Good morning, friends. It’s not as busy as it usually gets as we near the weekend, though Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is as active as ever with a fresh sale of a US student housing portfolio to a Morgan Stanley Partnership, and another anchor investment in an Indian IPO. Plus: We have a long rundown of earnings from the likes of Adnoc Gas, Presight, and Salik for you to dig your teeth into.

We already know next week will be a busy one, with the Dubai Airshow and a slew of other events including Dubai Future Forum and the Mining Show set to bring plenty of agreements.

Speculation on who’s buying what has already begun: Emirates and Etihad Airways have both been linked to talks to purchase new Airbus jets, with the former set to order at least 30 widebody jets despite earlier criticism from its president Tim Clark of its engines.

ALSO HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

#1- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Abu Dhabi from next Tuesday for a working visit focusing on attracting new investments and trade partnerships, and expanding the trade and economic partnership in areas like energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and AI, according to a statement. The PM will meet with business execs to attract investments to build out Canada’s export infrastructure and boost access for Canadian exporters.

#2- The MENA Leaders’ Summit on Financial Inclusion is happening on Monday and Tuesday at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi Corniche, according to a press release (pdf). The two-day summit will convene ministers, central bank governors, fintech CEOs, and international organizations such as the OECD to discuss innovation and financial inclusion across the region.

The Central Bank of the UAE will also launch its national strategy for financial inclusion during the event, according to the statement. Expect lots of talk around digital financial services, women’s economic empowerment, financial literacy, consumer protection, and policies to promote a sustainable financial ecosystem.

#3- TheSharjah International Travel and Tourism Forum takes place on Wednesday, 19 November at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Center. The forum will gather senior government officials, international experts, and tourism, travel, and tech industry players to explore future trends in the tourism sector.

AND HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week is underway until Saturday at Yas Marina Circuit’s Vehicle Experience Zone and the Adnec Center in Abu Dhabi. The six-day event convenes global smart mobility leaders to scale sustainable mobility solutions and explore investments across land, sea, air, and industrial uses.

#2- Abu Dhabi will host RoboCup Asia-Pacific until Saturday at Khalifa University, bringing together leading robotics and AI researchers for competitions and demonstrations under the RoboCup Federation’s global initiative. The event will showcase advancements in autonomous robotics, AI learning models, and humanoid soccer robots, aligning with the UAE’s push to advance applied AI research.

#3- The ACI Financial Markets Association is also hosting the ICA Conferenceand Exhibition until Saturday at Conrad Dubai. The three-day event will gather professionals in financial trading, treasury management, and investment banking to discuss trends shaping global and regional markets.

WEATHER- Dubai will see a high of 31°C, and an overnight low of 20°C, according to our favorite weather app. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s temperatures will peak at 32°C, with an overnight low of 21°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The GCC will begin piloting its new one-stop travel system in December, starting with air travel between the UAE and Bahrain, Kuwait News Agency reported yesterday, citing statements from GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi. The system lets Gulf nationals complete all immigration and security checks at a single departure point, with clearances recognized on arrival. The pilot will test a shared real-time electronic platform linking border and travel-record data before expanding to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.

REMEMBER- This initiative is separate from the GCC’s Schengen-style unified tourist visa. Agreed in December 2023 and now slated for a 2026 rollout, the unified visa will allow foreign tourists and residents to move across all six GCC states with a single entry permit. The one-stop system purely focuses on GCC citizens’ travel procedures, streamlining border checks rather than replacing visas, Gulf News reports.

#2- A rent-now-pay-monthly solution is coming to Property Finder: Dubai-based Property Finder partnered with proptech firm Keyper to introduce its rent-now-pay-monthly installment solutions for UAE residents in 1H 2026, according to a statement. The collaboration allows residents to pay rent in monthly installments via Property Finder’s app and website, rather than the usual four-cheque annual payment.

ALSO- Crypto payments are coming to the property market: East & West International Group (EWIG) will begin accepting AE Coin — the UAE’s first AED-backed, Central Bank-regulated stablecoin — for property transactions via Mbank’s AEC Wallet, according to a statement. The move enables real-time, blockchain-based settlement for sales, rent, and services across iOS, Android, and AppGallery, Gulf News reports.

REMEMBER-AE Coin became the first AED-pegged stablecoin to receive final approval from the Central Bank of the UAE in December 2024. The stablecoin is also accepted for Abu Dhabi court fees, Air Arabia flight payments, and taxi rides in Abu Dhabi.

#3- Dubai CommerCity is planning a new e-commerce fulfillment center by 3Q 2026 to expand capacity and meet rising demand from digital commerce firms, Senior VP for Property Management and Supply Chain Abdulrahman Shahin told Wam on the sidelines of Dubai Business Forum-USA in New York.

The expansion comes as Dubai CommerCity’s Business District reached a 98% occupancy rate, with six new buildings currently under development to meet rising demand. Its Logistics District is at 100% occupancy, driven by demand from fashion, electronics, and last-mile delivery companies, while the Social District reached full operational capacity with restaurants, cafes, and retail outlets supporting on-site businesses.

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DATA POINT-

Abu Dhabi welcomed more than 4 mn visitors in 1H 2025, up 47% y-o-y, driven by strong performance at cultural and heritage sites, state news agency Wam reports. The Louvre Abu Dhabi led the tourism surge with over 785k visitors, followed by the Cultural Foundation (621k), which saw a 49% y-o-y uptick in visitors during the period. New sites like teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi (146k visitors) and Al Maqtaa Museum (31k) also contributed to the rise. Tourists from India accounted for a 29% uptick while UK tourists had increased 17%, Wam added.

Hotel guests also rose 2% y-o-y to 2.9 mn in 1H, with peak periods like Eid Al Adha further boosting performance, with hotels maintaining an 80% occupancy rate, up 6% y-o-y.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

A broad sell-off took hold of equities yesterday as concerns around extreme valuations of AI firms and the US Federal Reserve potentially slowing its easing cycle spurred market jitters. Wall Street posted its worst day in a month, with the S&P 500 sinking 1.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling 2.3%, as heavyweights like Nvidia and Tesla faced steep losses. Even BTC extended its downturn, falling below USD 100k to its lowest level since May. (Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg | Reuters)

** We have more on the possible trajectory of rate cuts in this morning’s Planet Finance, below.

ALSO- Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched a rocket with a pair of Nasa aircraft heading to Mars, deploying the aircraft 20 minutes later and recovering its booster following its separation from the aircraft in a major milestone for the company, which is competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. (Reuters | Bloomberg | AP)

AND A SIGN OF THE TIMES- Three of the songs topping music charts on Spotify this week were generated by AI, with two of them by now-viral AI-generated country artist Breaking Rust. (Guardian)

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OIL WATCH-

Opec kept its forecast for global oil demand growth unchanged at 1.3 mn bbl / d for 2025 and 1.4 mn bbl / d for 2026, according to its monthly oil report (pdf). Demand in the Middle East is forecast to climb by 108k bbl / d in 2025 to average 9 mn bbl / d, led by higher consumption in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE.

Demand for Opec crude was revised down by 100k bbl / d from last month’s assessment to 42.4 mn bbl / d. For 2026, demand is seen at 43 mn bbl / d, also 100k bbl / d lower than expected, and implying a small surplus of around 20k bbl / d next year assuming production remains at October levels.

On the supply side, Opec’s own production stood at 28.5 mn bbl / d in October, with the UAE pumping some 3.3 mn bbl / d based on direct communication with the organization. Opec’s secondary sources put the UAE at some 3.4 mn bbl / d. The figures line up with a recent Reuters survey that estimated Opec’s October output at 28.43 mn bbl / d.

The IEA tells a slightly different tale: The International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its demand growth forecasts by 80k bbl / d for 2025 and 70k bbl / d for 2026 — though both years remain under the 800k bbl / d mark — driven by stronger petrochemicals feedstock consumption, Reuters reports, citing the agency’s latest monthly oil report.

On the supply front: The agency now expects world oil supply to climb by 3.1 mn bbl / d in 2025 to an average 106.3 mn bbl / d, with a further 2.5 mn bbl / d added in 2026 to reach 108.7 mn bbl / d — each up by some 100k bbl / d from last month’s forecast, according to the report.

Wider surplus on the horizon: The global oil market could swing into an even larger glut next year, with a potential 4.1 mn bbl / d surplus as output rises while demand softens. That would widen the implied 2026 mismatch between supply and demand by 120k bbl / d from the 3.97 mn bbl / d surplus flagged in the agency’s October report, according to the newswire.

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