THE GULF ECONOMIES are poised to recover faster than many of their global counterparts from the financial crisis. However, they should be vigilant against potential asset bubbles in the future, said Masoud Ahmad, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund.

KUWAIT WANTS THE start date of a currency union it agreed to with three other Gulf states delayed beyond January. The official Kuwait News Agency quotes a statement by the Ministry of Finance as saying Sunday the project should be delayed until its "technical" studies are completed.

A REPORT PUBLISHED by the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded that Bahrain has the fourth most favourable tax regime in the world, out of the 55 leading economies surveyed. The Financial Development Report ranked Bahrain 27th, overall, in terms of its financial system, up from 28th in 2008. It concluded that Bahrain ?shows competitive advantages in the quality of its institutional environment, including a substantially liberalized financial sector and solid corporate governance.?

MANPOWER, A GLOBAL leader in employment services, has released an insight paper highlighting the need for reforms in labour policies and practices throughout the world, particularly those involving female work participation. Titled ?The Underworked Solution: Women and the Talent Crunch,? the Manpower study affirms that the rate of female participation in the labour force is significantly lower than that of men, not only in the Middle East but throughout the world.