Global rice output in 2024/25 likely to expand by 1.5%: FAO
Rome, Italy -- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a new Cereal Supply and Demand...
Geostrategy
Apple expects $900 million hit from tariff war
Apple on Thursday reported first-quarter profit above expectations but warned that US tariffs could cost the company and were disrupting...
Economy
Economy
IMF cuts global growth outlook on impact of Trump tariffs
Washington, United States -- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global growth this year, citing the...
- The IMF projections see the global economy growing by 2.8 percent this year, 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast in January.
- The IMF expects China, the world's second-largest economy, to see growth slump to 4.0 percent this year, down from 5.0 percent in 2024.
Business
Gold hits record, dollar drops as tariff fears dampen sentiment
With several markets still closed for the Easter holiday, business was limited ahead of a week that will see the...
- The precious metal was also helped by a weaker dollar, which has also been hit by worries about Trump's standoff with Fed boss Jerome Powell.
- Stocks had a mixed start to the week, with Tokyo weighed by the stronger yen while Taipei, Jakarta and Bangkok were also in negative territory.
Economy
Beijing slams ‘appeasement’ of US in trade deals that hurt China
China on Monday hit out at other countries making trade deals with the United States at Beijing's expense, promising countermeasures...
- While the rest of the world has been slapped with a blanket 10 percent tariff, China faces levies of up to 145 percent on many products
- China has vowed to fight a trade war "to the end" and has not confirmed that it is in talks with Washington, though it has called for dialogue
Economy
UAE foreign trade increases by 49% to reach $1.42 trillion in 2024
The UAE climbed from 17th to 11th globally in merchandise exports and from 18th to 14th in imports between 2021...
- The UAE accounted for 41.4 percent of the Middle East’s $1.5 trillion merchandise exports, with regional exports growing by 3.7 percent and services by 4.1 percent in 2024.
- Globally, the UAE contributed 2 percent to services exports and 1.3 percent to imports, with service exports of $176 billion and imports of $106 billion.
Economy
Trump’s tariffs fallout: Why trade tensions are a ‘storm cloud’ over financial markets
Stocks later rallied after Trump announced a 90-day pause on additional higher tariffs that were set to impact around 80...
- New US tariffs have upended global trade and caused significant volatility in financial markets
- In early April, global stock markets plummeted after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new tariff regime
Geostrategy
Chinese vent anger at Trump’s trade war with memes, mockery
Beijing, China -- While China's leaders use their economic and political might to fight Donald Trump's trade war "to the...
- Defiant posts have shot to the top of most-searched lists on social media, flooding platforms with patronizing comments and jokes.
- In one video, a Chinese internet user opens his hands to reveal what goods he buys from the United States -- nothing.
Economy
Egypt central bank lowers interest rate for first time since 2020
Egypt's central bank on Thursday announced that it was lowering interest rates for the first time since 2020, days after...
- The Central Bank of Egypt cut interest rates by 225 basis points, its monetary policy division said in a statement
- Its overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation now stood at 25%, 26 percent and 25.5%, respectively
Economy
Global economy under pressure could slow to 2.3 percent: UNCTAD
UNCTAD report '"Trade and Development Foresights 2025 – Under pressure: Uncertainty reshapes global economic prospects” cited mounting threats including trade...
- Rising trade tensions are impacting global trade, with UNCTAD noting that recent tariff measures are disrupting supply chains and undermining predictability.
- The slowdown will affect all nations, but UNCTAD remains concerned about developing countries and especially the most vulnerable economies.
Economy
OPEC lowers 2025 oil demand forecast over impact of US tariffs
The Saudi-led oil cartel said in a monthly report that it now expects demand to grow by 1.3 million barrels...
- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries now sees global demand reaching at total 105.05 million bpd this year.
- Oil prices sank to a four-year low last week, dipping under $60 per barrel over concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Saudi Arabia’s space economy reaches $8.7 billion in 2024
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Communications, Space, and Technology Commission (CST) has said that the Saudi space economy reached $8.7...
- The Saudi space market is projected to reach $5.6 billion by 2035, supported by space technologies, while the global space market reached $176 billion in 2024.
- The size of the space market reached $1.9 billion, according to the KSA Space Market 2025 report. Saudi space economy is expected to reach $31.6 billion by 2035.
Global rice output in 2024/25 likely to expand by 1.5%: FAO
Rome, Italy -- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a new Cereal Supply and Demand...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Tariff war: Xi says China must ‘overcome’ AI chip challenges
Beijing, China - President Xi Jinping said China must "overcome" the challenges of developing core AI technologies including high-end chips,...
Economy
IMF, World Bank welcome efforts for Syria to reintegrate globally
Washington, United States - The International Monetary Fund and World Bank's leaders said in a joint statement Thursday that they...
Economy
Lebanon parliament approves changes to banking secrecy law
Beirut, Lebanon -- Lebanon's parliament on Thursday approved amendments to banking secrecy legislation, a key reform demanded by the International...
Geostrategy
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Economy
Trump eyes ‘fair deal’ with China, but path to ending tariff war remains unclear
Trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies have soared as Trump ramped up levies on imports from China this...
- But how soon the tariffs can be lowered "depends on them," Trump said, referring to Beijing, even as he maintained that he gets along "very well" with Chinese President Xi Jinping
- But earlier Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the two countries are "not yet" talking when it comes to lowering tariffs
Economy
IMF cuts global growth outlook on impact of Trump tariffs
Washington, United States -- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global growth this year, citing the...
- The IMF projections see the global economy growing by 2.8 percent this year, 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast in January.
- The IMF expects China, the world's second-largest economy, to see growth slump to 4.0 percent this year, down from 5.0 percent in 2024.
Business
Gold hits record, dollar drops as tariff fears dampen sentiment
With several markets still closed for the Easter holiday, business was limited ahead of a week that will see the...
- The precious metal was also helped by a weaker dollar, which has also been hit by worries about Trump's standoff with Fed boss Jerome Powell.
- Stocks had a mixed start to the week, with Tokyo weighed by the stronger yen while Taipei, Jakarta and Bangkok were also in negative territory.