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Gulf markets continued their upward trend today, with the exception of the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), which both fell. The Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Doha markets were back to last monthâ??s highs, with other markets registering small rises. The Tadawul rose 0.88%, but still closed its trading week down 1.1%, after a poor start last Saturday. The DFM closed down slightly by 0.16% and KSE by 0.34%.

The president of oil producers' cartel Opec tells the BBC crude oil prices could rise still further this week.

New car purchases are at the lowest levels in 10 years. Nearly all major carmakers reported steep sales declines for June. Derek Mattsson, head of Vehix.com, says consumers are still favoring cars like the Honda Civic at the expense of U.S. vehicles.

New car purchases are at the lowest levels in 10 years. Nearly all major carmakers reported steep sales declines for June. Derek Mattsson, head of Vehix.com, says consumers are still favoring cars like the Honda Civic at the expense of U.S. vehicles.

Microsoft still keeps trying to work the angles with Yahoo!.

Fitting burglar alarms and locks to doors and windows is common sense, yet 11% of people still leave their front door wide open to burglars each year, according to recent research from Newcastle Building Society.

So far, it's been a relatively quiet week on wall street. But the calm is deceptive because the market is going through a crucial quarterly waiting period, right after the end of the quarter but before companies start reporting results. Every morning, we could wake up to a big bellwether stock warning investors its second quarter earnings will fall short of expectations. So far a jittery market has been blessed with relatively few rude awakenings. One exception is UnitedHealth Group (UNH), which issued a profit warning this morning. Georges Yared (his blog is here) told me a few days ago that pre-announcements are what he's watching very closely this week and early next week. If there is a weak pre-announcement season -- meaning that relatively few companies issue warnings -- 'that will be bullish' for the market, he said.So far it's been quiet and the stock market has held up, but corporations still have several days left to scare investors. Alcoa (AA) kicks off earnings season

Real estate professionals say buyers are in the driver's seatread more

Excerpt: 'Fifty-five percent of the employers in the United States with more than 200 employees partially or completely self-fund their health plans. Yet despite the prevalence of self-insured plans, there is still misinformation about them.' (authored by Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics.