Dubai, UAE - National Bonds, the UAE’s Shari’a-compliant savings and investment company, saw another strong year soaring to an investment portfolio of AED 13.7bn ($3.7 billion) in 2022, higher by 15 percent compared to the previous year. Given that National Bonds success is also measured by the competitive earnings rewarded...

DUBAI, UAE -  UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) announced that the Unemployment Insurance Scheme has exceeded one million subscribers since its launch in January 2023. The Unemployment Insurance Scheme covers employees in the federal government sector and the private sector, providing low-cost job security net that supports...

Dubai, UAE -- Fitch Ratings has recently upgraded its Saudi Arabia’s rating to 'A+' with a Stable Outlook. The agency indicated in its report that this rating upgrade reflects the kingdom's strong fiscal and external balance sheets with large sovereign net foreign assets compared to ‘AA’ median and debt/GDP half...

The World Trade Organization said 2023 global trade growth would be slightly better than feared, but would remain "subpar", weighed down by the Ukraine war and stubbornly high inflation. Presenting their annual trade forecast, WTO economists said they expected to see the volume of global merchandise trade slow to 1.7...

Asian indices drifted after losses on Wall Street, as data showing a softening in the US jobs market pointed to a slowdown in the world's biggest economy. Oil dipped, having spiked earlier this week following shock output cuts from OPEC+ crude producers.

LSG Group is to be sold to private equity group Aurelius.

Dubai, UAE--Emirates NBD has successfully priced a US$1 billion Senior Unsecured Sustainable Sukuk for Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic bank by assets and market capitalization. The five-year Sukuk which was priced at a reoffer yield of 4.774 percent generated strong demand, attracting orders of over US$3.75 billion. The...

Paris, France--French energy giant TotalEnergies announced Wednesday an agreement with Iraq on a $10 billion project that had been delayed due to disagreements over the terms of a deal aimed at improving the country's electricity supply. The contract, originally signed in 2021, includes investments in oil, gas and solar production. But...

Cairo, Egypt-- A new survey has revealed that Egypt's non-oil private sector activity contracted for the 28th straight month in March. The S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers' Index edged down to 46.7 in March from 46.9 in February, well below the 50.0 threshold that marks growth in activity. "At 46.7, the...

New York, United States--US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday proposed an $8.9 billion settlement to resolve years-old lawsuits claiming that its talcum powder products caused cancer. The New Jersey-based company said the proposed settlement, which still needs the approval of a bankruptcy court, "will equitably and efficiently resolve all...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The Red Cross announced Tuesday that it would cut 1,500 jobs over the next 12 months in a drive to slash costs due to a funding crunch. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said an expected drop in humanitarian assistance budgets over the next two years...

Virgin Orbit, the satellite launch company founded by Richard Branson, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will sell the business, the firm said in a statement. The California-based company said last week it was laying off 85 percent of its employees to reduce expenses due to its inability to...

Washington, USA - International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved SDR 3.7262 billion ($5 billion) on a two-year arrangement for Morocco under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL). Morocco has benefited from four Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) arrangements since 2012, each totaling about $3 billion. The first PLL was approved on August...

DUBAI, UAE -  Over 300 prominent wealth and asset management (WAM) firms have established themselves in Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). This milestone reinforces DIFC's position as the leading financial center for WAM companies in the Middle East Africa South Asia (MEASA) region. With an industry size of US$450 billion,...

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann said Tuesday he was "truly sorry" that the beleaguered bank could not be saved as he faced angry and tearful shareholders whose money has gone up in smoke. Credit Suisse's chiefs fronted up at the bank's annual general meeting, 16 days after its...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The global transition to renewable energy will require greater investment in integrated weather and climate services, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. This investment is critical to ensure that energy infrastructure is resilient to climate-related shocks and to harness the power of energy generated from sources such...

Hong Kong, China--Chinese property developer Evergrande said it has entered into a restructuring agreement with a group of international creditors, in what could be a breakthrough deal toward easing the developer's massive debt. Once China's largest real estate company, Evergrande was found in 2021 to be drowning in more than $300...

The poll discovers people struggling across the Middle East to cope with high cost of living in the holy month of Ramadan, with inflation in some places reaching 100.

ABU DHABI, UAE - Labor disputes in Abu Dhabi plunged by 40 percent in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, local media reports said. This follows awareness efforts which contributed to strengthening the legal knowledge of workers and companies, and introducing them to their rights guaranteed by the...

The Kremlin said oil output cuts by Russia, Saudi Arabia and other major producers that have caused prices to soar are "in the interests" of global markets. The surprise move on Sunday came as oil prices have cooled in recent months after soaring last year following the start of the...

BEIJING, CHINA - Chinese authorities have begun an investigation into leading US memory chipmaker Micron Technology, a decision Beijing's foreign ministry said Monday was intended to "safeguard national security". The probe escalates an already fierce battle between Beijing and Washington for supremacy in the field of semiconductors as broader bilateral relations...

Analysts warn that the economy may start heating up as the government rebuilds huge swaths of Turkey's southeast that were hit by a massive earthquake in February in which more than 50,000 people died. Erdogan, who will try to extend his rule into a third decade in the May 14...

Geneva, Switzerland--Swiss federal prosecutors said Sunday that they had opened an inquiry into the UBS takeover of its embattled banking rival Credit Suisse, following pressure from federal authorities and media leaks. In an email to AFP, prosecutors said they issued orders to investigate after "taking stock of the situation with all...

Beijing, China--Investment bank China Renaissance suspended trading in its Hong Kong-listed shares on Monday, saying the disappearance of its chairman meant it was unable to publish its annual results. Bao Fan, the group's billionaire chairman and executive director, went missing in February and was later revealed to be "cooperating" in an official investigation...

