North Africa

The Libyan state agency mandated to manage federal government performance has actually called for suspension of public sector appointments and contracts due to an extreme wage expense. The Administrative Control Authority (ACA) stated the number of public sector staff members in Libya had actually reached 2,099,200, with salary expenses amounting to 372 billion Libyan dinars over the past 12 years. About 89% of Libya's labour force is employed in the general public sector, the World Bank said in a 2024 report, based upon a 2022 study. The authority posted its call on Facebook on Tuesday evening, addressing the Prime Minister...

Libya's easternbased federal government said in a statement on Wednesday that it had agreed on a proposal to end fuel subsidies and would prepare a. system to implement the contract. The administration headed by Osama Hamad, a competitor to the. worldwide acknowledged government based in Tripoli, did not. reveal further information about the proposition. It is unclear if Hamad's federal government will have the ability to. execute the proposal in the divided nation, nevertheless. In OPEC-member Libya a litre of fuel expenses simply 0.150. Libyan dinars ($ 0.03), the second-cheapest on the planet. according to the Worldwide Gas Rates online...

Turkey can step in to deal with disagreements in between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, President Tayyip Erdogan informed the head of Sudan's sovereign council Abdel Fattah alBurhan in a telephone call on Friday, the Turkish presidency stated. The Sudanese army has consistently implicated the UAE of providing weapons and support to the paramilitary Quick Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan's war. The Gulf state denies this. U.N. sanctions displays have referred to as reputable accusations that the UAE had given military aid to the RSF. Erdogan went over Turkish-Sudanese relations along with regional and worldwide matters with Burhan in...

Most stock markets in the Gulf increased in early trade on Thursday in line with Asian shares as financiers mulled the ramifications of a Donald Trump presidency. Trump was elected president, topping a remarkable comeback 4 years after he was voted out of the White Home and ushering in a brand-new American leadership likely to evaluate democratic organizations at home and relations abroad. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index got 0.4%, with Al . Rajhi Bank rising 1.5%, while oil huge Saudi Aramco. innovative 1.8%. In Other Places, Al Moammar Details Systems Co. advanced 2.7%, a day after the firm signed a...

OPEC+ oil supply cuts and recent efforts to unwind them have increased volatility in energy markets and hampered financial investment in brand-new production, the CEO of Italian energy business Eni stated on Monday. Speaking at an industry occasion in Abu Dhabi, Claudio Descalzi said he expected high volatility in the energy markets experienced in recent years to extend into 2025. 8 members of OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies settled on Sunday to postpone a prepared December oil output increase by one month due to weak demand in China and rising...

UAE energy giant ADNOC will use extremely autonomous agentic expert system in the energy industry for the first time, in collaboration with G42, Microsoft and AIQ, its CEO Sultan Al Jaber said on Monday at a market event in Abu Dhabi. The UAE, a rich oil manufacturer and longtime security partner of the U.S., is expecting greater access to American technology to develop its own advanced tech market. The push is led by the government-backed G42, which in April got a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft , which intends to diversify the UAE's economy away from oil. The rapid development...

Major stock exchange in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Tuesday on weakening oil even as stress intensified in the area and as financiers braced for thirdquarter incomes. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index dropped 0.1%, struck by a 0.9% fall in ACWA Power and a 0.6% fall in the nation's most significant loan provider, Saudi National Bank. Somewhere else, oil giant Saudi Aramco relieved 0.4%. Oil costs - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - slid as much as $3 to a near two-week low throughout Asian trade on the back of a weaker demand outlook and after...

Most stock exchange in the Gulf were subdued in early trade on Wednesday with dispute in the Middle East the most pressing concern, although the Qatari index was buoyed by Qatar National Bank. An escalation of fighting in Lebanon and the ongoing one-year-old war in between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has actually raised fears of a wider Middle East conflict. The decline in Gulf markets started after Iran launched a. missile barrage on Israel on Oct. 1. Israel has actually sworn to. strike back and is weighing its alternatives, with Iran's oil. centers considered a possible target. Saudi Arabia's...

