Peter J Cooper is a freelance financial journalist based in the Dubai Media City, and a former partner in the Middle East’s best-read English language website http://www.ameinfo.com. He is also a columnist for several publications, including the Gulf News property magazine and Cityscape. His latest book ‘Opportunity Dubai’ is published in November.
With more than two decades of business journalism and a specialist knowledge of Middle East business and finance, he offers a different perspective on investment from an Arabian viewpoint.
Mr. Cooper spent a decade in London as a business journalist specializing in construction and real estate from 1984-95, and then moved to Dubai as the launch editor of Gulf Business, the first-ever business magazine in the Gulf. He is also the author of ‘Building Relationships: The History of Bovis 1885-2000′.
As an investor Mr. Cooper has made only a few significant moves: buying Docklands property in 1993 and selling out in 1998; starting a dot-com company in Dubai in 2000 which later merged with AME Info; and being an early buyer of Dubai property in 2002. He is currently invested in gold and precious metals.
Mr. Cooper holds a Master of Arts degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Trinity College, Oxford University, and studied French at institutes in Tour and La Rochelle before becoming an administrative trainee in the European Commission in Brussels where he specialized in development economics.
Order my book online from this link
Hello Peter,
We are in Cape Town and as business consultants and researchers our network is acting to help business and civil society navigate the coming economic storm which we see impacting southern Africa in the near future. We know that arabic countries are interested in developing investment in our region as resources become attractive going forward.
We support various NGOs (eg. Citizens Advice Bureau - ref our website)here in Cape Town who use our information system to help people improve their lives and businesses. We would welcome any contacts who may wish to cooperate with us in raising funds and seeking opportunities to assist advancement for our people.
If you have the time and interest we should be pleased hear from you any ideas which may help us move forward. By the way, we have found Jim Sinclair’s website for Comrades in Golden Arms (CIGA) immensely helpful for sensible, non-spin, analysis - sure you must know of him: http://www.jsmineset.com
Best regards
Peter
Comment by Peter Underwood — May 18, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
how can one sign up to receive a daily email of your blog? would you mind sharing a few more specific thoughts about the composition of your investment portfolio? can you please provide the names of the best european-based mutual funds that are geared to profit from a a bond crash? and precious metals boom? i have been the victim of too many fraudulent reports by individual companies in the past and only buy funds/etf’s these days. thank you!
p.s. enjoy your blog immensely
Comment by songstarter71 — May 19, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
NowPublic has an RSS feed for this site - you are best off with ETFs or bullion. I don’t like to tip specific stocks but do declare if I have a significant interest. But silver as the best hedge against inflation and further market turmoil.
Comment by peterjcooper — May 29, 2008 @ 11:44 am
Hi Peter,
Great blog, enjoy reading it. Are you now no longer involved in any way with AME Info. Previously you were described as ‘Consultant Editor’. But you seem to have disappeared from the credits.
Ed note: Thanks for your praise. I am still a regular contributor to AME Info but am branching out with new activities like this blog and a book in the autumn. You just can not do it all!
Comment by Paul Booth — June 6, 2008 @ 6:35 pm
Hello Peter,
I was just reading your article “Will supply and demand burst the Dubai real estate bubble?” that was published on April 15th of 2007, just wanted to ask you what your thought of the real-estate market right now, do you still think the bubble is going to burst?
Comment by Chadi El Refaei — June 12, 2008 @ 9:26 am
Hi Chadi - Try using the search on the right hand navigation and put in ‘dubai property’ - for some reason the Dubai Property button does not locate all these articles, for example:
http://arabianmoney.net/2008/05/06/off-plan-scams-could-turbo-charge-completed-dubai-home-prices/
I don’t see the Dubai property ‘bubble’ bursting anytime soon - demand is still well ahead of supply and there is a huge amount of money to invest from the oil boom. Project completions take so long to achieve that there must be two to three years left before a correction, and even then the bounce back might surprise many skeptics. Dubai is, after all, bringing the bankers of the world into the city - and high real estate prices and bankers go together like birds and feathers.
Comment by peterjcooper — June 12, 2008 @ 9:49 am
Hi Peter,
I enjoy your blogs very much! I am living in Los Angeles, USA and work in mortgage banking. The industry is so bad here I have started to look overseas. Do you have any recommendations on searching for a mortgage banking position in Dubai? I have searched many headhunting companies but I dont know who is legit and who is not. I am a bit concerned who to go with since they want upfront payment. Your advice is deeply appreciated.
PS Thanks for reporting what you think. You help people like me survive in this world and take care of family members.
Comment by shawncyoung — June 19, 2008 @ 6:11 am
so you feel that silver will outperform gold?
Bob Hoye of institutional advisors.com feels that gold will far outperform silver.
would appreciate your comments.
thank you,
jay
Comment by Jay Haribhai — July 8, 2008 @ 10:00 am
Please see the last two posts on gold & silver…
Comment by peterjcooper — July 8, 2008 @ 11:08 am
Hello Peter,
Your articles on the real esate in Duabi are educative, nforamtive and interesting. However, I have a few questions:
Who buys property in the UAE and why do they buy it for?
Is it for investment purpose or for residence or for both?
Will a change in residency laws like Permanaent Residence have any impact on a more steady demand for property in this country?
What are your thoughts on the proerty / real estate market in abudhabi?
A response from you will be greatly appreciated
REagrds
Suneeta
Comment by Suneeta — August 6, 2008 @ 10:50 am
Surveys give a wide spread of buyers for both investment and residence. I am not sure permanent residency will make much difference as it is quite easy to set up a company and sponsor yourself already. Have a look at Abu Dhabi Property on http://www.ameinfo.com for my thoughts on the UAE capital - it seems to be following the Dubai model.
Comment by peterjcooper — August 6, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
What are your thoughts about crashing oil prices and effect on Dubai property?
Comment by OrjanLindroth — October 19, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
http://arabianmoney.net/category/dubai-property/
Comment by peterjcooper — October 19, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
Hello sir,
It is nice to read your valuable comments on your blog..its was nice to read your comments on obama”s victory and its effects on gold. but wat i found intersting was your comment about an indain astrologer and his views on stock market crash, since i follow stars and there influence on markets closely , it would be helpful if u could mail me the link to the indian astrologer u referred in your post or his email id it would be grateful .
regards and thanks
naveen jain
my email is is naveenkumar1977@gmail.com
Comment by naveen jain — November 5, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
http://astrologyandpsychicpredictions.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/the-stock-market-crash-of-1929-now-and-future-crash/
Comment by peterjcooper — November 5, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
Hello Mr. Peter J. Cooper,
I actually stumbled upon your blog while doing financial research. Your blog is one of the few that I have saved to read at my leisure. Your perspective from the Middle East is refreshing. My perspective is from America and how the world is slowly becoming one (media, trends, sociology, finance, law, etc.). With that said it is your coverage of topics that gels well with my own interests… finance and how America is dissolving/morphing among other trends. Thanks for keeping the world informed about your neck of the woods. I also look forward to reading your book. Please check out my blog at - http://societydujour.net/
Sincerely,
M.B. DION
Comment by M.B. DION — November 13, 2008 @ 1:43 am
Hi Peter,
You truly are prolific.
As one writer to another, could I ask you where you think the physical gold in the ‘Saudi gold rush’ is actually coming from? And what the view is from the Middle East as far as time frame and upside for gold?
If you want to respond to my email, I have filed it with you.
Best,
Thom Calandra
http://www.thomcalandra.com
Comment by thom calandra — November 15, 2008 @ 2:28 am