UAE, Hungary ink pact to enhance trade, investment ties
ABU DHABI, UAE – The United Arab Emirates and Hungary have signed an economic cooperation agreement aimed at stimulating trade...Business Economy Geostrategy
Situation in Red Sea has a limited impact on food exports so far, says FAO
ROME, ITALY – The situation in the Red Sea has not yet been reflected in the pace of prices for...Economy Global
Grain deal not being implemented properly, says Russia
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that extending a deal that allowed grain exports from Ukraine to...Russia's military intervention saw Ukraine's Black Sea ports blocked by warships until a deal was reached for the export of grains.
The UN and Turkey-brokered deal will automatically renew on March 18 unless Russia or Ukraine object.
Saudi Arabia’s Film AlUla launches platform for women in cinema, fashion
The launch is part of a year-round program that will allow women filmmakers to collaborate with leading industry professionals and...The launch of AlUla Creates is part of a year-round program that will allow women filmmakers to collaborate with leading industry professionals.
AlUla Creates is part of a wider strategy to develop a film-friendly ecosystem which will include a world-class purpose-built studio.
Saudi Arabia’s GDP grows 8.7 percent in 2022, reaches $1 trillion for first time
The growth rate is also the highest in the last decade, with crude oil and natural gas contributing 32.7%, government services 14.2%,...GASTAT said all economic activities achieved positive growth rates during 2022, with crude oil and natural gas contributing 32.7 percent.
Non-oil activities increased by 5.4 percent during 2022, especially transport, storage and communications activities (9.1 percent).
China consumer inflation drops to lowest level in a year
China's consumer price inflation last month fell to its lowest level in a year, official data showed Thursday, as the...February's consumer price index (CPI) - the main gauge of inflation - rose one percent, down from a 2.1 percent annual rise in the first month of the year
NBS statistician Dong Lijuan said the drop was caused by a "decline in consumer demand after the holidays as well as sufficient supply in the market."
OFID to provide $25m for Niger’s solar energy development
Vienna, Austria - The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is offering a US$25 million loan for solar energy development...The OPEC Fund is joining forces with the African Development Bank, Power Africa, the Green Climate Fund and the Government of Niger
The project also includes extending 2,600 km new transmission lines connecting cities in Niger’s south and the capital Niamey
US president’s budget plan to cut country’s deficit by US$3trn
Washington, United States--President Joe Biden will unveil a proposed budget on Thursday that would reduce the US national deficit by $3...According to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, over the next ten years the budget plan will cut the deficit by nearly $3 trillion
Republicans who will be under pressure have said they are preparing thier own alternative budget plan focusing on spending cuts and no tax increases
Lebanon banks ‘have no liquidity,’ says bank association member
Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's commercial banks do not have enough liquidity to pay back depositors, the secretary general of the...Since 2019, Lebanon has suffered an unprecedented economic decline caused by decades of mismanagement and corruption
The World Bank last year said Lebanon was likely to rank among the world's worst financial crises since the mid-19th century
Cash-strapped Egypt offers citizenship to foreigners investors
According to state newspaper Al-Ahram, a decision by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli published in the official gazette, Â says the premier...It is the latest in a series of measures by the government to woo foreign investment into Egypt, which is sapped dry of dollars
In 2018, parliament had passed a law allowing foreigners to apply for the Egyptian nationality with a bank deposit of around $400,000
European Central Bank head pledges to tackle high inflation in Europe
Last week, Lagarde said that more interest rate hikes might be needed in the eurozone after the half percentage point...The ECB has raised interest rates at an unprecedented pace since last July to bring inflation back down to its two-percent target.
And last week, Lagarde said that more interest rate hikes might be needed in the eurozone after the half percentage point hike it has already signaled will come later this month.
US private sector employment surges by 242,000 jobs in Feb
"We're seeing robust hiring, which is good for the economy and workers, but pay growth is still quite elevated," said Nela...The employment in private sector increased by 242,000 jobs in February, almost twice the 119,000 figure in January.
This follows a series of recent indicators showing that hiring remained strong, consumer spending resilient.
