Sentiment among investors appears to have rebounded following a bleak end to last year, despite global issues such as the US government shutdown, Washington’s trade battle with China and disappointing data from the world’s second-largest economy. All that plus the ongoing Brexit saga do have the potential to cause ripples – or worse.

Bucking the global trend, however, it seems the UAE is a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy picture. 

In this week’s Business Extra Podcast, Assistant Business Editor Chris Nelson talks to Tim Fox, chief economist and head of research at Emirates NBD, and a regular columnist for The National, about how the global and regional investment outlook might be affected near-term.