Libya was preparing to reboot oil production that has actually been shut considering that late of August after a contract on a brand-new head of the central bank was reached, 2 oilfield engineers informed Reuters on Tuesday. We are now awaiting orders from the Corporation (the. state oil company) to resume production at its typical levels after. a month-long stoppage, stated an engineer from the Jalu 59. oilfield. An engineer from the Elfeel oilfield stated they took. benefit of the almost one-month closure to perform. maintenance. National production and export operations were dropped in. August when the parallel government in...

Abu Dhabi's economy grew 4.1% in the second quarter of 2024, according to preliminary government price quotes, driven by nonoil sectors as the citystate accelerates efforts to diversify away from hydrocarbons. The United Arab Emirates capital's gross domestic product (GDP) in Q2 reached 297 billion dirhams ($ 80.87. billion), according to the government stats centre, and the. contribution of non-oil sectors stood at over 55%, the highest. in about ten years, at 164.2 billion dirhams. Non-oil GDP rose 6.6% in Q2, significantly outshining. in general GDP growth, led by increases in construction,. production, and finance and insurance coverage activities. The...

Libya's easternbased parliament agreed on Monday to authorize the election of Naji Mohamed Issa Belqasem as governor of the reserve bank, in a move that might assist end a crisis which has actually slashed the nation's oil output. In a telecasted session, your house of Representatives (HoR). also approved Mari Muftah Rahil Barrasi as his deputy. The approvals might get rid of the primary political barrier to. resolving a crisis over control of the Reserve bank of Libya (CBL). and oil revenues that has greatly reduced Libya's oil production. and exports. Belqasem was previously the central bank's director of. banking...

The majority of significant stock markets in the Gulf climbed in early trade on Thursday, in line with Asian shares, supported by news of aggressive financial stimulus from China, although geopolitical stress in the area restricted the benefit. China's central bank on Tuesday unveiled its biggest stimulus considering that the pandemic to pull the economy out of its deflationary funk and back towards the government's growth target. Driving the optimism was a main readout from a meeting of China's politburo that said the country would deploy necessary fiscal costs to fulfill this year's economic development target of roughly 5%. Saudi...

Most major stock exchange in the Gulf increased in early trade on Tuesday as financiers sought assistance on the Federal Reserve's future rates of interest decisions, expecting the release of minutes from its most current conference and upcoming payrolls data. The week is filled with information releases particularly from the United States, which will be headlined by the December non-farm payrolls report on Friday. Minutes of the Fed's newest conference due on Wednesday will offer colour on their dot-plot predictions, while there will be plenty of live comment with numerous leading policymakers. Fed decisions have a substantial impact on the...

Black dust coats streets and gathers on rooftops in the area adjoining a vast cement factory in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Activists and regional citizens accuse the plant run by the Alexandria Portland Cement Business (APCC), a subsidiary of Greece's Titan Cement, of fouling the air by burning coal. Every night, we see particles falling from their chimneys. Under street lights, you can plainly see the dust drizzling down, stated Mostafa Mahmoud, a supermarket owner in the Wadi al-Qamar area. Reuters could not individually confirm the assertion. Titan Cement says the plant's emissions are within legal limits, and it...

Many significant stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Monday, following a decision by OPEC+ to delay a planned December oil output boost by one month. Eight members of OPEC+, which groups the Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, were due to raise output in December as part of a plan to slowly loosen up the group's newest layer of output curbs - a cut of 2.2 million barrels each day (bpd). OPEC and Saudi Arabia have consistently stated they do not target a particular cost and make choices based on market...

Hassana, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia's primary pension fund, is considering ending up being an anchor financier in Brookfield's new $2 billion Middle East fund, it stated on Thursday. That would bring Hassana on board with the kingdom's PIF sovereign wealth fund, which revealed on Wednesday that it had entered a non-binding contract to become an anchor investor in the Brookfield Middle East Partners fund. Hassana might assign approximately $500 million to the fund, in addition to Brookfield's own $500 million dedication, the statement said. PIF had actually not disclosed the size of its capacity support. The Brookfield fund...

