Alone with Gulf crisis meeting, cash measures

Reuters consistently sets the pace in reporting from the Gulf. The latest came from the Dubai bureau, which was alone with plans for Gulf Arab finance ministers and central bank governors to hold an emergency meeting on Oct. 25 to discuss a coordinated response to the global financial crisis, in a story widely cited amongst clients. At that summit, they agreed that plans for monetary union in the Gulf have gained added urgency as a means to cushion the oil producers from global shocks. Reuters also was ahead on key measures by governments to boost liquidity in their banking systems and bring down interbank borrowing costs. We beat the competition by one day on the United Arab Emirates adding $6.8 billion into its banking sector. We were alone in reporting an easing money supply growth in Qatar. We were first to report UAE plans to boost its budget by 21 percent in 2009.