Friday , 19 December 2025

News

Oil retreats from seven-year high as Opec+ hikes output

  Bloomberg Oil retreated from a fresh seven-year high as Opec+ agreed to another modest hike in output and Iran said its ready to supply markets quickly if sanctions are removed. West Texas Intermediate edged lower 0.2% after hitting its highest level since 2014 earlier in the session. Global benchmark Brent traded near $89 a barrel, with prices steeply backwardated …

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Oil set for strongest gain in decades as market tightens

  Bloomberg Oil markets opened the week higher and were heading for the biggest gain in at least 30 years as robust demand outpaced fresh supply. The global crude benchmark rises 1.3%, paring earlier gains, but remains on track for a 17% gain this month. West Texas Intermediate futures traded above $87 a barrel. Traders were greeted on Monday with …

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Security of GCC states is indivisible: Al-Hajraf

  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 …

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Saudi wealth fund rakes in $5bn as stocks boom

  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 …

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Iata tells governments to ease travel curbs

  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 …

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Tata owns Air India after years of taxpayer bailouts

  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 …

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Living with Covid proving tough for world economy

  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 …

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Oil’s red-hot rally cools after surge to highest since 2014

  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 …

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India hopes for $30bn as bonds near index inclusion

  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 …

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EU overachieves 2020 renewable energy target

  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 …

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