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10 months ago
The Qatar Airways flight from LAX, I noticed the diversity of the cabin crew, which included blond Europeans, East Asians, Africans and Middle Easterners. One thing they had in common is that they were all young, attractive women. Then I recalled reading that nearly 95% of the Qatar workforce is foreign workers. On the second leg (from Doha to Abu Dhabi) I sat near a bunch of young German men who looked like they might be engineers. A fast growing economy like the UAE presumably needs a lot of foreign technical expertise, and thus it’s no surprise that foreign labor plays such a big role in the Gulf region. A US airline must recruit its staff from the US labor market. The Gulf states can recruit their airline personal from the entire world. Because so much of the world is poorly governed, there are millions of highly talented people stuck in countries with very low wages. Qatar can recruit smart, hard working and attractive cabin crew from Nigeria, Ukraine, Vietnam and Egypt, all places with low average incomes. When New York City builds infrastructure, they must deal with inept US companies, inefficient labor unions and a corrupt and over-regulated political […]
10 months ago
India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services will be launched in Mauritius and Sri Lanka, a week after it was launched in France. The payment gateway service is to be launched in the two island nations at a virtual event by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth on Monday, February 12. The event will also see the launch of RuPay card services in Mauritius, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The UPI – developed by the National Payments Corporation of India – is an instant real-time payment system to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones. RuPay is a global card payment network from India accepted at shops, ATMs and online. The two are considered among India’s top list of technology achievements, helping the country to emerge as a leader in fintech innovation and digital public infrastructure.
10 months ago
ARK Invest has unveiled a compelling prediction that could heavily impact the crypto market. According to their analysis, allocating over 19% of global assets, amounting to a staggering $250 trillion, to Bitcoin could potentially send its price skyrocketing to an unprecedented $2.3 million. A Bold Prediction ARK Invest’s report explores various scenarios, projecting Bitcoin’s potential price movements based on different levels of global asset allocation. A conservative estimate of a 1% allocation suggests that Bitcoin’s price could hit $120,000. Scaling up the allocation to 4.8% over five years could see the BTC rallying to $550,000. However, the most staggering scenario shows an allocation of 19.4%, pushing Bitcoin’s price to the remarkable $2.3 million mark. Bitcoin’s Historical Outperformance The report not only provides a glimpse into the potential future of Bitcoin but also highlights the BTC’s historical outperformance of traditional asset classes. With an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44%, Bitcoin has significantly outpaced the average CAGR of 5.7% for gold, equities, and real estate. This data reinforces the attractiveness of Bitcoin as a long-term investment option. Resilience Amid Volatility Despite Bitcoin’s well-documented volatility, ARK Invest’s research acknowledges the resilience of Bitcoin investments over time. Investors who have adopted a long-term horizon […]
10 months ago
A new study examining the likely impact that fraudulent mail-in ballots had in the 2020 election concludes that the outcome would “almost certainly” have been different without the massive expansion of voting by mail. The Heartland Institute study tried to gauge the probable impact that fraudulent mail-in ballots cast for both then-candidate Joe Biden and his opponent, President Donald Trump, would have had on the overall 2020 election results. The study was based on data obtained from a Heartland/Rasmussen survey in December that revealed that roughly one in five mail-in voters admitted to potentially fraudulent actions in the presidential election. After the researchers carried out additional analyses of the data, they concluded that mail-in ballot fraud “significantly” impacted the 2020 presidential election. They also found that, absent the huge expansion of mail-in ballots during the pandemic, which was often done without legislative approval, President Trump would most likely have won. “Had the 2020 election been conducted like every national election has been over the past two centuries, wherein the vast majority of voters cast ballots in-person rather than by mail, Donald Trump would have almost certainly been re-elected,” the report’s authors wrote. Over 43 percent of 2020 votes were cast by mail, the highest percentage in U.S. […]
10 months ago
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is mulling over expanding its Bitcoin investment portfolios, foreseeing a substantial uptake potential for the cryptocurrency. Speaking recently to The Wall Street Journal, Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer of global fixed income, acknowledged the firm’s modest exposure to Bitcoin. He further noted that as investor confidence in Bitcoin grows, BlackRock may consider allocating Bitcoin a more prominent role within its investment portfolios. “Time will tell whether it’s going to be a big part of the asset allocation framework,” Rieder said, adding, “I think over time, people become more and more comfortable with it.” Rieder further emphasized the importance of providing investors with accessible avenues to engage with Bitcoin, whether it be through ownership, trading, or liquidation. He also stressed that as more individual and institutional investors embrace Bitcoin as a legitimate asset, its potential for significant growth will become increasingly evident. “As you get more and more people that adopt it as an asset, we think the upside potential is real.” He added. That said, BlackRock’s contemplation of bolstering its Bitcoin holdings coincides with a broader trend of rising interest in cryptocurrency investment vehicles. Notably, BlackRock has already taken proactive steps in this direction after launching a spot […]
