Good morning, friends. It’s shaping up to be a slow newsweek so far, which is expected given the back-from-Eid and remote-work-induced lull. The lack of conferences and events during what would typically be peak season is also contributing to the quiet, with events scheduled for this week — including the Arabian Travel Market — having been delayed to the fall.

THE BIG STORY here at home is the sell-off returning to markets, even after a brief relief from government initiatives — like the Central Bank of the UAE’s resilience package — helped prop up the indices last week.

That came after US President Donald Trump and Iran exchanged a tit-for-tat of war escalation threats, which Trump did backtrack on later in the day, claiming talks with Iran are ongoing — a claim Iranian state media has quoted Iranian officials as denying. The damage, of course, had already been done, and outflows continued to hit UAE equities.

PLUS- Industry and Advanced Technology Minister Sultan Al Jaber delivered his annual address at the energy meet-up in Houston known as CeraWeek — virtually this time — ahead of a visit to Washington later this week for meetings. To no one’s surprise, the war dominated the narrative at the meet-up and in the minister’s speech. We break down the updates on that, and ongoing disruptions to oil and gas and logistics, in this morning’s War Watch below.

WEATHER- The stormy weather continues, with showers and thunderstorms expected across the country, along with highs of 28-29°C and a low of 21°C.

Watch this space

Wealth platforms are still wagering on the UAE — even as regional tensions disrupt operations. Backed by Standard Chartered’s innovation arm, fintech firm Vault22 is pushing ahead with plans to launch a shariah-compliant wealth platform in the UAE, Bloomberg reports. The move is a vote of confidence amid regional turbulence, especially since Standard Chartered was reportedly among those evacuating its office last week.

About the platform: The UAE-based player is set to roll out its Hafiq platform, a personal Islamic finance tool, around the middle of this year. The offerings include an AI-powered shariah screening engine for investments, a real-time zakat calculator, and ETFs and thematic portfolios targeting younger investors.

Why here? The move taps into the USD 6 tn global Islamic finance market, and the company has already set up its base in the Dubai Financial Center. The firm’s co-founder Stephen Ong said clients need reliable services even more during turbulent times, the business information service reports.

What’s next: Vault22, which also counts Franklin Templeton among its backers, is in talks with investors, including Gulf family offices, to fund its expansion. Expansion elsewhere in the Gulf, as well as Southeast Asia and Africa, is also in the cards.

Some are calling for Paramount’s takeover bid of Warner Bros. to be reviewed for “foreign investment concerns,” with several US Democratic senators pushing for the move, according to a statement. Currently, Paramount is set to merge with the Hollywood studio and streaming giant, after the other competitor, Netflix, walked away from its bid. Paramount had increased its bid to USD 31 per share to beat out Netflix’s effort.

The areas of concern: The senators share “deep concern” that Gulf sovereign wealth funds are providing USD bns for the merger, and they are also worried about other backers’ links to China.

The UAE’s L’imad is among those backing Paramount’s bid. However, the exact split of investments between those involved hasn’t been disclosed so far. Previous reports indicated that L’imad, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had provided USD 24 bn for the bid.

Up next: The senators are calling for a full review of foreign ownership interests, a veto on any confidentiality requests, making all information related to the transaction public, and coordinating with national security authorities on the takeover.

PSA

Getting off Al Reem Island just got quicker: Abu Dhabi opened two new bridges linking Al Reem Island directly to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Highway (E12), cutting peak travel times by up to 60% — or around 15 minutes. The AED 450 mn project is set to ease pressure on bottlenecks like Mina Road and Hamdan Bin Mohammed Street, improving flow between Reem, Saadiyat, and the Dubai-bound highway.

A new expansion at Yas Waterworld is opening soon: Miral is pushing ahead with its plans for Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi despite regional turbulence, with the latest stage of expansion scheduled to open on 4 April, according to Abu Dhabi Media Office. The newest additions to the Lost City expansion will include 11 new slides and attractions.

The big story abroad

The US-Israel war on Iran has not slowed down yet, but US President Donald Trump did announce a five-day pause in strikes and indicate a resumption of talks with Tehran. Trump notably walked back his threat to target the Islamic Republic’s power grid after being urged by US allies and Gulf states, unnamed sources told Bloomberg.

But Tehran has denied that it agreed to talk to Washington. “No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said.

Oil prices eased on the news: Crude prices fell 11% yesterday following Trump’s decision to delay airstrikes on Iran’s energy facilities and his contested reference to resumed negotiations. Brent crude tumbled USD 12.25 — a 10.9% drop — to close at USD 99.94 per barrel.

Wall Street welcomed the decision to delay strikes, with its three major indexes closing in the green, up over 1%.

Also making headlines is the collision between an Air Canada Express jet and a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia airport. Both pilots were killed and dozens were injured. Aviation safety experts said that air traffic staffing levels — an encroaching issue in US aviation — will be a part of the ensuing investigation.

MEANWHILE- In the world of AI: Asset management firm BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink has raised the alarm over the AI boom, which he says could make wealth disparities more severe. AI stands to continue the trend of keeping gains among individuals who already own financial assets but “at an even larger scale,” Fink said.

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