Banking and Finance Lebanese woman who stole own savings says she’s not the criminal On the run from authorities after forcing a bank to release her family savings at gunpoint to treat her cancer-stricken sister, 28-year-old Lebanese interior designer Sali Hafiz insists she is not the criminal. “We are in the country of mafias. If you are not a wolf, the wolves will eat you,” she told Reuters, standing […] September 22, 2022
Tourism IATA warns demand may weaken if China stays shut next year The strength of the overall recovery in global airline passenger demand will be impacted if China continues to enforce tight border restrictions next year, the head of airline body IATA said on Wednesday. International Air Transport Association Director General Willie Walsh told a conference in Doha that China’s zero-COVID policy had “devastated” Hong Kong, and […] September 22, 2022
Banking and Finance Fitch sees Turkey holding interest rates steady until 2023 elections Turkish central bank is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 13 percent until the national and presidential elections next year, a Fitch Ratings official said on Wednesday. In a webinar on the impact of commodity prices, inflation and rising rates on banks in Turkey, Middle East and Africa, the official said they […] September 22, 2022
Retail Abu Dhabi’s IHC in bid to acquire stake in Colombian food producer Shares in companies that are part of Colombia’s largest conglomerate GEA rose on Wednesday after Abu Dhabi-based investor International Holding Company (IHC) launched a bid to buy a stake worth up to $2.15 billion in Nutresa. Grupo Empresarial Antioqueno, or GEA, is a conglomerate of more than 100 firms, including Nutresa, where many own significant […] September 22, 2022
Banking and Finance Lebanon’s progress on reform process remains ‘very slow’: IMF Lebanon’s progress in implementing reforms required to unlock relief funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remains very slow, the IMF said in a statement on Wednesday. Lebanon agreed with the IMF on a list of 10 reforms to get access to $3 billion to ease its financial meltdown, which has left eight in 10 […] September 22, 2022
Banking and Finance Gulf central banks raise rates after US Fed’s third hike in a row Gulf central banks raised their key interest rates on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve delivered its third consecutive three-quarter percentage point hike, with Brent dropping below $90 immediately after the Fed news before recovering. While the Fed’s move is motivated by bringing inflation down in the United States, it also serves to guide Gulf […] September 22, 2022
Banking and Finance US Fed set for big rate hike to test resilience of world’s central banks The Federal Reserve is expected on Wednesday to lift interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point for a third straight time and signal how much further and how fast borrowing costs may need to rise to tame a potentially corrosive outbreak of inflation. The policy decision, due to be announced at 2 pm EDT […] September 21, 2022
Banking and Finance US expects more banks will cut off Russian payment system Mir Steps that Turkish lenders Isbank and Denizbank took to suspend the use of Russian payment system Mir make a lot of sense, a senior US administration official said on Tuesday, and said the United States expects more banks will cut off Mir over sanctions risk. Isbank and Denizbank on Monday announced separately they had suspended […] September 21, 2022
Economy Turkish president says inflation not ‘insurmountable threat’ Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said inflation is not an “insurmountable economic threat,” adding it will begin to fall at the end of the year after it surged to more than 80 percent in August. Under Erdogan’s economic programme, Turkey gradually cut interest rates by 500 basis points at the end of last year, sparking a […] September 21, 2022
Saudi Arabia buys astronaut seats from Elon Musk’s SpaceX Saudi Arabia is planning to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a space capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, becoming the latest Gulf nation to strengthen ties with private US space companies, according to three people familiar with the arrangement. The sources, speaking anonymously to discuss the mission’s crew before its formal announcement, […] September 21, 2022
Economy Bahrain and Israel start free trade agreement talks Israel and Bahrain have begun negotiating a free trade agreement, Israel’s Economy Ministry said on Tuesday. Israel normalised diplomatic relations with Bahrain and its Gulf neighbour the United Arab Emirates (UAE) two years ago under US sponsorship. While economic ties with the UAE has since taken off, Israel’s trade with Bahrain has lagged far behind. […] September 20, 2022
