DAVOS: The week in Davos is a meeting of the “masters of the universe” — the businessmen, financiers and policymakers who determine the lives of ordinary mortals.
But it is also a gathering of the world’s media: The print, online and broadcast journalists whose job it is to tell those mortals what is happening 1,500 meters above sea level at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting. Although I doubt I will get much sympathy, I have to tell you that it is a tough journalist gig.
If you exploit the opportunities Davos presents to the full, you can easily start your day with a breakfast briefing at 7 a.m. and finish it at 1 a.m. the following morning, after one of the legendary Davos “nightcap” events.
After a few rushed hours of sleep, it is the same all over again the next day. It is grueling.
But I have noticed that members of the media at the WEF fall into two distinct categories.
There are the honest, down-to-earth working hacks, like yours truly, whose job it is to actually report on the event.
With so much on offer, doing the actual writing has to be squeezed into gaps in the formal WEF agenda, or rushed out before the early-morning breakfast. (Filing copy after the nightcap events is not advised.)
In contrast to these Stakhanovite tradesmen, there is the “thinking media” — the armies of editors, columnists, opinion writers and other experts. They have a much easier time.
These rarified souls come to Davos to “get a feel” for global opinion, or to “feel the pulse” of the decision-making classes. If they are doing the job properly, their day is no shorter than that of the reporting press, but much easier because they are not filling every spare moment writing.
A week on the slopes, with the aim of filing 1,000 words of opinion at the end of it, does not sound too strenuous, does it?
The bane for all these journalists — tradesmen or thinkers — is the news desk back at HQ, whether it is in London, New York or Jeddah. News editors see Davos as a gigantic opinion-polling exercise of the world’s elite. “Just ask a few people there,” you hear.
Easier said than done. I bumped into an old colleague from the British press the other day, just after the Financial Times broke the story about the “Presidents Club” that raised charitable money using distantly dubious methods.
My friend had been tasked with “getting the Davos view” on the FT story, but was having a hard time. “Nobody here has read it,” he said.
DAVOS DIARY: Spare a thought for the poor, overworked media
DAVOS DIARY: Spare a thought for the poor, overworked media
Oman property price index jumps 17.3% in Q3
JEDDAH: Oman’s real estate price index recorded a 17.3 percent increase in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to official data.
The commercial property price index rose 14.6 percent, driven by a 19 percent increase in commercial land prices, while the cost of commercial shops fell by 8.5 percent, as per the country’s National Centre for Statistics and Information, or NCSI, based on figures from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning.
Industrial land prices posted a moderate increase of 5.5 percent, while residential property prices recorded stronger growth of 18.7 percent year on year, the Oman News Agency reported.
The rise in Oman’s real estate price index comes amid broader momentum across Gulf property markets, where residential activity remained resilient in the third quarter of 2025. Higher demand in major cities across the region, supported by population growth and ongoing infrastructure investment, helped underpin price gains, even as some markets faced tighter financing conditions.
“As for the residential property price index, it achieved clear growth in the third quarter of 2025, with a rate of 18.7 percent compared to the third quarter of 2024, as residential land prices increased by 19.6 percent, residential apartments by 22.4 percent, in addition to the growth of villa prices by 16.5 percent, while the prices of other houses decreased by 0.5 percent,” the ONA report stated.
Oman’s residential land prices climbed 19.6 percent, with apartments rising by 22.4 percent, while villas increased by 16.5 percent. Prices of other types of houses saw a slight decline of 0.5 percent.
At the governorate level, Muscat recorded the highest increase in residential land prices at 48.3 percent, followed by Musandam at 29.7 percent, Al-Dakhiliyah at 12.3 percent, Al-Batinah South at 8.7 percent, North Al Batinah at 8.1 percent, and Dhofar at 4 percent.
On the other hand, some governorates saw declines in residential land prices, with Al-Dhahirah down 25.8 percent, Al-Buraimi down 24.6 percent, Al-Wusta down 13.3 percent, Al-Sharqiyah North down 4 percent, and Al-Sharqiyah South down 2.2 percent.
“This increase reflects continued demand in Oman’s real estate market, with residential properties in Muscat and Musandam driving much of the growth,” the ONA report added.
The data also show clear differences across regions, with price gains concentrated in major urban areas. Strong demand in Muscat and coastal governorates was supported by population growth, investment, and infrastructure spending, while some interior regions recorded declines as market activity softened.
