The MEMRI Economic Blog, updated five days a week, includes news items and in-depth reports focusing primarily on issues of macro-economic policies, oil and gas, Islamic banking, labor and employment, trade, and intra-regional relations.
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The following are highlights from The MEMRI Economic Blog from the past week:
*Featured Articles
Crude Peak Demand And The Consequent Casualties
Crude world has undergone massive transformation in recent months. Gone are the days when the issue of "peak oil" was dominating headlines. That has receded into the background. The very issue of peak demand is now getting on to the center stage and is starting to impact things all around. Demand has already peaked in Western, industrialized countries. Everyone from IEA (International Energy Agency) to OPEC now seems to agree. However, with demand continuing to rise in the emerging economies of Asia, not everyone was initially concerned. Eyes remained glued to China as the brightest star on the horizon as far as crude consumption was concerned.
To read the full report, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?article=298.
Full Steam Ahead: Rally in the Price of Crude Oil
The past weeks trading in energies have shown no major gains, nor losses, but much of the general market action leaves us with some interesting observations for the future market direction.
In a week where financials dominated the headlines in the equity markets, it has been very interesting to observe what price dynamics could be seen in commodities, in general. As the story surrounding Goldman Sachs and the SEC fraud case unraveled, there was a clear kneejerk reaction in markets with a flight to quality. Gold and Crude Oil were both immediately offered, as the market moved towards risk reduction. However as the market shrugged off any residual market concern, buyers returned into commodities and erased any losses.
To read the full report, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?article=299.
Tehran And Washington Continue To Play Hardball On Global Energy Map
The chess board is spread out. Stakes are rising. Moves and counter moves, around the Iranian energy structure, are incessantly in the making. A cat and mouse game is on - and one needs only to connect the dots - to be able to see and comprehend the emerging picture and its impact on the energy world. The United States and its allies are endeavoring to muster support - working tirelessly for a new, tough sanctions regime so as to make Iran kneel before them, to give in to their wishes and demands.
To read the full report, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?article=300.
*Highlights/News Of The Day
Tehran Storing 35 Million Barrels of Crude on 18 Tankers at Sea
Iran is storing 35 million barrels of crude oil on 18 tankers as it struggles to find buyers for some of its heavier crudes.
To read the full post, visit: http://www.memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3482.
Muslim Countries Suffer Food Shortage
At a meeting of development agencies of the member states of the Organization of Islamic States, in Abu Dhabi, a spokesman for the OIS secretary general declared that 41 OIS member states suffer from food deficit…
To read the full post, visit: http://www.memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3483.
Iraqi-Turkish Trade Set to Grow
Turkey is constantly seeking to expand its trade with Iraq through bilateral agreements and through encouraging Turkish investors to invest in Iraq. The volume of trade between the two countries is set to grow from $7 billion to $20 billion within the next two years.
To read the full post, visit: http://www.memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3484.
Plan to Rebuild Aqaba Port South of Present Site Criticized
The Aqaba Economic Authority, acting in recent years through its investment arm, Aqaba Development Company, has completed the feasibility and design studies to move the Port of Aqaba, on the Red Sea, further south, closer to the Saudi border, at a cost of 350 million Jordanian dinars ($7.2 million).
To read the full post, visit: http://www.memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3485.
Saudi Arabia Instrumental in Fixing World Financial System
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has all the necessary ingredients to become a great economic power and a key financial center in the region, said Walid Khouri, CEO of HSBC, Saudi Arabia.
To read the full post, visit: http://www.memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3486.
Jordan: 12,000 Workers Lost Jobs
According to a survey by the National Statistics Bureau carried out in the first half of 2009, 12,000 Jordanian workers have lost their jobs for economic reasons…
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3481.
Qatar's Share in Global Gas Market is 35%
Khaled Al-Hitmi, the director of gas development projects in Qatar, has said that the emirate's share in the global gas market in 2009 stood at 35 percent.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3480.
Decline in Oil Export in Iraq
An official in Iraq's ministry of oil said on April 30 that oil exports from Iraq have declined slightly in April, to 1.767 million barrels/day compared with 1.79 million barrels/day the previous month.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3479.
Egypt, China Sign MoU for Large Refinery in Egypt
Egypt has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese consortium for the construction of a refinery in Egypt, with a refining capacity of 15 million tons of crude annually.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3478.
Egypt's Gas Reserves Grew More Rapidly than Expected
Egypt's proven gas reserves discovered over the past 10 years stood at 57 billion cubic feet raising the total reserves of the country to 78 billion cubic feet.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3477.
