Sustainability Humanity on ‘spiral of self-destruction’ as disasters rise The world is set to face 1.5 disasters a day – 560 a year – by 2030, as humans put themselves on a “spiral of self-destruction” by heating up the climate and ignoring risk, pushing millions more people into poverty, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. In the past two decades, between 350 and 500 medium-sized to major disasters were […] April 26, 2022
Erdogan ready to lift all coronavirus measures in Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey is ready to lift all measures against the coronavirus, adding that mask wearing will no longer be obligatory indoors. Speaking after the final meeting of the advisory science council, Erdogan said masks will still be mandated on public transport and in medical institutions until daily new cases […] April 26, 2022
Media & Advertising Advertisers unfriend as Facebook owner heads for dismal quarter Facebook-owner Meta Platforms is expected to report its slowest quarterly ad revenue growth in a decade on Wednesday, as businesses pull back on ad spending against the backdrop of soaring inflation worldwide and the war in Ukraine. Global advertising and marketing budgets will be strained further if the Ukraine crisis drags on in the coming […] April 26, 2022
Britain to allow poultry outside as bird flu threat recedes A mandatory housing order for poultry and captive birds in Britain is to be lifted, effective May 2, with the threat of bird flu now decreasing after the country’s worst-ever outbreak. The four chief veterinary officers, with responsibilities for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, announced the move in a joint statement on Monday, opening […] April 25, 2022
Energy US energy secretary says oil, gas output will continue to increase The US Energy Secretary said on Monday US oil and gas production is rising and will continue to rise to make up for the 1 to 1.5 million barrels of oil per day that has been pulled off the market in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jennifer Granholm told CNBC the boost in US oil […] April 25, 2022
Energy Italy’s Enel in talks to sell Brazilian power distributor for $2bn Italy’s Enel SpA is in talks to sell its Brazilian power distributor company Celg-D in a deal that may reach $2 billion, four sources with knowledge of the matter said. Celg-D distributes power in the Brazilian centre-west state of Goias and serves 3.27 million customers. The sources said companies interested in acquiring Celg-D include Brazilian rivals […] April 25, 2022
Banking & Finance Commodity stocks drag FTSE 100 lower Commodity stocks and banks led a near 2 percent drop in London’s FTSE 100 on Monday as fears of a global economic slowdown sapped sentiment at the start of a week loaded with corporate earnings. After falling as much as 2.4 percent, the blue-chip index pared some losses to close down 1.9 percent at its […] April 25, 2022
Turtle Beach explores options to defend against hedge fund Turtle Beach Corp is looking at strategic alternatives including a possible sale, the company said, as it seeks to defend itself against a hedge fund which is seeking to replace all of the gaming equipment company’s six board members. Investment advisory firm Donerail Group and Turtle Beach have both made regulatory filings urging the company’s […] April 25, 2022
UnitedHealth to sell claims business for $2.2bn UnitedHealth Group has agreed to sell Change Healthcare’s claims editing business for $2.2 billion in a move some analysts say could ease regulatoryhurdles in the way of an $8 billion merger between the healthcare companies. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) sued to stop the acquisition for giving UnitedHealth access to competitors’ data, forcing the companies to […] April 25, 2022
U.S. asset freezes worsen Afghan women’s suffering The United States, as well as the Taliban authorities, is contributing to the suffering of women in Afghanistan through asset freezes, U.N. independent experts said on Monday. The United Nations and foreign governments, including Washington, have condemned moves by the Taliban to backtrack on women’s rights commitments such as on girls’ education in the months […] April 25, 2022
Tech Saudi agtech startup Red Sea Farms raises $18.5m Saudi Arabian agriculture technology startup Red Sea Farms has raised an additional $18.5 million to help expand its fresh produce line, and also to sell its technology to users in harsh, water scarce environments. The funding was raised from Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed, The Savola Group, KAUST Innovation Fund and OlsonUbben, the company said. Red Sea […] April 25, 2022
Real Estate Oman’s sovereign wealth fund splits into two portfolios The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has split its assets into local and foreign portfolios. The “Generation Portfolio” consists of foreign assets including real estate aims at achieving the greatest returns for future generations. The “National Development Portfolio” is concerned with managing local assets and more than 160 Omani companies, and aims to contribute to the […] April 24, 2022
Energy Iran Guards ‘seize foreign ship’ in Gulf for smuggling fuel Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign vessel in the Gulf for smuggling 200,000 litres of fuel, a senior Guards commander told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday. “The ship was seized in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. Its eight crew have been handed over to legal authorities in the southern […] April 24, 2022
Lebanon rejects latest financial recovery plan The Association of Banks in Lebanon said on Saturday it “completely rejects” the government’s latest draft of a financial recovery plan meant to pull the country out of an economic meltdown. In a statement shared with Reuters, the ABL called the plan “disastrous” and said it would leave banks and depositors shouldering the “major portion” […] April 23, 2022
Markets Aid groups push to feed Yemen’s hungry millions during Ramadan ceasefire A two-month ceasefire has given aid groups a chance to step up aid to Yemen’s hungry millions, but malnutrition ravaging children is projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up. “The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant,” said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen Director for the Norwegian Refugee […] April 22, 2022
Banking & Finance Lights go out on Erdogan rival who refused to pay power bills The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party said on Thursday that he will sit in the dark for a week after power had been cut at his home as he refused to pay his bills in protest of steep hikes in subsidised energy prices. A currency crisis late last year sent inflation soaring and prompted […] April 21, 2022
Tech firm lands tasty deal FOODICS, a cloud-based technology firm serving restaurants in the Middle East, has raised $170 million from investors led by Prosus and Sanabil Investments, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF. The series ‘C’ funding would support regional and international expansion by FOODICS, including its merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy to increase market […] April 20, 2022
Markets Oil drives rise in Gulf stock markets Major Gulf bourses closed higher on Wednesday, with a rise in oil prices driving the Saudi index up more than one per cent, while geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment in Egypt. Oil prices rose 1.4 per cent on a drop in US oil inventories and concern over tighter supplies from Russia and Libya. Saudi Arabia’s […] April 20, 2022
Real Estate Turkey’s house price index surges 96% annually Turkey’s residential property price index (RPPI) leapt an annual 96.4% in February in nominal terms, central bank data showed on Monday, surging against abackground of rising inflation. In the country’s largest city Istanbul, home to around a fifth of Turkey’s population of 85 million, the index climbed 106.3% on the year. The surge follows a […] April 20, 2022
Banking & Finance India’s HDFC to sell 10% stake in HDFC Capital to ADIA India’s top housing finance firm HDFC Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to sell a 10% stake in unit HDFC Capital to an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for INR 1.84 billion ($24.09 million). The deal comes two weeks after HDFC and HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private-sector lender, floated merger plans to […] April 20, 2022
Banking & Finance World Bank to push ahead with some Afghan projects The World Bank has resumed work on three projects in Afghanistan focused on health, agriculture and livelihoods, but will maintain a hold on some $150 million for education projects, two sources familiar with the decision said Tuesday. The multilateral development bank had put all four projects, valued at around $600 million, on hold in late […] April 19, 2022
UAE summons Israeli ambassador to protest against clashes in Al-Aqsa Mosque The United Arab Emirates has summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest against clashes at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, the Gulf state’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, stressed the need “to immediately stop these events (and) provide full protection for worshippers”, the ministry said in […] April 19, 2022
