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McDonald’s hikes prices in Japan on higher input costs, weaker yen

Japan’s McDonald’s fast food restaurants will raise prices on about 60 percent of its offerings to customers, fuelled by rising input costs and exchange-rate fluctuations, the company said on Monday. It marks the company’s second set of price increases this year as Japan grapples with inflationary pressures and a slide in the yen to a […]

Fears mount over Iran’s inaction on climate change

In just over a year, Iran has endured deadly flash floods, crop-ruining drought, punishing dust storms and heatwaves that have pushed temperatures as high as 48 degrees Celsius – all crises likely fuelled by climate change. But for the people affected, finding help is proving very difficult. Iran is one of just four countries that have […]

A closed Credit Libanais branch in Sidon, southern Lebanon,

Lebanon’s banks to reopen after wave of holdups

Lebanon’s banks will reopen on Monday, the country’s banking association said, after five days of closures that followed a wave of holdups by savers seeking access to their frozen funds. The association said in a statement on Sunday that the decision to reopen “was taken after consideration of the current difficult security conditions and the […]

Elon Musk says activating Starlink for Iranians after Blinken’s tweet

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Friday that he would activate the firm’s satellite internet service, Starlink, in response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s tweet that the United States took action “to advance internet freedom and the free flow of information” to Iranians. The US Treasury Department on Friday issued guidance expanding internet […]

Uzbekistan halts use of Russia’s Mir payment cards

Uzbekistan’s UZCARD system has suspended the processing of payments via Mir cards issued by Bank of Russia’s National Card Payment System (NSPK), the chief executive of which has been targeted by US sanctions. The move by UZCARD was warranted by the need “to carry out the necessary technical procedures”, it said in a statement on […]

Israel to sell Rafael-made air defence system to UAE

Israel has agreed to sell an advanced air defence system to the United Arab Emirates, two sources familiar with the matter said, in the first such known deal between them since they forged ties in 2020. The deal reinforces how, for some Arab states, resolving the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict has now been overshadowed by national […]

Tie, Accessories, Accessory

Turkey to hold meeting on Russia’s Mir, possible Western sanctions

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will convene a top tier economy-focused meeting on Friday at which Russian payment system Mir and possible Western sanctions will be discussed, two sources with information on the matter told Reuters. The meeting with government officials and others will also address agreements with Russia, recent heavy volatility on the Istanbul stock […]

Person, Human, Market

Egypt central bank bucks trends, keeps interest rates unchanged

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), bucking analyst expectations, left its overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying it believed inflation was under control over the medium term. The bank also raised the reserve ratio to 18 percent from 14 percent, saying that this would help tighten liquidity. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept […]

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 […]

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 […]

Person, Human, Clothing
  • Arab Youth Survey 2022

Arab youth ‘trust Russia and China more than UK and US’

Arab youth see the United States and the United Kingdom as bigger enemies than Russia and China, with the majority blaming the US and NATO for the war in Ukraine, a new survey has said. Close to three quarters (72 percent) of young Arabs describe Russia as either a strong ally or somewhat of an […]

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 […]

Tayyip Erdogan's economic programme over the last 14 months prioritised growth and exports

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 […]

Minister of economy and industry of Israel, Orna Barbivai, and minister of industry and commerce of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Zayed bin Rashid Al-Zayani, during their meeting in Manama

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]