Tag Archives: inflation

 Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday a resumption of talks with the International Monetary Fund was a necessity to pull the country out of its financial crisis. Mikati made his remarks after a long parliamentary session, held since noon, to debate his government’s policy proposal and give a …

Suzanne Mouawad lived through Lebanon’s civil war and built a successful advertising business in the hopeful days after the fighting ended, but she says her country’s economic collapse is breaking her in a way that even missiles did not. Mouawad, 56, comes from a well-to-do background and previously led a …

Jordan must address high unemployment to deliver durable, jobs-rich and inclusive growth, said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. The country also needs to advance electricity sector reforms, boost business competitiveness, and strengthen governance and transparency, she added. Georgieva said that timely and targeted fiscal measures have helped protect jobs, while …

The International Monetary Fund urged Tunisia on Friday to cut its wage bill and limit energy subsidies to reduce a fiscal deficit, putting more pressure on the fragile government amid a severe financial and political crisis. With the coronavirus pandemic, political infighting and protests since last month over social inequality, …

Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Friday the era of the dollar peg was finished but said any floatation of the currency would depend on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. Salameh made his comments in an interview with France24. When asked in the interview whether the era …

By Areej Zaher*   The World Bank has reported that the Syrian conflict, till 2017, had disastrous effects on about a third of the residents and half of the medical and educational institutions, as a result of the collapse of vital economical systems. This caused the ending of 538 jobs …

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday blamed US President Donald Trump after inflation hit a nine-year high in the Philippines, hurting the image of the populist leader. It was an unexpected claim from the fiery Duterte, a one-time fierce critic of the United States but who has since embraced Trump …

The entry of new supply in the remainder of the year is expected to ensure that the market will continue to favour homebuyers at least in the medium term. According to Chestertons’ Dubai Residential Market Overview: Q2 2018, new supply will continue to outstrip demand in the next few months, …

The International Monetary Fund urged Egypt to maintain a tight monetary policy as a new round of subsidy cuts rekindled inflation worries. The Washington-based lender praised Egypt’s implementation of economic reforms as “instrumental in achieving macroeconomic stabilization, with external and fiscal deficits narrowing, inflation and unemployment declining, and growth accelerating.” At the same …

Dubai-based Callix aims to capitalise on human interaction instead of impersonal digital personas to help small- and medium-sized enterprises in the UAE to drive business and unify customer experience. According to Forrester data, 72 per cent of businesses list customer experience improvement as a top priority. Arif Saiyad, founder and …

Egypt’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday, as the government prepares for a new round of fuel subsidy cuts against a backdrop of rising global oil prices. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, headed by Governor Tarek Amer, held the overnight deposit rate at 16.75 per cent …

The UAE Cabinet on Sunday has approved a decision pertaining to the refund of VAT on organisations involved in organising exhibitions and conferences. The decision stipulates that facilities operating in the exhibitions and conferences sector are entitled to refund VAT imposed on the provision of services required for setting up …

Oman has the means to maintain its currency peg and has no plans to change it even though the decline in oil prices has hurt its finances, central bank Governor Tahir Al Amri said. Oman’s gross foreign currency reserves, which stood at $19.6 billion (Dh71.9 billion) at the end of …

The Landmark Group has taken its first step into supermarket-type retailing in the UAE with the launch of four “food discounter” stores under the “Viva” brand. But unlike mainstream super/hypermarket chains, Viva will only focus on food retailing — freshly prepared and packaged — and at steep discounts to prices …

Saudi Arabia has reported a sharp rise in inflation on value-added tax (VAT) and subsidy reforms with inflation accelerating to 3 per cent in January. Consumer price inflation in Saudi Arabia strengthened to 3 per cent year on year in January, after seeing deflation of -1.1 per cent in December …

Even a late December surge in buying was not enough to add sparkle to the UAE’s gold jewellery sales during 2017. In fact, overall jewellery volumes dropped for a fourth straight year, totalling 42.8 tonnes as against the 43.4 tonnes gold retailers managed to sell in 2016. This is the …

Morocco will loosen its currency peg in a long-awaited move aimed at strengthening its economy and avoiding financial imbalances that forced a slew of emerging nations into sharp devaluations. Bank al-Maghrib, as the central bank is known, will allow the dirham to fluctuate 2.5 per cent above or below its …

The first day of the implementation of the five per cent value added tax (VAT) in the UAE dawned with many residents taking their first purchase with VAT in stride. Value Added Tax (VAT) came into force from yesterday in the country and most of the consumers who turned up …

That is according to the chief executive of French retailer Bayara, who has been driving a programme of change that has seen the seller of dried fruits and nuts grow to nearly Dh500 million in annual sales. Value added tax (VAT) will force retailers to continue in to next year …

The inventor put down the newspaper, frustrated. Food sales were skyrocketing and prices flying out of control in Egypt, as was to be expected, during the holy month of Ramadan. The very month people were supposed to be eating ‘less’ in because they were fasting. This has got to stop. …

Reuters – Bank of England policymakers focused heavily on falling oil prices in their December meeting, and the majority who have been voting to keep interest rates on hold appeared slightly more united. Minutes of the BoE Monetary Policy Committee’s Dec. 3-4 meeting released on Wednesday showed the majority thought …