The majority of major stock exchange in the Gulf increased in early trade on Thursday, buoyed by wish for a potential ceasefire offer in between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon's prime minister revealed hope on Wednesday that a. ceasefire handle Israel would be announced within days as. Israel's public broadcaster published what it said was a draft. arrangement offering a preliminary 60-day truce. The push for a ceasefire for Lebanon is taking place. alongside a similar diplomatic drive to end hostilities in Gaza. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index acquired 0.2%,. with ACWA Power Company advancing 3.9% and aluminium. products maker Al...

Spanish steel maker Sidenor sent out a letter stating it was considering a tender offer for part or all the shares of train maker Talgo, the latter said late on Wednesday in a filing to the stock exchange regulator. Talgo did not say whether Sidenor divulged the stake it intends to buy or at what rate. Independently owned Sidenor is headquartered in the Basque Nation and runs numerous steel mills in northern Spain. Sidenor's move comes two months after Hungarian consortium Ganz-Mavag last month withdrew a previous tender offer for the Spanish train maker following the Spanish government's veto on...

Significant stock markets in the Gulf were combined in early trade on Thursday in the background of simmering geopolitical tensions in the region and ahead of a U.S. inflation report. Israel's armed force stated it had gotten rid of a Hezbollah member in Syria who passed on intelligence versus Israel in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, while Syrian media reported on Thursday that Israeli airstrikes struck targets in Syria. Israel has actually intensified its retaliation for the Hamas attack, sending soldiers into Lebanon and airstrikes into Iran, Yemen and Syria in the hunt for Iran-backed militants, raising fears of a. broader...

Major stock exchange in the Gulf increased in early trade on Monday amid expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut this week, with the Saudi index on course to acquire for a. 3rd session. The Fed's two-day financial policy meeting beginning on. Tuesday will take centre stage for the week. Expectations are. for the reserve bank to kick-start a relieving cycle, providing. space for local central banks to think about cutting rates. Markets are pricing in a 59% opportunity of a 50 basis points. ( bps) cut, with a 41% possibility of a 25 bps cut, CME FedWatch. tool revealed....

Significant stock exchange in the Gulf increased in early trade on Thursday after U.S. inflation data paved the method for a Federal Reserve rate cut next week, while traders waited for more financial data from the United States. The U.S. consumer price index increased 0.2% in August, but underlying inflation showed some stickiness, which might result in the Fed providing a smaller 25-basis-point cut at its upcoming conference. Fed policymakers will likely start long-awaited rate cuts next week as they look for to reduce the chance of an economic crisis even as stubborn underlying cost pressures put them off more...

The Biden administration on Wednesday notified the U.S. Congress that it will provide Egypt with $1.3 billion in military help, a State Department representative stated, the first time considering that 2020 Egypt will get the overall quantity of U.S. funding despite human rights conditions. The statement comes as Washington has actually relied heavily on Cairo - a longstanding U.S. ally - to moderate up until now unsuccessful talks in between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Of the $1.3 billion in U.S. foreign military funding designated to Egypt, $320 million goes through conditions...

AngloGold Ashanti will purchase Egyptfocused smaller rival Centamin in a $2.5 billion stock and money deal, the business stated on Tuesday, as the U.Slisted worldwide miner expands its operations in Africa. Under the terms of the deal, Centamin investors will receive 0.06983 new AngloGold Ashanti shares for each Centamin share and $0.125 in cash. The implied 163 cent per share deal represents a premium of 36.7% to Centamin's Monday closing price of 120 cent, the companies said in a declaration. The acquisition accompanies a flurry of deal activity in the gold mining sector over the previous couple of years, with...

Tunisia's electoral commission on Monday declined a court judgment restoring 3 governmental candidates and cops jailed another candidate in what opposition critics stated was another example of President Kais Saied stifling competition. Defying the greatest judicial body, the commission approved only the candidateships of Saied and two others, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel, for the Oct. 6 governmental election. The commission is the only body constitutionally entrusted with the integrity of election, Farouk Bouasker the head of electoral commission stated. Previously on Monday, authorities detained Zammel, a member of his project told Reuters. The campaign member said the arrest appeared...