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Item Financial development and Inclusion of UAE(2023-05-15) Latifa Abdulla MahmoudFinancial inclusion refers to the state where people and enterprises can access financial products and services that are helpful and affordable, meet their needs, are delivered sustainably, and contribute to a country's economic growth. The first step towards achieving higher financial inclusion is access to transaction-based accounts, which allow for the receipt and storage of cash (Riabi, 2019). Both theoretical and empirical economic literature indicates that various factors, such as interest rates, play a crucial role in determining the saving behaviour of borrowers. Evidence for the critical role financial-based development plays in economic-based growth can be found in empirical and theoretical research. Mwangi (2021) has contributed substantially to the debate among scholars about the relationship between growth rates and institutions with a financial foundation. Since it was unclear until the early 1900s how financial development and economic growth were related, this topic attracted much attention. In many instances, liberalising banking regulations might have been bad for economic expansion. Recent research, however, points to a constructive role for financial-based development and the link between growth and foreign direct investment (FDI).Item Cryptocurrencies Price Forecast and Hedging Capabilities(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-02) QASEM, BELAL MAHMOUDCryptocurrency is a new kind of investment recently emerged after being developed using blockchain technology, cryptocurrency price prediction is difficult due to its high volatility as this attracted many investors who are looking for high rewards, crypto described to be lucrative investment which in the past five years attracted considerable amount of investment capital, currently crypto market cap exceeds a trillion USD, on the other hand crypto high volatility could vanish the entire investment. This research aims to provide investors with methods to forecast cryptocurrencies price in the aim of supporting their decision making, as well as to investigate cryptocurrency short and long term relationship with stock markets indexes (S&P500 and FTSE100) and hard commodities (Gold and Oil) in the aim also to reveal more details about cryptocurrencies price behavior, at the same time investigating cryptocurrency relationship with Gold can give us crypto capability in providing hedge against recession as Gold always considered to be ‘safe haven’ against market high volatility, the data span collected covering a period from Jan-2018 till Sep-2022 for all variables tested in this study including Bitcoin, Litecoin, S&P500, FTSE100, Gold and Oil, in this study we used Granger causality and Engle Granger tests to detect existence of short and long term relationship between our variable, at the same time we used ARIMA,VAR, and VECM models to forecast 15 days cryptocurrency closing price. Our findings shows that ARIMA model (7,1,7) and ARIMA (8,1,10) demonstrated evidence to be very good model in forecasting 15 days for Bitcoin and Litecoin closing price respectively, as both models show errors forecast less than 5%. also, empirical finding shows that there is no statistically relationship between stock markets performance nor with Gold and Oil price in both long and short run with cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, in the aim to investigate the capability of cryptocurrencies to provide hedging ‘Safe haven’ to its investors the same as Gold, the empirical findings in this research shows that the behavior of cryptocurrencies price statistically found different than Gold in both short and long run, hence as a result of this cryptocurrencies cannot be assumed to be a ‘safe haven’ nor its capable to provide hedging such as Gold during recession time. This study contributes to literatures to reveal more details about cryptocurrency price forecast and determinants, also to support investors decisions throw providing them with the tools required to predict cryptocurrency price, finally this study highlighting the risk coming from cryptocurrency volatility on the whole economy especially the empirical results show no relationship existing with stock markets nor with commodities chosen in this study.Item Investment Accounts Practice in Oman’s Islamic Banks: A Comparative Study With AAOIFI’s Standards(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-05) AL DUWAIKI, OTHMAN SAID HAMEDResearch Questions/Issue: What is the current practice of PSIAs in IBWs in Oman compared to AAOIFI’s standards? Purpose:The main purpose of this research is to reveal the PSIAs practice in Oman’s IBWs in comparison with AAOIFI’s standards, particularly concerning the sharia and disclosure issues. Research Methodology: With the purpose of studying this research issue, the researcher gathered the relevant data of two full-fledged Islamic banks and five Islamic windows located in Oman, using their annual reports and published contract in the year 2021. Therefore, a combination of content and ratio analysis,and comparative approach were used to investigate the issue of research. Research Findings/Insights: The main findings found in this research generally that there were positive disclosure practices regarding the equity and assets distribution . However, there was a lack of information concerning the kind of contractual relationship that links between the different stakeholders involved in PSIAs.In addition, the practice of PSIAs was found to big extent compatible with AAOIFI’s standards. Theoretical/Academic Implications: the found results to some extent bridge the gap between the theory and practice