Qatar is a red-hot economy. Last year it grew around 18% and this year it ought to grow another 16%. We saw the headlines in the Gulf Times in the lounge while waiting for our transfer to Dubai.

Pundits greeted Angela Merkel’s convincing election win in Germany Sunday with a collective yawn. Commentators think the German economy is sluggish and over-dependent on exports, and believe that a change in the German government from a grand coalition to a center-right coalition will make little policy difference.

World stocks hit a 12-day low on Monday, depressed by recent weak U.S. economic data and failing to find support from the G20 summit, while the yen attracted fresh flows to hit an eight-month high against the dollar.

The U.S. stock market has run up magnificently in the last six months. The U.S. economy has begun to recover, but its performance has fallen short of expectations.

World stocks retreated further from last week’s 11-month high on Monday as lower energy and commodity prices and caution ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting and G20 summit prompted investors to trim risky trades.

Gold hit the big “quadruple digits” while we were all relaxing on Labor Day. To be sure, it was just the December contract, which has since pulled back to US$997. But we haven’t seen US$1,000 since February, back when we had an insolvent financial system and a meddling government printing trillions like toilet paper.

The commodity markets are surging today. Are the bulls charging because of investor fear or is something else going on? Here’s the answer.

When it comes to Japan, political change should translate into long-term profits for global investors.

China has once again set the tone for our Monday market forecast.

European shares touched a 10-month high on Friday on optimism for a global economic recovery and with Nokia and results from U.S. bellwethers boosting the technology sector.