silver jewelry enhances anything you wear, and it's generally much less costly than gold jewelry. There are lots of sources from which you are able to purchase silver jewelry wholesale, but the web will provide you the greatest selection feasible. All things considered - you'll have the entire world at your feet - or fingertips.

Just like any other jewelry, start your search online. You will find countless jewelry wholesale suppliers online, and quite a few of them concentrate in silver jewelry. Whenever you purchase your jewelry from jewelry wholesale sources, you'll pay a fraction of the price that you'd pay at a retailer's workplace, like a jewelry store. CLICK HERE to check out Silver Dollar Values Silver Prices now! http://silver-dollar-values.com has all of the details for an intelligent silver investing choice.

Whenever you buy silver jewelry wholesale, make certain that you're buying sterling silver jewelry. Sterling silver is nearly usually marked with the numbers "925." It is the highest quality of silver that you are able to purchase - wholesale or retail. Notice that there's no such thing as "high quality sterling silver" and "lower quality sterling silver." Sterling silver comes in one quality - sterling silver. The weight of the sterling silver utilized within the piece ought to be the deciding factor within the price, unless the item was handmade, in which case it'll price considerably much more than comparable pieces that had been not hand made. CLICK HERE to check out Silver Dollar Values Silver Prices now! http://silver-dollar-values.com has all of the details for an intelligent silver investing choice.

Silver jewelry tarnishes - whether or not it's sterling silver or not. You need to clean and polish your silver jewelry on a normal basis to assist it to maintain its shine. There are lots of various brands of silver polish in the marketplace that may be utilized to accomplish this. You need to plan to clean your silver jewelry on a weekly basis. CLICK HERE to check out Silver Dollar Values Silver Prices now! http://silver-dollar-values.net has all of the details for an intelligent silver investing choice.

Purchasing silver jewelry wholesale is the very best method to go. Silver is already fairly inexpensive - even at wholesale costs. When buying such jewelry, the silver or high quality of the silver isn't what you should concern your self with - once more, silver is silver, just make certain it's sterling silver. The settings and also stones, which are utilized within the piece, ought to be your concern.

You should insure that the unit is solidly constructed, and you should make certain that the gems utilized aren't simulated gems - unless that's what you would like. Obviously, when actual gems are utilized, like diamonds, the price of the jewelry will rise considerably. But so long as you're purchasing jewelry wholesale, the cost will nevertheless be the lowest cost you'll discover. You should buy silver today while the prices are still relatively inexpensive.  Silver is a great safe haven asset in times of inflation and world political and economic turmoil and instability.

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Mercantile Capital Corporation Eyes Major First Quarter Growth

PRLog (Press Release)– Mar 08, 2011– ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. --- Mercantile Capital Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Florida National Bank, projects record growth in the first quarter of 2011.

"We closed seven commercial loans to finance projects in January for $15.2 million," said Chris Hurn, chief executive officer of Mercantile Capital Corporation.

Hurn said he expects to close on a total of five commercial property loans in February ($17.7 million), and loan applications scheduled to close in March should produce a quarterly loan volume in excess of $50 million.

Hurn said Mercantile Capital has seen record growth throughout the recession.

"U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 financing offers small business owners the opportunity to acquire their facilities with below-market, long-term, fixed interest rates with only 10 percent down," Hurn said.  "For a small business with a successful track record, SBA 504 loans offer the best terms in the financial industry and in this economy that means a lot," Hurn said.

SBA 504 financing targets employment retention and growth, Hurn added.

"Our lending, since we began the company eight years ago, has helped create or retain an estimated 4,185 jobs," he said.

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Isles' Gillies given 10-game ban by NHL for hit

Gillies, one of the key combatants in New York's fight-filled win over Pittsburgh on Feb. 11, played only four shifts Wednesday night before he was ejected for hitting Minnesota Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck from behind 2:23 into the second period of the Islanders' 4-1 home win.

In retaliation for Clutterbuck's hit on Islanders rookie Justin DiBenedetto, that drew a boarding penalty, Gillies drilled Clutterbuck and was given a major penalty for checking from behind and ejected. Clutterbuck stayed in the game and then played Thursday at the New York Rangers.

"By targeting his opponent's head, (four) shifts into his first game back from a suspension for a very similar action, Mr. Gillies has forfeited his privilege of playing in the league for 10 games," NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said in a statement. "While it is fortunate there was no injury on the play, there can be no justification for a player delivering a dangerous check to an opponent in this manner."

Gillies earned a nine-game suspension for charging Pittsburgh forward Eric Tangradi and hitting him high with an elbow before landing several punches in the brawl-marred game with the Penguins last month. Tangradi, who sustained a concussion, was also taunted by Gillies as he got back onto his skates.

In handing out that suspension, Campbell called Gillies' action a deliberate attempt to injure by delivering a blow to the head of an unsuspecting player who was unable to defend himself.

"The message should be clear to all players: targeting the head of an opponent by whatever means will be dealt with by suspension," Campbell said then.

The Islanders were also fined $100,000 by the NHL following the game against the Penguins for failing to control their players.

As a repeat offender, Gillies — who has 220 penalty minutes and only two points in 48 career NHL games — will lose just under $61,000. He will be eligible to return to action on March 26 against Philadelphia. There will be only seven games left in New York's season at that point.

Gillies has one goal, scored on Jan. 13 against Ottawa, and 124 penalty minutes in 33 games this season. His lone NHL assist came on March 14, 2010, when the Islanders faced Toronto.

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Taylor can't block media from child support case

Ebony Washington of Secaucus is seeking to have child support payments increased for her daughter, who has been diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Taylor has filed a cross-claim to have the amount reduced. The child currently receives $456 per week, according to Washington's attorney, Debra Weisberg.

Taylor's attorney, James Key Jr., said the former New York Giants linebacker has never missed a support payment and that news stories have portrayed him unfairly as a deadbeat.

Key pointed to a New York Post article in November that bore the headline "LT Tackles Ex On Kid Support." It features a photo of Taylor superimposed over a picture of a courtroom. Taylor didn't show up for a November court hearing due to a medical condition, according to his lawyer.

The article "implies that Mr. Taylor was not adequately supporting this child," Key told state Superior Court Judge Peter Melchionne on Friday.

While Melchionne agreed that the headline may have portrayed Taylor in a negative light, he dismissed the notion that the media coverage has been harmful to his daughter — particularly since Taylor has made no court filings to that effect.

"He speculates and acts like he's an expert on what's best for this child," Weisberg told the judge. "Mr. Taylor has an issue with the New York Post article because doesn't like what was written about him."

Melchionne noted that family court hearings normally are open to the public unless there are issues of child neglect or abuse involved, and Taylor's case is "strictly an economic case."

Allowing the public in "might even be more important when there is someone of celebrity status, because otherwise they might think that special favors were given to them just because they have a title," the judge said.

Taylor, dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and black slacks, didn't comment after the proceeding and only spoke during the hearing when Melchionne asked whether he had mailed a letter to an insurance company.

Taylor's post-NFL life has been marred by missteps. He was arrested in New York's Westchester County last May and charged with raping a 16-year-old runaway who said she'd been forced into prostitution. In January he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute, two misdemeanors, and was sentenced to six years of probation and required to register as a sex offender.

He has been arrested several times on drug charges and, in 2000, received five years' probation on federal tax charges.

Taylor led the Giants to Super Bowl titles in 1987 and 1991.

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Conservative EU leaders struggle for crisis unity

At a summit of the conservative European People's Party in Helsinki, some of Europe's most powerful decision makers made some progress on lowering the interest rates on Ireland's bailout and reiterated previous commitments to coordinate their economic policies more closely.

But they failed to agree on more pressing issues that have preoccupied financial markets for the past months.

The most crucial of these is a promised overhaul of the euro zone's bailout fund, which could see it get more powers such as buying government bonds on the open market to stabilize struggling countries' funding costs and potentially save them from having to seek multibillion euro rescue loans.

"We don't have an EPP opinion of that," said Finnish Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen, who hosted Friday's meeting.

The Helsinki summit kicked off three weeks that will decide whether the euro zone can finally get a grip on the crisis that has already pushed Greece and Ireland into international bailout.

The debate will culminate on March 25, when heads of state and government hope to seal the "comprehensive solution" to the region's debt and banking troubles.

But with even members of the same party failing to find a common position, analysts are increasingly pessimistic that that solution will turn out to be the promised turning point in the currency union's struggles.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained reluctant to put up more money to help less disciplined countries.

Enda Kenny, Ireland's prime minister in waiting found some open ears for his demands for lower interest rates on Ireland's €67.5 billion ($93.7 billion) rescue loan, which average some 5.8 percent, but fell short off a clear commitment.

"There was no voice against it," EPP President Wilfried Martens said of giving Ireland some more room on its bailout deal.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, meanwhile, received no clear support for his calls to equip the region's bailout fund with more money and broader powers.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi — whose country's debt stands at 120 percent of economic output — spent some time trying to iron out a years-old gaffe on Finnish food. "Tonight an extraordinary reindeer filet was served and I asked for a second serving," he told reporters.

Friday's talks centered on the so-called "pact for competitiveness" — an attempt at closer economic and fiscal coordination between the 17 states that share the euro but have widely differing economies.

The pact was championed by Germany's Merkel, who amid troubles at home is desperate to have something to show in return for being the region's paymaster.

"It will always have to be a give and take," Merkel said, adding that support for the pact was growing.

However, Friday's statement made no mention of concrete indicators, let alone how they would be enforced.

Originally, Berlin had demanded euro zone countries improve their economic performance through unpopular measures such as getting rid of automatic inflation-linked wage increases and coming up with a common base for corporate taxation.

Such steps, the Germans argued, would make countries like Ireland, Greece and Portugal more solvent and their companies more competitive in international markets.

Katainen said the conservative leaders found common ground on some principles of the competitiveness pact but acknowledged that "there may be some differences and changes" before it can be adopted.

Finland's National Coalition Party heads into elections on April 17, and Katainen, a leading candidate for prime minister, had invited his conservative colleagues to give himself a home-showing on the international stage.

Although he did not get a deal, the outcome of the election was one of the few topics that everyone agreed on.

"I hope he wins," said Ireland's Kenny, whose own Fine Gael party just toppled its opponents amid popular frustration over the country's economic woes.

__

Jari Tanner contributed to this report. Gabriele Steinhauser reported from Brussels.

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WH says annual Easter Egg Roll will be April 25

The event will feature music, sports, cooking stations, story times and the rolling of hard-boiled eggs on the South Lawn. The activities are designed to complement first lady Michelle Obama's national campaign against childhood obesity by promoting health and wellness.

Free tickets will be distributed by online lottery. Signup begins next Thursday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time and closes March 13th at 11:59 p.m. The annual event is open to children ages 12 and younger and their families.

The tradition of rolling Easter eggs across the White House lawn dates to 1878.

___

Online:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/eastereg groll

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