intodimensions.com

We were gone to Oman over the weekend and when we checked our site when we had just came back, the home page said it had been “hacked”.

We’re now upgraded to the latest WordPress but some things from the old site doesn’t work yet so it’ll be a while before it’s all back. The content is all here though.

Gulf News:

The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) yesterday announced the appointment of Per E. Larsson, former head of the Sweden-based OM Group (now OMX and owner of several Nordic Exchanges), as the next chief executive of the exchange.

He will take up his post in early July.

Larsson will succeed Steffen Schubert, who will step down in June 2006 as scheduled at the end of his contract after becoming DIFX’s first chief executive in February 2004.

As president and chief executive of The OM Group from 1996 to 2003, Larsson led the OM Group through a period of rapid expansion and technological development which culminated in a highly audacious bid for the London Stock Exchange in 2000.

He also built strong links with other European exchanges and presided over the supply of OM exchange technology to no fewer than 20 other exchanges worldwide.

In his 18-year career at OM, Larsson served earlier as chief operating officer of the OM Group and as president of OM Stockholm, its derivatives arm.

Omar Bin Sulaiman, Director-General of the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, which is the DIFX’s sole shareholder, said, “DIFX has taken great strides since it opened in September last year, bringing on 10 member banks and many equity and bond issues.

Larsson said, “Initially my main focus will be to attract many more significant equity listings from companies based across its region, including substantial initial public offerings and Islamic products.

“I also expect it to attract more bond listings and move into other product areas such as exchange-traded funds, real estate investment trusts and derivatives.”

Emirates Today:

Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, ranked fourth richest man in the world, drives a 15-year-old car and always flies economy class, in part to inspire his 90,000 employees worldwide to see the virtue of frugality.
The billionaire Swede, who turns 80 on Thursday, explained his legendary habits during a rare television interview in Switzerland, his adoptive home for nearly 30 years.

His fortune was recently estimated, by Forbes magazine, at $28 billion (Dh102.8bn) – trailing only Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, United States investor Warren Buffett and Mexican industrialist Carlos Slim.

“People say I am cheap and I do not mind if they do. But I am very proud to follow the rules of our company,” Kamprad told the French-language Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.

Asked to confirm he drove an old Volvo, he said: “She is nearly new, just 15 years old.” Interviewer Darius Rochebin teased Kamprad that Ikea employees were always told to write on both sides of the paper. “Why not? If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example.

“I have to do so for all the Ikea employees,” Kamprad retorted.

“Everything we earn we need as a reserve.We have to still develop the Ikea group.We need many billions of Swiss francs to take on China or Russia,”he added.

Ikea is the world’s biggest furniture retailer, with 202 stores in 32 countries.

Known for its inexpensive selfassembly furniture, the familyowned business claims its hefty catalogue is the most widely read publication after the Bible.

After flirting with neo-Nazism after World War Two – for which he has apologised – the smalltown Swede set up shop in his garden shed, selling watches, pens and Christmas cards.

“I bought seeds for the garden and had great success with it, going around to all the houses in my village. After that year I could buy myself my first bicycle,” Kamprad recalled.

When Sweden’s Social Democrat Government launched the Million Homes Project in the 1950s, he saw an opportunity and launched himself into the furniture business.

He stumbled upon the “flatpack” idea in 1956 when an employee took the legs off a table to fit it into a customer’s car.

“Our idea is to serve everybody, including people with little money. We have to keep costs down,” he said.

His home in the Swiss village of Epalinges, close to Lausanne, is modestly decorated with Ikea furniture, apart from a few family pieces.

In keeping with Swedish tradition, Kamprad said he prepares and brings glogg, or hot wine, to “good neighbours” at Christmas along with his three sons.

“I’m not afraid of turning 80 and I have lots of things to do. I don’t have time for dying,” Kamprad said.

Emirates Today:

Axiom did not and has not tied up with Danish company DangaardTelecom.Axiom has become a member of Braxda, which is an alliance to gather information and coordinate with manufacturers like Nokia and Sony Ericsson, in achieving better pricing and the development of the mobile phone business. Axiom’s relationship is with Braxda not Dangaard.

This alliance is like any other global alliance, such as IATA in the airline industry, where companies from all over the world are part of an alliance alongside companies from other countries all over the world, including Denmark. Braxda is exactly the same as IATA or the Gold group or other similar industry groups.

Axiom would also like to clarify that within this alliance, it will not buy or sell to Dangaard Telecom or to any of the other companies within the Braxda alliance.

In addition, Axiom does not buy or sell any Danish products and supports the boycott.

As further evidence of Axiom’s commitment to Islam, Axiom does not sell ringtones because even though they can be very successful financially, they are haram and Axiom believes that religion comes first.

Similarly and for the same reason, Axiom cafes do not sell shisha because it too is haram.

In summary, Axiom is a UAE company first and foremost with Muslim shareholders and that comes before everything else.

