Author: Steven Sahiounie

Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Thursday, led by the Saudi index, joining a global rally as investors cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve’s indication that it will still deliver three rate cuts this year. The Fed kept borrowing costs unchanged on Wednesday and signaled they still expect to ease interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024.

WASHINGTON: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned on Thursday that central banks face growing political pressure to cut interest rates during a major election year but policymakers need to maintain their independence.

LONDON: A surprise bumper rate hike by Turkiye’s central bank on Thursday boosted the country’s international sovereign bonds, lifted the lira off its recent lows and bolstered banking stocks, accordig to Reuters.

As the Fed maintained its long-run inflation projection at its 2% target, this implies a slight increase in what policymakers deem to be the neutral real rate of interest, or ‘R-star’, to 0.6% from 0.5%

The Kingdom was awarded 248 points by the international body for the first three months of the year, maintaining the levels that started in the same period of 2023.

The deficit is now expected to be in excess of five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Thomas Cazenave, minister for public accounts, told broadcaster Franceinfo

Sterling fell after the Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate on hold as expected, while the Swiss franc fell to a multi-month low after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised markets by cutting interest rates.

RIYADH: Ten out of the 11 airports in Saudi Arabia that received passengers’ complaints in February resolved them on time, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation. 

The United Kingdom and Australia inked a new defense agreement in Canberra on Thursday, paving the way for the two longtime allies to host troops and share military intelligence. The deal includes a “status of forces agreement,” according to ministers from both countries, making it easier for each country’s soldiers to deploy and operate in the other, AFP reported. UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps signed the agreement with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles during a ceremony in parliament in Canberra. “As the world becomes more complex and uncertain, we must modernize our most important partnerships,” Marles told reporters after the…

Algeria ’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has decided to hold presidential election on Sept. 7, the presidency said on Thursday. The announcement to hold the elections in September comes three months ahead of schedule, a statement from the president’s office said, without providing further details. “It was decided to hold early presidential elections on Sept. 7, 2024,” read the statement released following a meeting chaired by Tebboune and attended by lawmakers and the army’s chief of staff. Tebboune was elected in December 2019 for a five-year term and can run for a second and final term, according to the Algerian constitution.…