Category: Business & Finance

Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Tamim confirmed that holding the fourth water conference in Baghdad represents a great opportunity to address challenges.

He said in a speech he delivered at the Fourth Baghdad International Water Conference that Iraq needs rational water management in accordance with international law, noting that we are making exceptional efforts to address the water issue and joint coordination with upstream countries.

He added that the water situation is suffering from a clear decline and has caused the expansion of desertification, indicating that there is a great waste of water use by citizens.

He explained that upstream countries must take into account the actual water need of downstream countries in accordance with international law.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Basra crude oil suffered slight losses for the third week in a row, despite global oil prices recording gains of 2%.

Basra Heavy crude closed in its last session yesterday, Friday, at an increase of 68 cents, reaching $86.13, but it recorded weekly losses amounting to 38 cents, equivalent to 0.44%.

While Basra Intermediate crude closed, in its last session, with a decrease of 68 cents, reaching $89.33, thus also recording weekly losses amounting to 44 cents, or the equivalent of 0.49%.

This comes at a time when global oil prices rose at the end of trading yesterday, Friday, to continue reaping gains for the second session in a row, and also achieved weekly gains for the first time in three weeks.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al-Ghais, confirmed: ‘The end of oil does not loom on the horizon, because the pace of growth in energy demand means that alternatives cannot replace it at the required rate, and that the focus must be on reducing emissions, not oil consumption.

In an article published by the Middle East Economic Survey (MES) website, Al-Ghais said: ‘There is a worrying trend of using terms such as the end of oil, which would promote policies that fuel chaos in the energy sector.’

He added, wondering: ‘What if investments in supplies decrease as a result, and the demand for oil continues to increase, as we are witnessing today,’ stressing: ‘The truth is that the end of oil does not loom on the horizon.’

OPEC believes that oil use will continue to rise in the coming decades, unlike bodies such as the International Energy Agency, which expects it to peak by 2030.

Al-Ghais said: ‘The oil sector is investing in technologies such as carb
on extraction, use and storage, clean hydrogen and others, which demonstrates the possibility of reducing emissions while producing the oil that the world needs.’

He explained: ‘The world has invested more than 9.5 trillion dollars in energy conversion over the past two decades, yet wind and solar energy still provide only a little less than 4% of global energy, and the total percentage of electric cars spreading globally ranged between 2% to 3%.

He concluded by saying: ‘The many alternatives cannot replace oil at the necessary level, or their cost is unsustainable in many areas.’

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Oil prices rose at settlement, yesterday evening, Friday, amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, but the rise in the dollar and inflation data issued in the United States limited the gains.

Brent crude futures rose 49 cents, 0.55 percent, at settlement to $89.50 per barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 28 cents, 0.34 percent, to $83.85 per barrel.

Concerns about supplies contributed to supporting prices amid continuing tensions in the Middle East.

Inflation in the United States rose 2.7 percent on an annual basis until March, after rising 2.5 percent until February.

The increase last month was broadly in line with economists’ expectations.

The Federal Reserve (the US central bank) aims to reduce inflation to two percent, and the Council is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at the monetary policy meeting, scheduled to be held next week.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Amman – together – the CEO of Ooredoo Palestine, Dr. Samer Fares and a delegation from the executive management held a series of working meetings in the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with the aim of strengthening and expanding cooperation with Ooredoo’s strategic partners in roaming and communication services to and from Jordan. This comes within the framework of Ooredoo’s keenness to provide the best roaming services to the Palestinian subscriber during his passage through Jordan, which is considered His first gateway to the world.

The tour included the signing of a cooperation agreement with Orange Telecommunications Company in Jordan in the presence of its CEO, Philip Mansour, and a delegation from the company’s executive management. In a separate meeting, another cooperation agreement was signed with Umniah Telecommunications Company, represented by its CEO, Faisal Qamhiyah, and a group of the company’s executive directors. The signing of these two agreements comes to provide roaming services thr
ough the distinguished and high quality fourth and fifth generation services at the best prices to the Palestinian subscriber during his travel from Palestine to Jordan via transit or residence, which is consistent with Ooredoo’s strategies in maintaining the highest levels of subscriber satisfaction, in addition to providing international communication services. Between Palestine and Jordan with high quality.