Tokyo, Japan--Japan's largest manufacturers feel less optimistic about business conditions with confidence falling to its lowest level in more than two years, a key survey showed Monday. The Bank of Japan's closely watched quarterly Tankan survey is considered the broadest indicator of how Japanese businesses are faring. It reports the...

Baghdad, Iraq--Iraqi oil ministry has affirmed the federal government's keenness on speeding up the resumption of the Kurdistan region of Iraq's oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan as well as work to bring views closer to serve the public interest. In a statement issued on Sunday, the ministry...

A joint economic city is going to come up on the Iraq-Jordan border and in this regard an international tender has been set up by the two countries. The tender, according to the Jordanian ministry of industry and trade, includes preparing studies, designs, engineering plans, developing, financing, and operating the...

Cuts by the Saudis, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Algeria and Oman from May to the end of the year will total more than one million barrels per day -- the biggest reduction since the OPEC+ cut 2 million bpd in Oct. A Saudi official called it a measure "aimed at supporting...

The country sees 3.6 million eviction cases filed in a typical year, said Peter Hepburn, associate director of Eviction Lab at Princeton University. But that number slowed to a trickle during the pandemic. Now, with Covid-era legal protections and assistance lifted, it is surging again, Eviction Lab's figures show.

Ankara, Turkey--Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday pledged to rebuild the country's southern region devastated by powerful earthquakes on 6th February, claiming the lives of more than 50,000 people. "Our aim is to restore our cities in the earthquake zone by handing over 319,000 residences and village houses to...

Its revenue for 2022 rose to US$2.8bn, a 78% jump.

Spelling the end of independent oil exports by the regional government, Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region will resume oil exports through Turkey on Monday, but in the future they will be supervised by the federal government in Baghdad. The outcome was achieved in talks between federal and regional officials.

Athens, Greece--Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday called on the European Union to "seriously consider" providing financial aid to help extend an anti-migrant steel fence along the border with Turkey. "I think it's about time for the EU to seriously consider providing European funds for these types of projects," the...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The UAE has dispatched a plane carrying 38 tonnes of urgent medical and food supplies to Afghanistan to meet the needs of thousands of Afghan families affected by earthquakes that recently struck northeastern Afghanistan. The earthquakes resulted in numerous deaths and injuries and destroyed basic infrastructure. The provision...

Blanketing central Iraq in dust, the sandstorm made life diffcult on Firday for Iraqis venturing out of their homes. A thick film of dust covered cars and houses and many struggled to breathe air filled with sand. It was the first such weather event to hit the aird country this...

The country's dams are at critical lows following years of drought, exacerbated by pipeline leaks in a decrepit distribution network. The agriculture ministry announced a ban on the use of potable water for irrigating farmland or green spaces, or for cleaning public areas or cars.

DUBAI, UAE -  Dubai International Boat Show 2023 attracted over 30,000 visitors and industry players from across the globe for five days of demonstrations, displays, seminars, launches and workshops. The global boat-building market is expected to reach over US$47 billion in 2027, at a CAGR of 7.5 percent, and the...

The pre-event phase contributed around one-quarter of GVA, the event itself added almost 13%, while the lion’s share of benefits (62%) will be felt in the legacy phase. The sectors adding most to GVA are events organization and business services ($20.6bn), construction ($8.7bn) and restaurants and hotels ($6.3bn).

TOKYO, JAPAN -  Japan on Friday unveiled planned export controls on 23 items used to make semiconductors, following US pressure for countries to restrict Chinese access to the technology. The move was immediately slammed by Beijing, which warned against moves that "politicize, instrumentalize and weaponize" trade. It comes as Tokyo confirmed...

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said initial assessments in Turkey revealed "severe damage to agriculture, including crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as rural infrastructure in affected areas". It said more than one-third of the population in the hardest-hit areas relied on agriculture to survive.

Its net profit recorded a drastic drop to US$5.2 billion.

London, United Kingdom--The British economy performed slightly better than previously estimated in the final quarter of last year as it expanded by 0.1 percent, revised official data showed Friday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) initially said growth had been flat in the October-December period. Either way, the UK narrowly avoided...

ADNOC sold 5% stake in ADNOC Gas to investors through an IPO.

The country has seen a surge in demand for travel, entertainment and other leisure services that were curbed for nearly three years during the pandemic. China's new premier Li Qiang said Thursday the economy was showing "strong momentum" despite a challenging global environment, pledging increased support for business.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia has presided over the 26th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The kingdom was represented by the Director General of International Affairs at the Communications, Space, and Technology Commission, Eng. Mansour Al-Qurashi,...

Women earn on average nearly 13 percent less per hour than men for the same work in the 27-nation European Union, according to official data for 2020. Under the new rules, workers can demand to know individual and average pay levels, broken down by gender, in their workplace.

Dubai, UAE -- Saudi Arabia's unemployment rate dropped in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the previous quarter, mainly due to government activities and private sector hiring, the kingdom's General Authority for Statistics said Thursday. Saudi Press Agency reported that despite the global economic challenges, including those prevailing in...

Gulf countries have substantial financial and other resources to achieve zero- emission goals but they need to identity and address the obstacles.

The provisional political agreement, which was reached after nightlong negotiations between the EU parliament and states, seeks to raise the share of renewable energy to 42.5 percent, from 22 percent today. The EU has set an ambitious target to become a "climate neutral" economy by 2050, with net-zero greenhouse gas...

Civil society groups and some lawmakers have decried opacity in the tender process and a lack of involvement of the Public Procurement Authority. "Marginalising or disregarding" the role of the authority undermines the effectiveness of Lebanon's 2021 public procurement law, 10 civil society groups said in a statement Tuesday.