Business

Dow Jones to merge Middle East operations

Dow Jones is combining the Middle East operations of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, following similar mergers in other regions.

Ben Flanagan

December 14, 2010

Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal have combined their Middle East editorial operations, with two senior executives appointed to oversee news output in the region.

Marcus Wright, previously a senior editor for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region at Dow Jones Newswires in London, has been named the new venture's Middle East editor.

He will oversee the editorial teams at several bureaus in the region, as well as managing Dow Jones Newswires' regional partnership with the Zawya news service. Bill Spindle has been named as the Middle East bureau chief. Mr Spindle previously worked at The Wall Street Journal before moving to Abu Dhabi three years ago to help launch The National.

The two executives will work for the combined bureau, which follows similar mergers of the companies' operations in markets such as Washington, Detroit, Brussels, Istanbul and Moscow.

"The combination of our Newswires and Journal teams creates a formidable force dedicated to informing our readers in the region and around the world," said Robert Thomson, the editor-inchief of Dow Jones & Company, and the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal.

Andrew Langhoff, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal Europe and the managing director of Dow Jones & Company in the EMEA region, said the "combined editorial presence in the region will help deliver even stronger, more relevant content".

"We have recently started printing The Wall Street Journal Europe in the UAE and we continue to expand our partnerships with important local players," he said.

The Wall Street Journal is published by Dow Jones & Company, which was bought out by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for US$5.6 billion (Dh20.57bn) in 2007.

The newspaper was mentioned in the recent WikiLeaks disclosures. In a cable dated May 11 last year, unnamed informants told US embassy officials that discussions were under way for an Arabic-language version of the paper. The cable mentions a "three-hour discussion with one of Rupert Murdoch's sons on a deal to publish an Arabic-language version of The Wall Street Journal".

A Dow Jones official declined to comment on the WikiLeaks disclosure.

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Greed

Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.

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Fear

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Hope

While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.

Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.

Frustration

Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.

Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.

Boredom

Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.

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