On the sidelines of signing the two agreements, the CEO of Ooredoo Palestine, Dr. Samer Fares: ‘The Kingdom of Jordan is considered the Palestinians’ gateway to the world. Therefore, as part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best services to our subscribers, we have renewed agreements with Orange and Umniah to provide roaming services to Ooredoo Palestine subscribers during their travel to Jordan, residence there, or transit to any country in the world. This comes The step comes as the Hajj and summer seasons approach this year, and the need of Palestinians to maintain contact with their families d
uring their travel, especially in light of the difficult circumstances that Palestine has been going through recently.’

Dr. added. Samer: ‘Ooredoo Palestine has a vision and strategy to maintain its leading market position in the field of data, and roaming services via the 4G and 5G networks are among the most important pillars of moving forward towards strengthening this advanced market position. These two agreements also aim to maintain communication services between The two brotherly countries, Jordan and Palestine, have a high level of quality and preferential prices that enable families between the two countries to remain in constant contact.’

Dr. concluded. Samer thanked the executive management of both Orange and Umniah for the cooperation and professionalism they provided in concluding the two agreements, in the common interest of companies and subscribers alike.

Source: Maan News Agency

New York, The best week for U.S. stocks since November closed out with more gains thanks to Alphabet and Microsoft on Friday.

The SandP 500 rallied 1% to finish its first winning week in the last four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 2%.

Alphabet leaped 10.2% after breezing past analysts’ expectations for profit last quarter. The parent company of Google also said it will start paying a dividend to investors and authorized a program to buy back up to $70 billion of its stock, a signal of how much cash it’s generating.

Microsoft, meanwhile, climbed 1.8% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. It cited strong growth in its cloud-computing business as it pushes artificial-intelligence technology to its customers.

They helped offset a 9.2% drop for Intel. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected, but its revenue fell short of analysts’ estimates. So did its forecast for profit in the current quarter.

Stocks
have broadly been under pressure this month after hopes withered for multiple cuts to interest rates this year by the Federal Reserve.

A series of reports this year showing inflation remaining worse than forecast has traders expecting maybe one cut this year, down from forecasts for six or more at the start of the year.

Still, the higher-than-expected inflation readings will likely keep the Fed on hold at its next policy meeting on Wednesday. Its main interest rate has been sitting at the highest level since 2001 in hopes of undercutting inflation by putting downward pressure on the economy and financial markets.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Manama, Beyon Money, part of the Beyon Group, has been included as a top 10 winner in the Rising Star category of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 programme.

Running for the third year, the programme celebrates and recognises the fastest-growing technology companies in the Middle East and Cyprus, based on their revenue growth. Becoming a winner is recognised as a significant achievement; it is a celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship, and impact. During the comprehensive selection process, Deloitte reviews technology companies from a wide range of industries including the Fintech sector.

Commenting on the win, Beyon Money CEO Roberto Mancone said, ‘We are delighted to be a top 10 Rising Star winner in Deloitte’s Fast 50 list, placed 7th based on our impressive revenue growth. This is a proud achievement for us and reflects the commitment by all Beyon Money’s team members as well as our customers’ trust and loyalty in Beyon Money’s products.’

‘Beyon Money’s cards with worldwide acceptance and rewards, its
international remittance and Flexi Invest product have played a key role in supporting the company’s revenue growth and achieving this win. Ensuring access to a suite of services that meets our customers’ finance requirements is our priority and we look forward to evolving the Beyon Money SuperApp to deliver more services and benefits in the year ahead,’ Mr. Mancone added.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Manama, The Kingdom of Bahrain has achieved a new international milestone, as the Passports Services at the Bahrain International Airport has been ranked third globally among the 2024 World Airline Awards (Skytrax).

It won in the “Best Airport Passport Services” category after applying strict standards that include the efficiency and speed of procedures, ease of movement, the efficiency of passport staff in terms of receiving visitors, and the extent of travellers’ satisfaction.

The achievement is an international testimony to the excellence and leadership in the services provided by the Nationality, Passports, and Residence Affairs (NPRA) and its continuous keenness to enhance travellers’ experiences at the Bahrain International Airport. Bahrain ranked third after Singapore Changi Airport and Zurich International Airport in Switzerland.

Shaikh Hisham bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Interior Ministry’s Undersecretary for NPRA, expressed his pride in the achievement, asserting dedication to providing the best
services for travellers via the Bahrain International Airport to promote Bahrain’s status as a leading regional centre in air transport.

He noted that the Airport Passports Services plays a significant role in facilitating travellers’ procedures and providing them with exciting travelling experiences. He hailed the fruitful cooperation between the NPRA and Bahrain Airport Services.

Skytrax World Airlines is a London-based consultancy founded in 1989. It operates an airline and airport review website and offers annual awards known as the Skytrax World Awards based on traveller reviews.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Manama, Bahrain All Share Index has closed at 2,013.12 points, marking a decrease of 3.92 points below the previous closing.

This decrease was due to the drop in the Industrial Sector, Material Sector and Consumer Staples Sector.

Bahrain Islamic Index has closed at 762.17 points, marking a decrease of 4.15 points below the previous closing.

Results indicated that 82 equity transactions took place with a volume of 1,716,324 worth BD 686,846.

Investors traded mainly in the Non-Bahraini Companies Sector, representing 58.54% of the total value of securities traded.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Ramallah – Together – The General Authority of the Palestine Stock Exchange held its fourteenth annual meeting, to discuss and approve the topics on the agenda, in the presence of the representative of the Registrar of Companies at the Ministry of National Economy, Bilal Kataneh, the external auditor, Abdul Karim Mahmoud, representing Ernst and Young, and the legal advisor, Mr. Haitham Al-Zoubi and Samer Al-Kakhan, representing the Capital Market Authority.

Through the platform of the General Authority, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Palestine Stock Exchange, Mr. Samir Hulileh, expressed what the Palestinian economy has suffered, especially since the last quarter of the fiscal year 2023 until this moment, which in turn has sharply affected the performance of various economic and operational sectors, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, adding that Listed companies were not immune to this exceptional situation, which became clear through their preliminary financial statements for the resul
ts of the year 2023, as the profits of listed companies according to these statements amounted to approximately 155 million dollars, a decrease of 60% compared to the previous year, a number that was not recorded. On the Palestine Stock Exchange for more than 10 years, indicating that we are awaiting somewhat harsh results in the same context for the first quarter of the year 2024, due to the continuation of the aggression.

He pointed out, “This situation did not affect at all the commitment of profitable companies to their shareholders, as dividends are still strongly present in many of the recommendations of the general bodies of listed companies, and we at the Palestine Stock Exchange will work hard to continue the process of progress and growth, despite the serious challenges, and to These include poor market liquidity and accumulated losses as a result of the aggression.

The General Assembly approved the Board of Directors’ report and financial statements, and the members of the Board of Directors were
discharged from their liabilities for the fiscal year 2023, in addition to re-electing Ernst and Young to audit the stock exchange’s accounts for the fiscal year 2024.

It is noteworthy that the Palestine Stock Exchange was established in 1995 as a private joint stock company, and in 2012 it was listed for trading after it was transformed into a public joint stock company. The Stock Exchange seeks to be a local financial market with international standards, in light of providing innovative services to customers through a trading environment characterized by fairness, transparency and safety. It is noteworthy that the Palestine Stock Exchange is listed in the most important global financial indices: within the frontier markets ‘Frontier Markets’ and ‘FTSE Global Financial Times’ and within an independent index for ‘Palestine’ in both Morgan Stanley and Standard and Poor’s.

Source: Maan News Agency