Italian Oil Companies Hands Over Oil Field in Iran
To avoid U.S. sanctions for doing business with Iran, the Italian major oil company ENI is handing over the operation of the Darkhoving oil field to its local partners.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3476.
Arab Countries Continue to Rent Land Abroad to Insure Food Security
The spike in the prices of grains in 2008 prompted the oil producing Arab countries, which have limited water and arable land, to rent lands abroad to satisfy their demand and improve food security. The recent glut in wheat on the international market has not diminished the appetite of these countries to find more suitable land to use for the production of grains, mainly wheat. Sudan remains the most attractive target for many countries, including South Korea and China.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3475.
Economic Crisis Affected Levels of Poverty in Jordan
The global economic crisis has hit hard the poor in Jordan as a result of the reduction of foreign aid and the decline in government revenues. Some economists have suggested that the real level of absolute poverty, meaning an income of $1.25 per capita per day, is higher than the official figure of 14%.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3474.
Iraq Approves Fifth Five-Year Plan
The spokesman for the Iraqi government announced the government's approval of the fifth five-year plan for 2010-2014, designed to reduce the differences and barriers between the urban and rural areas and to adopt the principle of sustainable development to achieve integrated growth that allows better use of human and natural resources.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3473.
KSA to invest $107b in Oil and Gas Sector in Next Five Years
The Saudi minister of oil and minerals has told a Saudi-American business group in Chicago that the Kingdom will invest $107 billion in the next five years in exploring, producing, refining and marketing of oil and gas.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3472.
Aqaba Proposed as Site for Jordan's First Nuclear Plant
A geological feasibility study has shown that a proposed site south of the Red Sea port of Aqaba is suitable for the construction of Jordan's first nuclear reactor, the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission said Tuesday. The feasibility study was conducted by the Belgian firm Tractable.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3471.
First Iraqi Airways Plane Arrives in London; Company's Assets Quickly Seized at Kuwait's Request
Iraq announced two days ago, with obvious pride, that the first Iraqi Airways airplane, a Boeing 737, will pioneer direct flight service between Baghdad and London after an interruption which lasted for 20 years.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3470.
$1 Billion to Build Two Power Plants in Syria
The Power and Water Company of Qatar has initialed an agreement with the Syrian-Qatari Holding Company to undertake the necessary studies for the construction of two power plants in Syria at a cost of $1 billion.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3469.
Kuwait Announces Excess Capacity of Crude Production
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah has said that his country's current production capacity is 3.1 million barrels/day, against OPEC's production ceiling of 2.2 million barrels/day, meaning an excess production capacity of about 1 million barrels/day which Kuwait could produce should there be a demand.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3468.
Medium, Small German Firms Replace Large Companies in Trade with Iran
Collectively called in German Mittlestand, medium- and small-sized German companies, primarily engineering firms, are quick to fill the gap left by the departure of large German companies such as Siemens, Munich Re and ThyssenKrupp from the Iranian market under pressure from the German and U.S. governments.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3467.
Iran Seeks to Build Iraqi Oil Pipeline
Iran is seeking to sign a deal with Baghdad to build an oil export pipeline from Iraq’s southern city of Basra within a month. The plan for a pipeline from Basra to Iran’s Abadan refinery is not new, as both OPEC members signed an initial agreement in 2005. But the agreement has been on hold since then, stalled by violence and Washington’s reservations about any oil swap deals between Iraq and Iran.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3466.
Iran Offers Incentives to Draw Investors
Iran has ratified new regulations to facilitate foreign direct investment under which foreign nationals and entities can invest in security exchanges and over-the-counter and off-exchange trading. Efforts have further been made to gradually eliminate any complications or constraints on foreign investors in the Iranian capital market.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3465.
Obama Hosts an Islamic Economic Summit in Washington
As a follow up to his speech to the Muslim world from Cairo last June, President Obama is hosting what is being described as a summit economic conference. About 250 businessmen from 50 Muslim countries are attending the conference. The summit being is held in Washington and is scheduled to last two days, Monday and Tuesday of this week.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3464.
Saudis Own Over 600,000 Apartments in Egypt
According to a report published by the Egyptian tourism authority, Saudis own more than 600,000 apartments in Egypt, of which 60% are in Cairo, 20% are in Alexandria, and the rest are in other parts of the country.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3463.
Saudi Arabia to Import Wheat from Australia
Saudi Arabia has modified its wheat-import quality specifications allowing imports from Australia, the world’s fourth-largest exporter of the grain. “The new amendments to the requirements allow lower protein levels and a smaller tolerance for ergot fungus,” said the commercial counselor at the Australian embassy in Riyadh. