Saudi Arabia’s 2017 state budget is likely to show Riyadh has shrunk a huge deficit caused by cheap oil faster than expected, which may let it spend more to bolster a shaky economy This year was one of the most painful for the Saudi economy in decades. Growth slowed sharply and speculators bet against the Saudi currency as the government fought to curb a deficit that totalled […]
December 14, 2016 by: Robin Harding in Tokyo Optimism at Japanese companies is on the rise for the first time in 18 months after Donald Trump’s election as US president breathed new life into the country’s drive to escape deflation. The Bank of Japan’s closely watched tankan index for large manufacturers rose from +6 to +10 in December, the first increase since the second quarter of 2015, […]
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Democrats plan to enlist accountants and legal experts to pore through the business records of Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Democratic aides said. Tillerson could face a rocky confirmation process, given concerns among both Democrats and Republicans about his ties to Russia. If Tillerson can overcome the skepticism of Republicans, […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump named the head of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Rex Tillerson, as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and won backing from some Republican foreign policy figures ahead of a possible Senate fight over the oilman’s ties to Russia. The Exxon CEO potentially faces difficulties getting confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Some lawmakers worry about his […]
Iran has told its scientists to start developing a nuclear propulsion system for shipping, in what it says is a response to the extension of US bilateral sanctions against Tehran. The US Senate voted this month to extend the president’s authority to impose financial sanctions on Iran for a further 10 years. The Islamic Republic regards the move as a breach of last year’s nuclear agreement between […]
Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and a number of other prominent figures among the world’s richest people are pledging a $1 billion investment fund for clean energy efforts. The new investment fund aims to help advance clean energy production, which in turn would help fight climate change and the negative impact it has on the environment. Breakthrough Energy Innovations The effort is a multiyear fund called Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which […]
13 December 2016 HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz AlSaud, Chairman of Alwaleed Philanthropies, announced supporting the Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) with $50 million, through joining Bill Gates and members of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC) in their commitment to invest more than $1 billion in energy technologies. Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is an investor-led fund that will finance emerging energy breakthroughs to deliver affordable and […]
In what could probably be the most outlandish concept for a dating simulation game ever, My Horse Prince has gamers play through an anime-style visual novel on the romance between a girl and a horse with a boy’s face. Yes, you read that right. Not even a majestic centaur, but literally a horse with its face replaced by that of a boy. You can’t make stuff like this up. […]
Demand for oil will outstrip supply in the next six months as long as Opec and countries outside the cartel can implement a deal signed over the weekend to lower output, according to one of the world’s leading energy forecasters. The International Energy Agency said the planned production cuts, which add up to 1.8m barrels a day, could reduce stockpiles by as much as 600,000 b/d over […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump will announce Exxon-Mobil Corp’s Rex Tillerson as his choice for secretary of state on Tuesday, a senior transition official said, confident that the oil executive can get past questions about his ties to Russia. Trump is to make the announcement on Tuesday morning, going with a business leader whose experience in diplomacy is from making deals with foreign […]
12 December 2016 The Roads and Transport Authority – Majdi Abu Zaid: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has recently announced the formal operation of a solar-powered abra, considered the first of its kind in the Middle East. The introduction of this sophisticated abra, which is being deployed at Al Mamzar, follows several trial runs to verify the possibility of changing speed. The scheme is part of Dubai […]
MEXICO CITY China and Mexico pledged on Monday to deepen ties at a meeting between their top diplomats following last month’s U.S. presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has tested Washington’s relationship with both countries. Before arriving in Mexico on Sunday, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met with members of Trump’s team in New York, including his pick for national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General […]
Dec 12, 2016 12:46 pm IST Air pollution in New Delhi spiked again last week, covering the city in a thick, toxic smog that resulted in reduced visibility, as harsh winter days approach. The Indian capital’s air quality has been at hazardous levels for much of the past week, according to measurements taken by the U.S. embassy. Real-time air quality data from India’s Central Pollution Control Board […]
By Doina Chiacu and Gina Cherelus | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK WASHINGTON/NEW YORK The front-runner for secretary of state in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, faces a struggle getting confirmed by U.S. senators concerned about his close ties to Russia. Lawmakers from both major parties also raised questions on Monday about former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible […]
MANAMA, Bahrain — The political shock waves from the American presidential election are being felt here in the Persian Gulf, where diplomats, military commanders and other senior leaders say they are both fearful and excited about which Donald J. Trump shows up after he is sworn in as president on Jan. 20. Will it be, they ask, the President Trump who has vowed to cut off American […]
By Toni Clarke Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a partner at one of the world’s largest venture capital funds and a former deputy commissioner at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is being considered by President-elect Donald Trump to run the agency, according to sources close to the transition team. Gottlieb, 44, a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative […]
ABU DHABI // Women members of parliament have an important role in brokering peace in the Middle East and beyond, a conference heard on Monday. About 50 women who preside over parliaments met in Abu Dhabi for the Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament. For the first time men were invited to participate, including Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister, who […]
The MoU envisages bilateral cooperation between ICD and PTA Bank in order to promote and facilitate the execution of their respective mandates through financing and investments in their common member countries JEDDAH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, December 12, 2016/ — A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) (www.ICD-PS.org), the private sector arm of Islamic Development […]
Crude oil surged to the highest in 17 months amid efforts to cut production, pushing up the outlook for global inflation and sending 10-year Treasury yields above 2.5 percent for the first time since October 2014. Chinese equities tumbled. Oil jumped more than 4 percent in New York and London after Saudi Arabia signaled it will cut output by more than previously agreed amid a weekend deal to […]
Oil prices surged above $57 a barrel for the first time since July 2015 on Monday, rallying as much as 6.5 per cent after the Opec cartel clinched a long-sought supply pact with Russia and other big crude exporters. Russia led a loose coalition oil producers from outside Opec, including Oman, Mexico and Kazakhstan, in an agreement signed this weekend to reduce supply by 558,000 barrels a […]
The prospect of a more aggressive Federal Reserve and a surge in the oil price hit global bonds on Monday, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note above 2.5 per cent for the first time since 2014. Treasuries have led a sharp sell-off in sovereign bonds since Donald Trump’s victory in last month’s US election, raising the prospect that Fed officials will have to raise […]
Scientists have found that when a projectile is fired at a sand block at high speed, it absorbs more than 85 per cent of the energy exerted against it. This ability to resist the impact increases with the speed of the projectile, even at high velocities. (via WSJ)
Goldman Sachs said the formal agreement by non-OPEC oil producers this weekend in Vienna to help curb output was reached with a goal of “normalization” of inventories and not necessarily just at raising oil prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had previously agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), and on Saturday, 11 non-OPEC producers agreed to join the effort […]
Britain’s exit from the European Union will mean it can forge free trade deals with Gulf Arab allies, foreign minister Boris Johnson said on Friday in a speech also heralding closer defence ties to the conservative monarchies. Johnson was speaking at a conference in Bahrain a day after footage was published of him accusing Saudi Arabia, an important ally for Britain, and Iran of stoking proxy wars […]
