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...
Economy
European Union and UAE agree to launch trade deal negotiations
Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "and I just decided to launch negotiations on an EU-UAE free trade agreement,"...
Geostrategy
Economy
Pakistan IMF deal may materialize after UAE, China promise $1.3bn
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the UAE had promised a billion dollars to prop up Pakistan's forex reserves -- which...
- Pakistan signed a $6.5 billion bailout package with the IMF in 2019, but has repeatedly reneged on conditions and so far just $3 billion has been released.
- The IMF insists Pakistan must boost its low tax base, end tax exemptions for the export sector, and raise artificially low fuel and power prices meant to help low-income families.
Economy
More monetary tightening required, says top Federal Reserve official
The US should continue tightening monetary policy to bring down inflation while assessing the impact of last month's financial turmoil...
- The rate-setting Federal Open Markets Committee voted last month to continue raising interest rates to tackle inflation.
- The FOMC took this decision despite the turmoil when Californian high-tech lender Silicon Valley Bank dramatically collapsed.
Market Report
Stocks jump, dollar falls as Federal Reserve seen curbing rate rises soon
Equity markets rose, with Paris hitting a record-high, as investors reacted positively to easing inflation, recession concerns and some strong...
- In a sign of cooling inflation, Singapore's central bank kept rates steady, having previously hiked five times in a row.
- Stocks advanced "on increasing signs that the global round of interest rate hikes could be drawing to a close".
Economy
Saudi inflation eases to 2.7% in March: official data
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate dropped to 2.7 percent in March from 3 percent in February,...
- Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rose by 7.4% from the previous year, with overall rents for housing increasing by 8.7%
- Experts predict a decelerating trend in inflation in Saudi Arabia over the coming months due to easing global supply-side costs
Economy
300 UAE companies operating in Egypt, more investment likely
Abu Dhabi, UAE - Egypt has over 3,000 Emirati companies operating in telecommunications, construction, smart cities, retail, oil and gas,...
- Al Jarwan said that the two countries also aim to increase the investment to $35 billion over the next decade.
- Egypt has over 3,000 Emirati companies operating in telecommunications, construction, smart cities, and other areas
Economy
Saudization, progress help KSA reduce unemployment
Since the launch of Vision 2030, the kingdom's unemployment rate has notably dropped due to economic development, job localization, and...
- Since the launch of Vision 2030, the kingdom's unemployment rate has notably dropped due to economic development, job localization, and greater women participation in labor market
- The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources, which conducted a labor market supply and demand study, aims to create a national unit to identify future specializations and required skills
Economy
Qatar right to buy Harrods, economy doing well, says prime minister
Qatar bought a 17-percent stake in German auto group Volkswagen in 2009 and paid a reported $1.7 billion for Harrods...
- Sheikh was questioned about the Qatar Investment Authority's foreign purchases in the rare televised encounter
- Despite global economic troubles, Qatar last year had a budget surplus of nearly $25 billion as natural gas prices surged
Geostrategy
EU privacy watchdog sets up ChatGPT task force
The European Union's central data regulator said it was forming a task force to help countries deal with AI chatbot...
- ChatGPT can generate essays, poems and conversations from the briefest of prompts and is capable of passing exams.
- Chatbot can only function if it is trained on vast datasets, raising concerns about where OpenAI gets its data.
Economy
Gender equality in agrifood systems can add $1 trillion to global GDP: FAO
Rome, Italy -- Tackling gender inequalities in agrifood systems and empowering women reduces hunger, boosts the economy, and reinforces resilience...
- Globally, 36 per cent of working women are employed in agrifood systems, along with 38 per cent of working men.
- The gap in food insecurity between men and women widened from 1.7 percentage points in 2019 to 4.3 percentage points in 2021.
Economy
IMF chief calls upon global community to avert a ‘second Cold War’
Countries must do more to avert the costly consequences of growing global trade fragmentation, and help avert a "second Cold...
- Multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF have an important role to play in preventing the world from splintering into different blocs.
- An IMF report said that growing trade fragmentation due to Brexit, US-China trade war and Russian invasion of Ukraine, could make the global economy.
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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...
Economy
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Business
Latest News
Counterfeit products cost Europe $13 billion, 200,000 jobs a year
Paris, France - Counterfeit products -- mainly clothes -- cost the European economy 16 billion euros a year and result in...
Business
AI revolutionizes UAE’s life sciences & healthcare
"By leveraging advanced data analysis techniques to process extensive datasets from diverse sources, including genomic data, scientific literature, and clinical...
Opinion
Iran, India reach final agreement on Chabahar Port
Tehran, Iran – Iran and India on Monday finalized an agreement for the development of the strategic Chabahar port in...
Geostrategy
Most Read
World Economic Forum
IMF chief at Davos: AI holds risks, opportunity for global economy
Artificial intelligence poses risks to job security around the world but also offers a "tremendous opportunity" to boost flagging productivity...
- "We must focus on helping low-income countries in particular to move faster to be able to catch the opportunities that artificial intelligence will present," Georgieva told AFP.
- Georgieva said 2024 is likely to be "a very tough year" for fiscal policy worldwide, as countries look to tackle debt burdens accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Economy
Saudi inflation rate declines slightly to 1.5 percent in Dec: GASTAT
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia’s inflation declined to 1.5 percent in December 2023, compared with 1.7 percent in November, according to recent...
- The cost-of-living index for December rose to 110.15 points, according to the base year 2018, from 108.53 points in the same month a year earlier.
- Inflation is measured by the percentage change in the cost of living between the current period and the corresponding period of the previous year.
Geostrategy
World’s five richest men doubled their fortunes since 2020: Oxfam
A report from the charity, published as the global elite hobnob at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week,...
- Billionaires are today $3.3 trillion richer than they were in 2020, despite many crises devastating the world's economy since this decade began, including the Covid pandemic.
- With riches among the world's wealthiest increasing the way they are, Oxfam predicted that within a decade the world will see its first "trillionaire".