Emirates Today:

Politics dominated the concerns of 4,500 Arab bloggers in a recent study by an internet portal.
“The results of the study are not surprising, considering… that people in the Arab world are extremely passionate about the issues that affect them directly,” said Samih Toukan, CEO of Maktoob.com that conducted the survey on its bloggers.

“Obviously people in the Arab world are hungry to express themselves and have their voices heard. Traditional media is not able to fulfil this need,” said Ahmed Nassef, general manager of Maktoob.com.

The study, covering over 4,500 blogs created by users on the portal, showed a clear stand towards politics, with 40 per cent of bloggers voicing their concerns on recent issues such as the Denmark cartoon controversy and the Iran nuclear stand-off. Cultural topics, at 25 per cent, came in second, with literature, entertainment and internet issues following closely.

“We just recently launched the blogging section on maktoob and we wanted to see what people are interested in. In three months there are more than 10,000 blogs. Our bloggers are Arabs from different parts of the world who are happy to have a ready Arab audience,” Nassef said.

The Arabic blogs are not all political. “Blogging is a great way of keeping in touch with other people and civil society groups. Social issues, cultural events, short stories, poetry are also topics of many blogs,” Nassef said.

Dedicated contributors came from different cultural and economic backgrounds.The majority were from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia dominating the scene with 12 per cent of all bloggers. But regular blog writers also came from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.

Many journalists are also publishing blogs to reach a wider audience outside their home countries. “In the Arab world, there are restrictions on expressions of political concerns. Even in countries where there are no barriers to political expression, the cost is very high.The internet [lets] people… express themselves freely,” said Nassef.

One of the famous bloggers on maktoob.com is Yasser Abu Hilalah, the Jordan-based President of Al Jazeera TV, whose political journal has evoked a strong response from the internet browsing community. Posting an average three to four blogs per week, Abu Hilalah’s site features his observations about politics and life in the Arab world.

“All over the world, many great stories are first broken on the blogs. And with projected figures showing that there will be five to 10 million new internet users for the next five years, blogs are going to be a way of getting the word out,” said Nassef.

Emirates Today:

Property rental prices in Abu Dhabi look set to hit new heights in the next few months as the Department of Social Services & Commercial Buildings (DSSCB) starts handing over properties to landlords who have repaid their loans.
In the past the department offered low-interest loans to UAE nationals to develop property.

Sources say that the DSSCB, which until recently controlled about 90 per cent of residential and commercial property in Abu Dhabi, is handing this property to its respective landlords.

Several hundred employees at the DSSCB will also be retrenched as it will cease to exist in its present capacity.

An employee said: “Perhaps in another two to three months it should be over.” Rents in the capital have already shown an upward trend, with 20 to 30 per cent increases becoming the norm. Real estate agents predict further hikes as landlords will no longer be regulated by the department.

Estimates put the number of buildings under DSSCB at between 4,000 and 5,000 – which feature about 50,000 flats between them.

The agents say that there is massive demand for single and two-bedroom flats and rents in this segment have soared by about 30 per cent.

A two-bedroom apartment that a few months ago was priced at Dh35,000 is now going for as much as Dh50,000. Rents in upmarket buildings have shown an even more marked upward trend with increases from Dh45,000 to Dh65,000 in the last few months being the norm.

As the DSSCB is putting an end to easy loans, there is apprehension that the construction of new residential buildings will slow. Nationals wanting to demolish older buildings and construct new ones will have to approach banks. Estate agents predict that this will ultimately raise the rent structure in the capital.

Unlike Dubai, there is no rent committee in Abu Dhabi to regulate rents and entertain complaints from tenants.

Thamir S, an Egyptian working for a multinational company, said: “Now real estate agents, middlemen and building watchmen will have good time asking for hefty commissions.”

Gulf News:

Every morning, Kristian Petersson saddles up and goes riding at his luxurious Desert Palms home. But this avid polo player and managing director of Kinnarps Middle East office suppliers doesn’t enjoy this idyllic life because he’s lucky. He tells Lorraine Chandler that success only comes by taking risks.

I nearly get lost trying to find Kristian Petersson’s house. It’s in the middle of the desert, somewhere along the Hatta-Oman road. I start worrying if I’ll arrive at the border.

But then I come across an oasis of greenery, fronted by a discreet security gate. I’m at Desert Palms, a luxurious and incredibly lush polo club that is home to some of Dubai’s wealthiest residents, among them Petersson, the managing director of Kinnarps Middle East.

Not long ago I wrote a piece about finding a good stroller for twins, and Crystal was writing about where to find stuff for the critters. Today there is no need for that. We’ve sat on the news for a few days but it’s time to let the news out - we’re not pregnant anymore. We went for another scan and there are no critters there. Crystal’s been in hospital and done all the procedures and she’s now home again recouperating.

This is one of those things, although however sad it is, that just happens. It’s really not supposed to, but it does. Pregnancy is a game of chance (and risk) and the risk goes up in special cases like ours.

We are doing okay. It will take a while to cope with this, but we’re okay and we’ll move on. To really decide will probably take a few months, but we’ll probably try again at some point.