Category: Business

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday pledged $2.5 billion for a green initiative in the Middle East region over the next 10 years.

Bin Salman arrived in Egypt’s seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier Monday to attend the Middle East Green Initiative Summit, held in tandem with UN climate conference COP27.

The initiative was launched by the Saudi crown prince last year as part of efforts to reduce regional carbon emissions.

The initiative “aims to reduce carbon emissions in the region and plant 50 billion trees,” bin Salman said in a speech to the meeting.

For his part, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who co-chairs the summit, called the green initiative “important” and an “excellent opportunity” to tackle climate change.

The summit is intended to lay out a roadmap for regional climate action, assess the consequences of climate change, and present solutions.

The first edition of the Middle East Green Initiative Summit was held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh in October 2021.

Notably, these initiatives aim to plant 50 billion trees in the region and reduce carbon emissions by more than 10%.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar

Source: Anadolu Agency

Türkiye’s benchmark stock index opened at 4,089.61 points on Thursday, up 0.44%, or 17.75 points, from the previous close.

Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index ended Wednesday at a record high of 4,071.87 points, with a daily trading volume of 77 billion Turkish liras ($4.14 billion).

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was at 18.6190 as of 10.15 a.m. local time (0715GMT), the euro/lira exchange rate was at 18.3288, and a British pound traded for 21.2062 liras.

Brent crude oil was selling for around $95.33 per barrel, while the price of an ounce of gold was $1,636.54.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Delegations from 124 countries have gathered in Istanbul for a four-day trade expo.

At the opening ceremony of the event on Wednesday, Mahmut Asmali, chairman of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MUSIAD), said they were hosting international buyers from Azerbaijan, Russia, China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Iran among others.

The 19th edition of the annual event will also feature ambassadors from the D8 countries — Türkiye, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Pakistan, he said.

Memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed with the D8 members to boost Türkiye’s international trade.

On Thursday, the International Business Forum will be held at the expo to discuss food security, a pressing issue in the backdrop of food supply bottlenecks due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The US stocks opened with losses on Monday to kick off the last trading day of October on a lower note, but the Dow Jones was heading for its best monthly gain in 46 years.

The blue-chip index was down 132 points, or 0.4%, to 32,731 at 9.47 a.m. EDT shortly after the opening day, but it has been up around 14% since the beginning of October — its best monthly record since 1976.

The S&P 500 fell 32 points, or 0.83%, to 3,867 and the Nasdaq lost 133 points, or 1.2%, to 10,968. The indices gained 8% and 4%, respectively, during this month.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up 4.5% to 26.90. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 1.1% to 4.056%.

The dollar index added 0.6% to 111.44, still around its highest in 20 years, while the euro lost 0.7% to $0.9893 against the greenback.

Precious metals were falling, with gold shedding 0.3% to $1,639 and silver losing 0.9% to $19.08.

Oil prices were on the decline with global oil benchmark Brent crude trading at $93.58 per barrel, down 0.2%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was around $87.66 – down 0.3%.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russia’s leading e-commerce platform Ozon announced on Tuesday that it is opening an office in Türkiye.

The new office in Istanbul will start operations this fall to provide Russian customers with a wide range of Turkish goods, Ozon’s press service said in a statement.

“The company sees a growing demand for goods from Turkish sellers and plans to strengthen its position in the local market,” the press release added.

Currently, the top management is forming a team of experts who speak Turkish and know the specifics of the local consumer sector, it said.

Hazal Maras, who has over 10 years of experience in retail and e-commerce, will head the new office.

Ozon Global is a part of Ozon, which works with international sellers and orders goods from abroad. It is a leading multicategory e-commerce platform and one of the largest online marketplaces in Russia whose 2021 turnover amounted to $6 billion.

Source: Anadolu Agency

German economy saw a 0.1% expansion in the second quarter of the year, compared to preliminary estimates of flat reading, official data showed on Thursday.

“Despite difficult framework conditions in the global economy, the German economy held its ground in the first two quarters of 2022,” Dr. Georg Thiel, president of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), said in a written statement.

The economy is mainly supported by household and government final consumption expenditure.

Destatis said that consumers took the opportunity to travel and go out more after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted despite large price increases and the energy crisis.

Household final consumption expenditure increased by a total of 0.8% compared with the first quarter, while the general government raised its final consumption expenditure by 2.3%.

Gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment also increased in the previous quarter (+1.1%) after adjustment for price, whereas gross fixed capital formation in construction posted a marked decline (-3.4%) after the unusually good and mild winter, it noted.

On Monday, Germany’s central bank said that the probability of a recession in the German economy is increasing and inflation may reach 10% in the fall.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Retail sales in the UK unexpectedly rose 0.3% after a fall of 0.2% in June, bouncing back from declines in the last three months, official data showed on Friday.

The market expected the figure would be a 0.2% fall.

Sales volumes were 2.3% above their pre-coronavirus levels, but down over the past year, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Non-store retailing (predominantly online retailers) sales volumes rose by 4.8% in July 2022 as a range of promotions in July boosted sales.

Automotive fuel sales volumes diminished by 0.9% in the month mainly due to the fact that a heatwave across parts of the UK may have reduced travel and sales.

Non-food stores sales volumes fell by 0.7% over the month because of falls in other non-food stores (negative 1.5%) and clothing stores (negative 1.2%).

Source: Anadolu Agency

Open letter warns Brazil of ‘disinformation and threats of violence’ ahead of presidential elections

Russia’s deputy foreign minister and the UN assistant to the secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia, and Americas discussed the Ukraine grain export deal signed last month in Istanbul, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Alexander Pankin and UN’s Miroslav Jenca met in the Russian capital Moscow for a thorough exchange of views on the global agenda, including the implementation of the agreements reached in Istanbul on the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports and promoting the export of Russian food and fertilizers to world markets, the statement said.

“The diplomats also considered in detail the consequences of the introduction of illegal sanctions against Russia for the regional and global economy, the situation in Central Asia, the prospects for integration processes in Eurasia, the interaction of the UN and the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization),” it added.

The sides confirmed the adherence to strengthening the central coordinating role of the UN in international affairs, amplifying Russia’s cooperation with the UN in a wide range of international problems.

Jenca arrived in the Russian capital to participate in the X Moscow Conference on International Security that will be held on Tuesday.

On July 22, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to reopen three Ukrainian Black Sea ports for exporting Ukrainian grain stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month.

Source: Anadolu Agency