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  DAMMAM / WAM Dr Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States, has affirmed that the security of the GCC states is indivisible, asserting that the “Arab Gulf Security 3” Exercise is a message of determination and peace, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA). He expressed pride with the level of security coordination …

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s plan to sell off stakes in local companies held by its sovereign wealth fund is already paying dividends — it’s set to rake in about $5 billion over three months. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to raise $820 million from selling a stake in digital security firm Elm Co. next month after pricing the …

  GENEVA / WAM The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to accelerate the relaxation of travel restrictions as Covid-19 continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage. Iata called for removing all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine, enabling quarantine-free travel for non-vaccinated travellers with a negative pre-departure …

  Bloomberg Tata Sons Pvt formally took charge of debt-laden Air India Ltd., ending years of failed attempts to sell the money-losing airline that has been kept afloat with billions of dollars of taxpayer money. “It is indeed noteworthy that the disinvestment process of @airindiain has been brought to a successful conclusion in a time-bound manner,” aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia …

  Bloomberg The surging Omicron variant is complicating the recovery for a world economy that continues to be wracked by supply chain chaos, worker absenteeism and faltering assembly lines. Supermarkets are struggling to stock shelves amid chronic staff shortages. Airlines are grounding flights. Manufacturers are facing disruption and shipping lines remain backed up. At the same time, surging energy prices …

  Bloomberg Oil dropped alongside other financial assets and commodities as crude’s sizzling rally ran out of steam after hitting a seven-year high. Futures in New York slumped more than 3%, before paring losses to trade near $84 a barrel, following a decline in stocks and raw materials including copper. Crude has posted a gain of more than 10% so …

  Bloomberg India is inching towards a major milestone: opening its $1 trillion government bond market to more international investors, one of the most ambitious attempts to attract foreign inflows since the country liberalised its economy three decades ago. Policy makers have spent months preparing to join global indexes, key benchmarks that increasingly determine how large asset managers allocate their …

  BRUSSELS / WAM At EU level, the share of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources reached 22% in 2020, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. This is 2 percentage points (pp) above the target level for 2020, as included in Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. This …

  Bloomberg Global oil markets look tighter than previously thought as demand suffers surprisingly little impact from the latest coronavirus strain while supplies are curbed by disruptions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The surplus facing world markets this year is shrinking, with oil demand — slightly upgraded from last month — on track to hit pre-pandemic levels of 99.7 …

  Bloomberg Microsoft Corp said it’s buying Activision Blizzard Inc in a $68.7 billion deal, uniting two of the biggest forces in video games to create the world’s third-biggest gaming company. In its largest purchase ever, Microsoft will pay $95 a share in cash for one of the most legendary gaming publishers, known for titles like Call of Duty and …