Just about any transaction undertaken on an electronic financial market can be completed in half a second or so.
With that in mind, six years is a phenomenally long time to wait when you are trading stocks.
Six years is how long MSCI has been mulling whether to allow the UAE, and others around the region such as Qatar, to upgrade to the hallowed emerging markets status.
In the wee small hours of yesterday morning the decision was finally made, much to the delight no doubt of the UAE investment community and the stock market operators in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The upgrade is indeed a cause for celebration and a great achievement for the country. Every year the exchanges here have worked hard to implement new technologies and procedures to ensure that market operation is up to speed with the best in the world and that investors receive the same services and protections that they would expect in any other sophisticated financial centre.
The rewards are also expected to be handsome. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index includes more than US$7 trillion worth of equities at current prices.
Just being included in the gang means more of the world's available investment funds will flow through UAE markets thanks to things such as tracker funds that are linked to MSCIs various products.
Analysts expect perhaps about $300 million to $400m of new funds would flow through this country as a result of the upgrade, which is scheduled to come into force next year.
But those rewards could have been far greater if the MSCI decision had been made just a little bit sooner.
Most investors around the world are going very cold on emerging markets just now. In fact the prevailing view among the majority of mainstream analysts is that the prolonged emerging markets rally that has been in full effect pretty much since early 2009 is finally over.
This year so far the MSCI Emerging Markets Index has charted a persistently downwards trajectory - in complete contrast to both the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets, which have performed better than most indexes on Earth.
The MSCI Index closed at 39.38 after the UAE upgrade decision was made, down almost 2 per cent on the day and about five points lower than its level at the start of the year.
That is only a point or so away from the level it was trading at in the beginning of 2007, the year the UAE began its campaign to join.
Last year by contrast, the index enjoyed a stellar performance, rising in value by some 18 per cent.
But these fluctuations in equity prices are just one indication that the emerging markets rally is grinding to a halt.
The bond markets provide much more convincing, and worrying, evidence that emerging markets are staring down the barrel of a troubling new cycle.
The prevailing trend in global markets today, as it has been for the past month or more, is the steep rise in US treasury yields and the increasing strength of the dollar.
This has caused investors to pull back from emerging markets debt as currencies from those countries - such as Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, for example - depreciate against the dollar and their bonds are less attractive than American treasuries.
In short, while the financial crisis was in full swing and US treasuries became less of a safe haven than they are supposed to be, investors jumped aboard the emerging markets bond train to take advantage of high yields.
Now the US Federal Reserve has hinted that it might start reining in its fiscal stimulus policy, which means it thinks the crisis might be drawing to a close, and investors are returning to the familiarity of US treasuries.
A change of tack in China - which it is hard to believe is actually defined as an emerging market given its power, its scale and our dependence upon it - is also a major factor in this big investment strategy shift.
China is largely viewed as moving into a new stage of development away from rapid urbanisation and infrastructure development towards a more mature consumer economy.
For this the country will need fewer resources like oil and steel and so will not be the great driver of the global resource economy that it has been.
In lock step with China's changing gears, the other emerging markets are expected to enjoy slower GDP growth as this cycle shifts, which can be expected to translate into less impressive share price growth.
The MSCI upgrade is indeed a historic milestone for UAE markets, but it remains to be seen how much longer we will have to wait before we enjoy the real fruits of all the hard work we put in to achieve it.
jdoran@thenational.ae
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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Company%20Profile
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Company%20Profile
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How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENever%20click%20on%20links%20provided%20via%20app%20or%20SMS%2C%20even%20if%20they%20seem%20to%20come%20from%20authorised%20senders%20at%20first%20glance%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAlways%20double-check%20the%20authenticity%20of%20websites%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EEnable%20Two-Factor%20Authentication%20(2FA)%20for%20all%20your%20working%20and%20personal%20services%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOnly%20use%20official%20links%20published%20by%20the%20respective%20entity%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDouble-check%20the%20web%20addresses%20to%20reduce%20exposure%20to%20fake%20sites%20created%20with%20domain%20names%20containing%20spelling%20errors%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now