Forging friendly connections: Emirates airline chief gets a traditional Maori greeting

At the height of the New Zealand winter back in 2003, Emirates made its inaugural flights to Auckland via Sydney and Melbourne. Pictured here is Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the airline's chief executive and chairman, right, who arrived on the first flight from Sydney on August 2 and was welcomed at Auckland Airport with a hongi, a traditional Maori greeting. Helen Clark, New Zealand's prime minister at the time, was also there to greet the UAE delegation.

The new services offered passengers 14 flights per week across the Tasman Sea. A few months later, on October 26, a daily service to Brisbane also launched. The move came only nine months after Clark visited the UAE to discuss the possibility of new routes between Auckland and Dubai.

In 2016, a non-stop service – one of the world's longest flights – launched with a double-decker A380. Flight time is just under 16 hours from Dubai and just over 17 hours when returning from Auckland.

How to keep control of your emotions

If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.

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.

Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.

Fear

The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.

Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.

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.

Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.