10 months ago
Sixteen years of negotiations are coming to an end as India is concluding a first-of-its-kind trade agreement with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, reported Bloomberg. These countries form the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which agreed to invest in India as part of a free trade deal, in exchange for easier access to the world’s most populous nation, a market of 1.4 billion people. The unusual feature of this Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is that it comes with investment guarantees, however, how binding they are, is still a question for the final talks. According to the report, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, the final amount could be as much as $100 billion for the next 15 years. However, the precise sum will also depend on some haggling during the final talks. The road to signing is rushed so the deal could be sealed before India holds general elections in the coming months, likely starting in April. The Swiss economy ministry said in a statement to Bloomberg that the text of the agreement is “still to be finalised” and they cannot disclose details, but confirmed that they have reached an agreement on “patent protection, which was controversial in the past, as well […]
10 months ago
Construction of The Line, the massive $1 trillion project Saudi Arabia is working on, is well underway. The Line because it is literally a ‘line’ that extends horizontally for miles across the desert. The goal is to complete the project by 2030, and construction is well underway. But we shouldn’t let the name fool us into thinking this is going to be a ‘thin’ line because it isn’t. Designed by Santa Monica-based firm Morphosis Architects, the structure will be 105 miles (160 kilometers) long, 500 meters high and 200 meters wide. It almost looks like a horizontally laid-down skyscraper, in a way, except it costs more – a lot more – than a skyscraper. The goal is to build a city that can fully support itself and accommodate up to nine million residents. That equates to 8,350 acres or 13.5 square miles, making The Line larger than the Principality of Monaco and Gibraltar combined. The city will include residential areas as well as commercial areas, along with its own stadium, a yacht marina, and other facilities like shopping malls and office spaces. The Line will also have its own public transport system, making it possible to travel from one end of […]
10 months ago
UAE real GDP will grow by 5.3 per cent in 2024, compared to 3.4 per cent in 2023, according to credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings. In a new report, the credit rating agency said that UAE banks reported exceptional profits for the full year 2023 due to lower provisioning requirements and higher interest margins, in addition to improved liquidity levels as deposit growth outpaced new loan growth. The report also noted that the outlooks for the banks in the UAE are stable. UAE GDP forecast The agency estimates that increased oil production and support from non-oil sectors will drive economic growth in the UAE this year. The non-oil GDP is likely to continue growing, driven by the performance of the hospitality, real estate, and financial services sectors. S&P Global Ratings also noted that some UAE banks achieved record profits in 2023 due to strong credit growth in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the improved economic environment means that provisioning requirements for new loan losses remained low. The increase in net profit was also supported by growth in non-interest income, reflecting increased business activity and commercial activity. Standard & Poor’s expects the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by […]
10 months ago
The Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC) stated that the crisis in supply chains for onion crops and the rise in their prices in many countries is a global problem and not limited to the Saudi market alone. It confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday that the Saudi market is not vulnerable to a shortage of onion crops, as the Kingdom’s total consumption reached 702000 tons in 2023, of which local production amounted to about 365000 tons, constituting 52 percent, while the deficit was covered by imports from abroad. The federation noted that the rise in global onion prices led to disruption of supply chains and a decline in production levels from exporting countries due to the global conditions, which contributed to reducing the Kingdom’s imports of onions from some countries. The federation affirmed its endeavor, in coordination with the competent authorities, to monitor the adequate supply of onion in the Kingdom, as well as to encourage and stimulate its cultivation, and follow up on contracts with suppliers, in addition to providing other options to import from countries and secure the needs of the local market. The federation pointed out that among the efforts undertaken by the Food Commodity Abundance […]
10 months ago
Entrepreneur Ivan Kroshnyi has learnt some valuable financial lessons since setting up his first computer and office supply business in Ukraine at the age of 16. While the business made him a millionaire by the time he was 18, his partner stole the company’s money and disappeared. Now 33, Mr Kroshnyi says the experience was difficult but it helped him to understand the importance of partnership agreements. “It was a good experience for me; it made me smarter, and I started another business and then another one,” says Mr Kroshnyi. The Ukrainian multimillionaire moved to Dubai in 2021 and is an investor in the Roasters Specialty Coffee House chain, which has five branches in the city, with plans to open more this year. He is also the founder of Eco Way, a Dubai-based business that aims to transform last-mile food and small parcel delivery services with long-range electric bikes that are equipped with swappable battery technology. With a diversified investment portfolio worth about $20 million, Mr Kroshnyi says he lives a comfortable life but doesn’t waste his money on expensive brands or cars. What was your first job and how much did you earn? I started my business in Ukraine 17 years ago, when I was 16. […]
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