Electric cars credited with lower CO2 emissions in US neighborhoods
LOS ANGELES, US – The booming use of electric vehicles in parts of California is reducing CO2 emissions in those areas,...Business Energy Global Climate Change
OPEC+ decides to keep oil production levels unchanged
Vienna, Austria--The participants of the 53rd Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Organization of the Petroleum...Business
GCC equity markets record first gain in four months
The GCC equity market index rebounded notably in November 2023, with the MSCI GCC index rising 5.2%, led by Qatar...The GCC equity market index rebounded notably in November 2023, with the MSCI GCC index rising 5.2%, led by Qatar and closely followed by Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
This resurgence is a positive sign for the region's markets, which are showing robust growth and diversification efforts, particularly in sectors like Pharma & Biotech.
Volkswagen to reduce workforce
Volkswagen has some 675,800 employees worldwide."Over the coming years, we will need to reduce our workforce in a socially responsible way," the group's human resources chief Gunnar Kilian said
The focus would be on "partial retirement and early retirement schemes to the maximum extent possible," he added
BAT takes shock $32bn hit
The impairment charge sent BAT shares sinking 7.6 percent.Companies like BAT face plunging demand for cigarettes in Western markets, where high taxes, smoking bans and health fears persuade many consumers to give up smoking
The London-listed company added that its overall revenue growth for the current year was set to be at the "low end" of its previous guidance of between 3 and 5 percent
Airlines expected to carry 4.7 billion passengers in 2024: IATA
"Some 4.7 billion people are expected to travel in 2024, an historic high that exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 4.5...Some 4.7 billion people are expected to travel in 2024, an historic high that exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 4.5 billion recorded in 2019," IATA said
IATA also raised its profit outlook, expecting airlines to post $23.3 billion in net earnings in 2023, more than double the $9.8 billion it forecast in June
People-positive approach needed in clean power transition: WEF paper
Dubai, UAE --Â Building massive infrastructure for clean power projects in pursuit of climate goals will need nearly $4.5 trillion in...The white paper calls for a dialogue between the industry and community groups and NGOs to define common standards for a people-positive energy transition.
It also urges governments to not only focus on the lowest price but also the wider societal value creation in their transition plans.
KSA offers 30-year tax holiday for global corporations as regional HQ program fuels investment boom
The approaching 1 Jan deadline has seen investments on headquarters hit $242m in the first nine months of 2023 alone,...In 2023, 46.7 percent of newly established headquarters operate in the Software & IT services sector.
The Regional Headquarters (RHQ) Program is an initiative jointly developed by the Ministry of Investment (MISA) and the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.
First Movers Coalition emerges as top advocate of climate-friendly technologies
Dubai, UAE-- Since its launch two years ago, the First Movers Coalition (FMC) has become the world's largest private sector...FMC member companies have signed 94 offtake agreements to purchase emerging climate technologies.
The coalition engages 13 governments who together account for over 50% of global gross domestic product
UAE banks align with global sustainability standards
“The pledge made by our UBF Chairman, Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, to mobilize over AED 1 trillion in sustainable finance, represents...UBF pledges over AED 1 trillion ($272 billion) for sustainable finance by 2030.
The pledge reflects collective efforts of national banks towards a sustainable future.
Saudi Electricity Company targets net zero emissions by 2050
Dubai, UAE - The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the largest producer, transmitter, and distributor of electrical energy in the Middle...The announcement was made during a special event SEC organized on the sidelines of the United Nations COP28 climate-change summit in Dubai
The SEC said it has signed seven agreements with leading local and international companies, including LUCI, Al-Fanar, Sal Italy, CHINT Saudi Arabia, Siemens, etc
Meta, IBM tie up to develop AI
They will defend a collaborative method for AI's future.Meta is one of the biggest believers in the open-source model and argues against keeping AI's future holed up in the secretive labs of a few tech giants
Unlike OpenAI's GPT-4, the model behind ChatGPT, Meta has made its LLaMA models easily available for researchers and startups to tinker with and perfect
