Lebanon-Beirut

Middle East: As tensions mount, a look at Lebanon’s myriad crises

Lebanon’s multiple crises include a contracting economy, lack of governance and tensions in the region causing an influx of refugees

Schengen visa process to go digital from 2028

UAE residents flock to Europe: Schengen visa applications surge by 20%

The increase in visa applications coincides with the peak travel season, influenced by favourable European weather and major events such as the 2024 Paris Olympics

Google

Google has an illegal monopoly on search, US judge finds

Google paid $26.3bn in 2021 to maintain search engine dominance, the judge noted

stock markets

‘Black Monday’ stock rout continues on US markets: S&P 500, Nasdaq crash 3%

All three major indexes registered their biggest three-day percentage declines since June 2022

Bangladesh

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigns, leaves country: Reports

What began as a student-led protest against civil service job quotas has now evolved into a broader anti-government movement in Bangladesh

Japan Nikkei stumbles

Asian stocks trampled as Nikkei crashes 13%

The scale of losses on Japan’s Nikkei had not been seen since the global financial crisis

Lebanon

Lebanon: Which countries are urging their citizens to evacuate now?

France, Italy, Australia and Canada have joined the US and the UK, in issuing evacuation orders for their citizens in Lebanon

Gold

Gold’s run to record high may crimp demand: Insight

The combination of bearish and bullish factors for gold may end up having the effect of keeping the price in a relatively narrow range for the rest of the year

Instagram

Instagram blocked: Turkey’s response to Meta’s ‘censorship’?

There are more than 50 million Instagram users in the country

US Treasuries - stocks

US stocks stumble on Wall Street over recession worries

A manufacturing report spooked investors, sparking broad risk-off moves across markets

US Fed

US Fed says rate cuts could come ‘soon’

US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said “there was a growing sense of confidence” the central bank could cut rates in September

Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg

Boeing names industry veteran Kelly Ortberg as CEO

Boeing has tapped 64-year old Ortberg, who has over 35 years of aerospace leadership experience, to turn things around

Mubadala-owned Porto Sudeste

Mubadala, Trafigura hire banks to sell Brazil port: Reports

Mubadala and Trafigura are looking to sell the port terminal Porto Sudeste, in Rio de Janeiro state, say reports

Gautam Adani

Abu Dhabi, Qatar wealth funds back Adani Energy’s share sale: Reports

Adani Energy, a power transmission and distribution company, raised funds through a Qualified Institutional Placement

Egypt-based B2B platform Cartona raises $8.1m

Egypt-based B2B platform Cartona raises $8.1m

The company, which has witnessed substantial growth since its inception, serves over 188,000 retailers across 17 Egyptian cities

World gold demand rises in q2 2024 Image Getty Images

Global gold demand rises 4% in Q2, reveals World Gold Council

The surge in gold demand was primarily supported by a significant 53 per cent increase in over-the-counter transactions, which reached 329 tonnes

Kuwait - jet fuel

Beirut flights cancelled; US issues Lebanon travel advisory

The US, UK and France are among countries who have issued an urgent travel advisory asking their citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon

UAE-MOROCCO-2

UAE, Morocco finalise comprehensive free trade agreement

The UAE’s CEPA programme aims to increase the country’s non-oil foreign trade to Dhs4tn by expanding relations with strategically important markets around the world

Egypt’s central bank committed to a flexible exchange rate

Egypt says it cut foreign debt by $14bn

The country’s external debt fell to $154 billion as of the end of May from $168bn at the end of December

Petrobras

Petrobras wrapping up due diligence to buy back refinery from Mubadala, sources say

Brazil’s Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said Petrobras will only enter into an agreement if the buyback is “economically viable”

Sam Altman of OpenAI search

OpenAI enters Google-dominated search market with SearchGPT

The company plans to integrate the best features from the search tool into ChatGPT in the future

UAE EU trade talks Middle east

Europe welcomes Middle East money but some deals face headwinds

Investors from the Middle East bring cash and expertise to such projects

Paris rail network Image: Getty Images

Paris rail network hit by attacks before Olympics opening ceremony

Trains from Paris to neighbouring Belgium and to London via the English Channel were disrupted

Suez Canal

Suez Canal revenue drops as some shipping firms shun Red Sea

The Suez Canal, is a key source of foreign currency for Egypt, and authorities have been trying to boost its revenues in recent years

Joe Biden drops out of 2024 US presidential race

US president, Joe Biden, has announced that he is exiting the 2024 presidential race

tech outages

6 of the biggest tech outages in recent years

Even as the world reels from the Microsoft outage, here’s a look at some outages that have taken down major systems, in recent years

Microsoft

Microsoft global outage: Major banks, airlines and media impacted

Microsoft attributed the error to a recent update from CrowdStrike

Gold

Gold clings to record high on growing US rate-cut bets

Over the next six to 12 months, Citi expects gold to rise $2,700-$3,000 per ounce and silver to climb $38 per ounce

IHG launches industry first low carbon pioneers programme Getty Images

IHG unveils industry-first Low Carbon Pioneers programme

Creating a group of low operational carbon hotels, the first community of its kind in the industry, will help IHG test, learn and share findings on sustainability measures