Oil prices seesaw as investors await Iran response to US strikes
US stocks edged higher while European markets retreated and Asian equities were mixed, with markets keeping a close eye on...Business Economy Geostrategy
MENA Brief | June 19: GCC central banks hold interest rates steady, Diriyah House launched in London
As most currencies in the region are pegged to the US dollar, monetary policy follows the decisions taken in Washington,...Business Economy Geostrategy
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,...China aims to dominate the artificial intelligence sector, a goal complicated by the trade standoff with Washington
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, generative AI models have proliferated in the United States and China
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...The statement, issued with Saudi Arabia's finance minister, came as Syria's central bank governor and finance minister attended the IMF and World Bank's spring meetings
Significant amounts of Syria's infrastructure have been destroyed by 14 years of war, beginning with a crackdown by president Bashar al-Assad on a pro-democracy movement
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...The international community has long demanded major fiscal reforms to unlock billions of dollars in aid to restart the Lebanese economy in the wake of a five-year economic collapse
The crash since 2019 has seen the local currency lose most of its value against the US dollar and has pushed much of the population into poverty.
The game of ‘chicken’ being played with the world economy can be brought to a cooperative end
A meaningful “G3” accord between the US, Europe, and China must include coordinated fiscal, monetary, development, and trade policies. From...The hardline positions of the US and China on trade and tariffs are putting the world economy at risk, writes Richard Samans
Yet, Europe could broker a 'positive off-ramp' that fires on all of the cylinders of international cooperation
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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