in the issue of PSIAs, providing some suggestions to reduce this gap between the two sides. Keywords: IBWs in Oman,Profit Share Investment Accounts, AAOIFI’s Standards, Islamic banks, GCC countriesItem Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in the UAE Islamic Banks: A Comparative Study(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-05) ELASAD, ALI SAEEDAbstract This study aims to explore the corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of Islamic banks in the United Arab Emirates. Many researches have been conducted in the area of CSR disclosure of Islamic banks all over the world with varying findings. Some studies targeted the Islamic banks in the GCC region but not many have addressed the UAE Islamic banks in particular. This gap is what this study is aiming to fill. A benchmark based on AAOIFI disclosure standards is used to gather CSR disclosure data from the annual reports and sustainability reports of sample UAE Islamic banks for 2020. This data is then compared with CSR disclosure of a best practices Islamic bank in the Middle East, also gathered from its 2020 annual and sustainability reports and entered into the same benchmark. It became evident that there are discrepancies between the best practices bank and the UAE banks in both the extent and depth of CSR disclosure including major AAOIFI standards. تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى استكشاف حدود المسؤولية الاجتماعية للشركات (CSR) عندالمصارف الإسلامية في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة. لقد تم في الماضي إجراء العديد من الأبحاث في مجال الإفصاح عن المسؤولية الاجتماعية للشركات للبنوك الإسلامية في جميع أنحاء العالم مع نتائج متباينة. وقد استهدفت بعض الدراسات البنوك الإسلامية في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي ، لكن لم يخاطب الكثير منها البنوك الإسلامية الإماراتية على وجه الخصوص. هذه الدراسة تهدف سدهذه الفجوة بالتحديد.في هذه الدراسة يتم استخدام مقاييس تستند إلى معايير الافصاح لدى هيئة المحاسبة والمراجعة للمؤسسات الماليةالإسلامي(AAOIFI) لقد تم جمع بيانات الإفصاح عن المسؤولية الاجتماعية للشركات من التقارير السنوية وتقارير الاستدامة لعينة من البنوك الإسلامية الإماراتية لعام 2020. ثم تتم مقارنة هذه البيانات بالإفصاح عن المسؤولية الاجتماعية للشركات لأفضل بنك إسلامي في الممارسات في الشرق الأوسط ، والتي تم جمعها أيضًا من التقارير السنوية والاستدامة لعام 2020 وإدخالها في نفس المعيار. كشفت هذه الدراسة انه من الواضح أن هناك تناقضات بين أفضل الممارسات المصرفية لدى البنوك الإماراتية الأسلامية في كل من مدى وعمق الإفصاح عن المسؤولية الاجتماعية بما في ذلك معايير هيئة المحاسبة والمراجعة للمؤسسات المالية الإسلامية الرئيسية.Item Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Startups Business: Evidence form the UAE(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-12) ALSHAMSI, KHALIFAManuscript type: Empirical Research questions/Issue: How much did the COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on sales ? What was the impact on small & medium businesses ? Were there different results for small businesses than medium sized businesses ? Purpose: There is a plethora of research papers that have been written for the COVID-19 and most research touches on many countries and regions globally, but for the case of the United Arab Emirates there is limited field research studies that have been done for small & medium businesses. The aim and goal for this research paper is the make a thorough examination on the effect of the COVID-19 on sales for SMEs in the UAE. Research Methodology: In this research 170 questions has been asked to decision makers in the SMEs in the UAE by 10 participants and with more than 200 minutes spent interviewing the participants. This research has used a questionnaire in the scope of sales to measure the effect and risks of the pandemic on sales. The data collection method that was used is qualitative study based on semi structured interview. Research Findings/Insights: A positive relationship has been found between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and SME sales. After the interviews, the findings have unveiled an anomaly for certain industries where their results were the complete opposite of what the majority has experienced. Theoretical/Academic Implications: these findings provide insight for governments procedure toward the crisis and the effect of those procedures on overall businesses and SMEs. Keywords: UAE, SMEs sustainability, COVID-19 lockdown implications, measurability of SME sales in the UAEItem Crowdfunding Market in the UAE: Triangulation Study for the Success Factors in the Market(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-05) EFRAIJ, DALIA AHIDCrowdfunding is considered a new funding type in the UAE financial industry. It started to gain the attention as an emerging market that holds capitalization opportunities for SMEs and start-ups. Research has shown that crowdfunding is expected to grow in size in the developing countries. However, the related studies to the crowdfunding market in the UAE were almost not found, therefore, this study aims to investigate the crowdfunding market by examining the extent of certain success factors, namely awareness, knowledge, trust, and regulations in United Arab Emirates. The study methodology was based on the triangulation mixed method in which quantitative data was obtained through an online survey, professional opinions are extended by conducting interviews, and finally a comparative analysis was significant to evaluate the market position compared to a well-developed model from the UK crowdfunding market. The associated quantitative and qualitative data analysis revealed that crowdfunding market in the UAE has founded a good level of regulations for such market. However, the level of awareness, knowledge, and trust remains subject of enhancement and improvement. Those results may infer that there is a possible promising future for crowdfunding in the UAE if the rest of success factors were attained. In addition, the paper advises all market participants, including the government, platforms, project owners, and educational institutions, to take particular steps to contribute to the market's growth. Nevertheless, the study still holds certain limitations related to the methodology that need to be likely improved by further future studies.Item The Impact of COVID-19 on Developed & Emerging Capital Markets: A Comparative Study(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-03) ALAMEDDIN, KAMAL SALIM KAMALUndoubtedly, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has had extensive and severe effects among sectors, including financial markets. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of COVID-19 crisis on developed and emerging capital markets. More specifically, the study compares the impact of COVID-19 on developed and emerging capital markets and shows which markets are most impacted by coronavirus. Based on MSCI market classification framework, all developed and emerging markets are selected and examined from the date of announcing COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020 until August 31, 2020 and analyses daily returns, markets turnover, trading volumes, P/E ratios, markets earning and markets volatility using EGARCH of the selected indices. The study employs various statistical techniques to carry out the analysis. In addition, the study examines the circumstances and the reasons behind markets performance and discusses whether the performance is fairly justified or not, by checking the performance of each market and comparing it with the markets’ earnings. The findings show that developed and emerging markets have responded to COVID-19 in a similar way especially in terms of closing prices, where prices have declined at the beginning of the pandemic, then markets have recovered within a short period of time. Similarly, markets witnessed drop in trading turnover and volume, while their levels have not recovered up to the level prior to the pandemic, just few high hits in turnover and volume levels in few days during the pandemic.Item The Dynamic Conditional Correlation and Volatility Linkages between Green and Conventional Bonds: Empirical Evidence on a Global level.(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-11) Shbib, AlaThis study aims at examining the dynamic conditional correlations and the volatility linkages between the green bonds and the conventional bonds market on a global level. The paper chooses the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Global Green Bond Index (GB) and the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Total Return Index (CB) to represent the green and conventional bonds markets on a global level, respectively. The paper gathers their weekly data over a period of six years from 17th October 2014 to 18th September 2020 from Bloomberg. It adopts Engle (2002) two-steps DCC multivariate GARCH model to carry out the analysis. In the first step, this paper finds the best fitting univariate GARCH model is ARMA (8,8)-GARCH (1,2) and finds evidence that GB is more sensitive and has higher reaction to market events than CB does. In addition, GB exhibit less persistency in its conditional volatility than CB does. In the second step, using the DCC-MGARCH (1,2), this paper finds short-term volatility spillover between GB and CB but the persistency of a shock in both markets relative to the other is low and fades away quickly. This paper concludes that a time-varying, positive, and strong conditional correlation exists between GB and CB. Also, it finds evidence of strong positive volatility linkages between GB and CB. Lastly, the paper identifies a structural break in March 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications of this paper are important to investors, portfolio managers, and policymakers as they aid in making educated decisions related to portfolio diversification. Based on the results, this paper does not find evidence of gaining diversification benefits and, hence, does not recommend placing both types of bonds in the same portfolio.Item Benefits and Risks Associated with Financing through Issuance of Sukuk: Evidence from GCC Countries(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-10) AL-AMERI, AHMAD HAMOOD THABET QASEMThe purpose of this thesis is to examine the benefits and the risks that are associated with the financing through Sukuk (Islamic bonds). In this regard, highlighting the benefits and limitation that are associated with financing through issuance of sukuk with focus in the GCC countries will be considered instrumental in the course of this research. Building on previous studies, the present study focuses on analysing the various types of Sukuk and compare them with other forms of funding (conventional bonds). The various risks associated with Sukuk and how they are dealt with has also been analysed. On the empirical part, the study aimed to determine the relationship between Sukuk prices and some of the variables and risks associated with them, such as interest rates, bond prices and exchange rates. The main data which will be utilized in the course of the research obtained from various sources such as blommberg.com and financial institutions as well, the data will be subjected to regression analysis for the purposes of ensuring that the relationship is determined and the results presented. The research reached specific results and recommendations in this regard.Item Determinants of Performance of Conventional and Islamic Banks in GCC(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2017-11) ALABBADI, ALAEDDINThe aim of this research is to evaluate the impact of internal and external variables on the performance of both Islamic banks and conventional banks in the GCC. The Internal variables include capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity and sensitivity of risk while the external variables are the economic growth and inflation. Return on equity and Return on asset were used in the STATA programming to identify the variable with the greatest effect or least effect on the performance of banks in GCC. Specifically, five conventional banks and five Islamic banks from 2012 to 2015 were used in the research.Item International portfolio diversification from Russian investor viewpoint(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2011-04) WIPPEL, KSENIAAs 1998 crisis consequence in Russian Federation, most of Russians lost confidence in investment products. Moreover, it made Russians reluctant to invest in the capital markets, they preferred to keep savings in bank deposits. In 2005, a share of 55.5% of Russian savings was deposited to bank accounts, 30.5% kept in cash, only 14% invested into the capital markets. The abundant liquidity was not efficiently utilised. This paper determines whether it is better for Russians to invest domestically or internationally. This paper analyzes how risks influence an investment portfolio of stocks representing developed and emerging markets. Portfolio comprises five developed markets. Analysis covers returns statistics, correlation matrices and efficient frontier of 14 sets of varying indices weightings. This gives comparison between domestic only portfolio (exemplified in emerging markets), international portfolio (exemplified in developed markets), internationally diversified portfolio (emerging and developed markets). Comparison findings were based on literature reviews of international portfolio diversification, emerging markets and exclusively for the first time the Russian capital market. Reviews indicated that international portfolio diversification from a Russian investor point of view is an untapped area. This paper demonstrates how to maximize gains at a given level of risk and unveil opportunities for converting foreign exchange risks into potential gains.Item The Mutual Fund Performance, Before, During, and After the Financial Crisis: Evidence from GCC Region(The British University of Dubai (BUiD), 2020-06) Hamdan, RanaMutual fund is a pool of the investors’ money who share a common financial goal. Mutual fund offers an opportunity to invest in diversified, professionally managed basket of financial assets. Risk and performance assessment is a vital interest for investors as it offers optimal risk adjusted returns to investors, this is also an important area for mutual funds managers to use the information to make their investment decisions. This makes the risk and performance an attractive area for the researchers. This study aims to analyze the performance of Saudi Arabia open-end fund. A sample of 12 equity mutual funds is used in this study during the period January 2000 to December 2018. The analysis over the 18 years included an important financial event which is the global financial crisis, therefore, the study investigates the impact of global financial crisis on the performance of the mutual funds. The study employs the most important and widely used risk adjusted performance measures including Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Jensen Alpha, M2 and information ratio. The result shows that few funds had outperformed the market, while the rest had underperformed during the study period. Some funds could not been able to beat the risk-free rate. On average the funds had returned lower than the expected return from CAMP. Some managers could manage the fund probably during the three period and led their funds to pass through the economic crisis with minimal losses.Item A Study on the Factors Affecting the Auto Indices of the Indian Stock Markets – An ARDL Cointegration Approach(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-05) Alexander, RhodaThe aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between selected macroeconomic variables and auto indices of the two major Indian stock markets (viz. Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange) using monthly data during the time period, January 2017 to August 2019. Unit root test is performed to confirm the order of integration of the data. Bounds test reveals that there is a co-integrating relationship between the dependent and explanatory variables under both models of the study. Hence, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is employed to examine the co-integrating relationship between them. The results show that, exchange rate is a strong and statistically significant predictor of both S&P BSE auto index and Nifty auto index in the long run. The findings also reveal that, crude price, index of industrial production and repo rates are statistically significant determinants of Nifty auto index in the long run. In addition, first lag of crude price was seen to be a potential indicator of both the indices in the short-run. However, it was quite interesting to note the difference in the direction of relationship of crude price with the indices. The study provides some important policy implications.Item Risk Management in Islamic Banking(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-03) Abu Hardan, YousefRisk management is an integral part of banks’ activities and the banking industry is generally considered one of the riskiest types of businesses. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the risk management practices in Islamic banking, using Ajman bank as the case study. The methodology used in this study is qualitative based on structured interview. The analysis is based on face-to-face interviews with five heads of departments including Retail Banking Department, Internal Control Department, Sharia Department, Compliance and Risk Management (liquidity) Department. The results show that Ajman bank has effective risk management practices. The Risk Management department displays proper control for risk mitigation and the bank in accordance with the Sharia compliant. In addition, the findings reveal that the bank comply with Basel requirements and UAE Central Bank regulations.Item Bank-Specific and Macroeconomic Determinants of Islamic Banks Profitability: The Case of GCC Countries(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-05) Al Malkawie, Dia'Generally, profitability for a business firm is the primary factor to survive. It helps the organization to grow, compete and remain attractive to investors as well as analysts. The purpose of the present study is to research in the bank-specific as well as macroeconomic determinants of Islamic banks in a region that’s consider to play an important role in Islamic finance development, namely the GCC region. The study used 28 Islamic banks operating in the GCC stock exchanges as a sample for the time of period from 2011 up to 2016, namely Boursa Kuwait, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Doha Securities Market, Bahrain Stock Exchange, Saudi Stock Exchange, Muscat Securities Market, and Dubai Financial Market. Pooled OLS regression is used to estimate the empirical model. The bank’s profitability is measured by the return on asset (ROA), whereas the independent variables that tested are capital adequacy ratio, operational efficiency, assets quality, financial leverage, bank size, liquidity risk, GDP growth, and inflation rate. The regression results indicate that bank-specific determinants including capital adequacy ratio, financial leverage, and operational efficiency are statistically significant and have negative relationship with the Islamic bank’s profitability. However, the bank size is the only tested variable that’s have a positively and significantly relationship with the banks’ profitability. Whereas, the study proves that there is nonlinear relationship between bank’s size and profitability. On the other hand, assets quality and liquidity risk are found to be insignificant determinants for Islamic banks’ profitability. Regarding the macroeconomic variables, GDP growth is the only variable shown that it is relating positively to Islamic banks profitability, whilst the inflation rate has no association with the Islamic banks profitability for the sample studied. These findings provide valuable policy implications which may assist Islamic banks operating in the GCC region to improve their performance and increase their profitability.Item The new accounting standard IFRS 9 and its impact on how banks should provision for credit losses(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2019-11) ALBANNA, AMNA AHMADOn Jan, 2018 the new accounting standard International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS 9) was implemented aiming in simplifying calculation of impairment and other financial measurements. The aim of this study is to examine the new accounting standard and its impact on how banks should provision for Expected Credit Losses (ECL) and its effect on other financial assets. The dissertation is based on qualitative approach where set of interviews with finance and corporate teams of banks and other entities have been contacted. Using semi-structured interviews, respondents were asked to answer the study questions and how banks should provision for expected credit losses under new accounting rule IFRS 9. Knowing and observing new accounting rule is very important. Dissertation focuses on how the new accounting rule start approximating losses when loan is made which will help banks to avoid any bad news such as future recessions, political events, and sitting apart reserves to meet unexpected future losses. Moreover, IFRS 9 impacts many capital ratios such as Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET 1). The findings and results of the interview questions were that the new standard will impact the provision part of the banks but this impact will not be dramatic. Moreover, the impairment provision level will increase under IFRS9 around 25%. Under the new accounting rule there are requirement for issuing more equity, since more loans are unexpected to get back from the customers in this situation banks may need more capital to cover the expected losses. IFRS9 also can affect deal pricing under the new standard for risky customers may get higher price than normal customers. Banks in the UAE can take many strategies such as strong relationship, Tighter controls on new originations, and Revisions of Policies & Product characteristics in order to lower the expected provision.Item The Determinants of the Performance of Commercial Banks Industry Evidence of Listed Commercial Banks at ADX(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2018-10) MOHAMMAD YASSEN DARKAL, MOHAMMAD YASSARI would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the support and encouragement of numerous people whose contributions were important for me along the period of master program. The greatest goes to my God who enable me to fulfil the requirements of my master’s degree, and enabled me to overcome the obstacles that faced me at several stages of the program. Dr. Abdul Muneam Lhrech, my supervisor, provided me with enough help, and encouraged me with different guides, regulations, experience, and high quality of direct face to face supervision. Therefore, a lot of thanks and acknowledgements