Banking and Finance Australia’s central bank says hikes could slow at some point Australia’s central bank is set on raising interest rates again as it battles to contain red-hot inflation, but sees a case for slowing the pace of hikes as policy settings approached more normal levels. Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) September Board meeting out on Tuesday reiterated that policy was not on a […] September 20, 2022
Banking and Finance Syria weakens official exchange rate to US dollar by 7% Syria’s central bank has weakened its official exchange rate to 3,015 Syrian pounds to the dollar, a central bank statement said on Monday, while black market rates used for most economic activity sat around 4,440. The official rate was previously set at 2,814. Monday’s softening of the official rate represents a loss in value of […] September 20, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish banks suspend Russian Mir payments after US sanctions Turkish lenders Isbank and Denizbank have suspended use of Russian payment system Mir, the banks said on Monday, following a US crackdown on those accused of helping Moscow skirt sanctions over the war in Ukraine. The moves, announced separately, came after Washington expanded its sanctions last week to include the head of the entity running […] September 20, 2022
Tech Elon Musk’s satellite firm seeks exemption from Iranian sanctions SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company will ask for an exemption from sanctions against Iran to provide the firm’s Starlink satellite broadband service in the country. Musk made the statement on Twitter at a time of widespread protests in Iran over the death of a woman in police custody. Some people […] September 20, 2022
Energy Berlin, Paris and Madrid unveil plans to cope with energy crunch European governments have outlined new measures to cope with potential energy shortages this winter and improve networks so they can share power, as the war in Ukraine continues to affect gas flows from Russia. On Monday, Spain unveiled plans that could force energy-intensive industries to shut at peak demand times; France said it was preparing […] September 19, 2022
Turkey’s VP rebukes Pelosi for ‘biased’ remarks in Armenia Turkey’s vice president Fuat Oktay has branded Nancy Pelosi’s speech on clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan “biased”, suggesting that her comments “sabotage diplomacy efforts”. The Speaker of the US House of Representatives visited Armenia this weekend, in an unprecedented show of American support for the country, which has been locked in conflict with its neighbour […] September 19, 2022
Tourism Israel’s El Al will begin Tel Aviv to Tokyo flights in March El Al Israel Airlines will start direct flights from Tel Aviv to Tokyo next March, it said on Monday – two years after the launch was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Israel’s flag carrier has been looking to expand eastbound flights since its second-quarter results showed a rebound from the slump in travel during […] September 19, 2022
Banking and Finance European Central Bank to inflict pain as it mulls interest rate hikes The European Central Bank (ECB) could raise interest rates into next year, causing pain for consumers as it tries to depress demand that is now increasingly adding to sky high inflation, chief economist Philip Lane said on Saturday. With inflation approaching double digit territory, the ECB delivered two oversized rate hikes in July and September, […] September 18, 2022
Banking and Finance Tunisia hopes to reach deal with IMF by end of October The Tunisian government and the powerful UGTT union on Thursday signed a deal to boost public sector wages by five percent, a step that may ease social tensions. But they did not announce any further agreement on reforms needed for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. “The Tunisian negotiating team was in contact yesterday with […] September 18, 2022
Energy France’s TotalEnergies in gas exploration deal with Oman French major TotalEnergies said in a statement on Friday it had signed a natural gas exploration and production sharing agreement with the Oman energy ministry. The deal concerns an area called onshore Block 11, with a first exploration well to be drilled in 2023. TotalEnergies will hold a 22.5 percent interest in the block, OQ […] September 18, 2022
Retail Turkish florists rush to meet surge in UK demand after Queen’s death Turkish florists are resorting to cargo planes instead of trucks as they rush to send as many flowers as they can to the United Kingdom to meet a deluge of orders after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Orders for cut flowers have soared by 90 percent since the queen died, said Selcuk Celebi, a member […] September 18, 2022
