Shell records strong performance in second quarter, adjusted earnings of almost $11.5bn

$6bn share buybacks are expected to be completed by Q3 2022 results

Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani

Asia’s richest men prep for battle as Adani enters Ambani’s turf

Gautam Adani had overtaken Mukesh Ambani as Asia’s richest man a few months earlier

Amazon Meta

Even tech giants like Amazon and Meta can’t escape the slowdown

With many of the biggest tech giants poised to report earnings in the next two weeks, investors are bracing for mostly bad news

IMF cuts World GDP outlook a third time as inflation, rates jump

Global economic expansion will likely slow to 3.2 per cent this year, less than the 3.6 per cent forecast by the fund in April

Monkeypox shot

Danish shot gets EU nod for monkeypox as WHO declares emergency

Bavarian Nordic’s smallpox vaccine Imvanex gets permission to be labelled for monkeypox and another disease caused by the vaccinia virus

GCC unified visa

These are the world’s most and least powerful passports in 2022

As recently as 2017, Asian countries barely featured among the world’s 10 most-accepted passports

WHO monkeypox

WHO declares monkeypox outbreak a global emergency

Monkeypox has mostly been confined to developing countries for years, but has spread across Europe and the US in recent months

Droupadi Murmu Indian President

Droupadi Murmu elected as 15th President of India

Hailing from a tribal community in the Indian state of Odisha, the former primary school teacher has served previously as the Governor of Jharkhand, a state in the eastern part of India

Mario Draghi

Mario Draghi resigns as Italy’s Prime Minister

The government will continue as a caretaker to handle ongoing business

Gold

Gold slumps to lowest since March 2021, dollar strength likely to continue

Gold has lost more than $110 in July alone as traders increased bets on a full percentage-point increase in US rates

UK inflation at new 40-year high worsens living standards crisis

UK inflation at new 40-year high worsens living standards crisis

Consumer prices rose 9.4 per cent from a year earlier, the biggest increase since February 1982

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Sri Lanka’s parliament picks Ranil Wickremesinghe as new President

Wickremesinghe, beat Dullas Alahapperuma by securing 134 or more than 50 per cent of votes cast in parliament on Wednesday

IMF Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka talks to move quickly when new leaders set: IMF

The IMF signalled just days ago that higher authorities needed to be in place in Sri Lanka in order for restructuring talks to resume

Elon musk - Tesla

Musk seeks to block ‘warp speed’ Twitter trial over $44bn deal

Musk is requesting a February 13, 2023 trial at the earliest

Joe Biden meets Saudi Crown Prince

US President Joe Biden begins Middle East tour, meets Saudi Crown Prince

The Saudi Crown Prince and US President chaired a meeting at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah

euro slips to dollar parity

European stocks dealt fresh blow as euro slips to dollar parity

The two currencies are worth the same for the first time in two decades

Twitter seeks a quick trial soon to resolve suit against Musk

Twitter wants a quick trial to resolve suit against Musk

The company hopes to start the non-jury case on September 19

IPOs

Here are Asia’s biggest IPOs to watch for the second half

Share sales globally plummeted some 70 per cent from a year ago in the first half, to levels not seen in almost two decades

Shinzo Abe

Former Japan PM Abe dies after being shot at stump speech in Nara

Japan’s longest-serving leader was attacked from behind when he was speaking in front of Kintetsu Railway’s Yamato-Saidaiji Station

Marburg

Ghana reports suspected cases of Marburg virus disease

Marburg is a highly infectious viral hemorrhagic fever in the same family as the more well-known Ebola virus disease

Boris Johnson resigns as UK Prime Minister

Johnson, who resigned as leader of the Conservative Party, said that he will serve as PM until a new leader is in place

Boris Johnson

Johnson to resign as UK PM, will stay as caretaker until October

Johnson will also make a statement to the country on Thursday

Remote work

Dutch approve to make work from home a legal right

The pandemic has fuelled a shift in attitudes about work

UAE, Indonesia sign agreement

UAE, Indonesia sign comprehensive economic partnership agreement

The pact will help increase annual bilateral trade to $10bn within five years by removing trade barriers on a range of goods and services

Costliest places

These are the 50 costliest places for expats to live and work

High rankings for many Asian cities were driven by inflation and strong currencies

UAE President receives Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the UAE President and the people on the passing of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Mukesh Ambani resigns, son Akash Ambani succeeds as chairman

Mukesh Ambani resigns, son Akash Ambani succeeds as chairman

Mukesh will continue to be the chairman of Jio Platforms Ltd, the flagship company that owns all Jio digital services brands

Copper

Metals haven’t crashed this hard since the Great Recession

For a metal like copper, its uses in everything from heavy industrial machinery to advanced electronics mean the market is tightly linked to economic shifts

UK

UAE citizens will not require visas to visit UK from 2023

The directive has been extended to other GCC countries as well

hydrogen

UAE government team to visit Germany for talks on hydrogen

German and Emirati companies signed memorandums of understanding in March for shipments from the Gulf state of blue hydrogen in the form of ammonia