to Dr. Lahrech. I will not forget the help, support and quality of supervision that I received from Dr. Husam Malkawi. The current study objects for determining the factors that are probably influencing the performance of listed commercial banks at Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). To achieve this objective, the data covering the period 2008-2017, of 8 listed commercial banks among 12 listed bank banks At ADX. The study investigated 5 internal-based possible determinants, and three potential external determinants of commercial banks performance. Among the 12 listed banks at ADX, 2 commercial banks had excluded because its data is not available in complete along the period of the study, and another 2 Islamic banks had also excluded because the nature of operations in these banks is completely different, and therefore the financial reporting of this type of banks is also different, where this restrict the analysis of data. As a result of the related literature and prior researches consideration, 9 hypotheses had been developed and scientifically tested. In addition to simple linear regression method that used in hypotheses testing, correlation and some descriptive statistics were also applied in the analysis of data. The findings demonstrate that except inflation rate and GDP, all other determinants have a significant effect on bank performance. In other words, it demonstrates that all internal determinants that had been taken into account, found affecting commercial bank performance, and two of external determinants have no effect. The eight determinants of commercial banks that the study takes into consideration, include, bank loans, bank size, capital adequacy, management efficiency, bank liquidity, inflation rate, GDP, and Tobin’s Q. Five of these determinants are classified by some authors as in internal including, bank loans, bank size, capital adequacy, management efficiency, and bank liquidity, while inflation rate, GDP, and Tobin’s Q, are classified as external. The study recommends managements of commercial banks to give more attention to the assets used in these banks, and to focus on increasing the market value of commercial banks. In addition, managements of commercial banks are recommended to give more attention to the way that liquid assets and credit risk are managed.Item The impact of sovereign rating changes on equity markets: The Case of GCC countries(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2018-06) AL BALUSHI, OMAR LASHKOThis study investigates how GCC stock markets react to a change in the domestic currency sovereign credit ratings. This paper makes use of an event study with an underlying market model. The sovereign ratings and stock market prices were retrieved from the Thomson Reuters DataStream database. In total, 83 rating events were tested, 39 of which are upgrades, 44 as downgrades. The period tested spans from 2002 to 2017. The results coincide with previous literature; concluding that GCC markets do react to sovereign rating changes, with stronger reactions in the case of downgrades. Furthermore, the results also showed that GCC stock markets are indifferent to whether the sovereign rating was of the short term or long term variety. Moreover, GCC stock markets are indifferent to which credit rating agency issued the sovereign rating. Finally, the results show that of the Saudi, Omani, Qatari, and Bahraini stock markets, the Qatari stock market is the most sensitive to a sovereign rating change, particularly in the case of downgrades.Item RISK- RETURN ANALYSIS(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2017-11) AL MULLA, OMAR IBRAHIMThe study presents the influence of defensive investment strategies on shareholder earnings and focuses on the use of anti-takeover approaches and their effect on the stocks of involved companies. The purposive sampling method is adopted, and the paper evaluates the case of the Microsoft’s attempted acquisition of Yahoo! of 2008, the acquisition of Akbastau and Zarechnoye Uranium Mines by Uranium Inc. of 2010, and the takeover of Andean by Goldcorp of 2010. The findings prove that the use of the strategies does expose owners to risk because they do not necessarily create value for shareholders. Results show that the Yahoo! Company’s value fell following its adoption of anti-takeover measures. Lundin Mining suffered a similar fate as its share price dropped when the company rejected Equinox Minerals’ offer.Item Capital structure in the Airline Industry – An Empirical study of determinants of capital structure(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2017-11) KHAZAALEH, FADI MOHAMMED KHALILIn the business environment, decisions that are associated with the capital structure are very critical in nature. The strategic team of an organization is mainly involved in analyzing the appropriate capital structure for a company. The decisions of capital structure mainly involve decisions in respect of the portfolio mix of debt and equity. This research aimed to identify determinants of capital structure in the airline industry. Total of 8 airlines belonging to different countries were selected for this study. Data for a period of five years for the mentioned airlines were collected and panel regression was done. The airlines selected for the study were Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Emirates Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airlines, Oman Air, Turkish Airlines and Air New Zealand. Out of the 13 determinants that were identified based on literature review, the results of the study showed that profit, size, leasing policies, ownership, and difference of return and average return (study period) are the determinants the capital structure in the airline industry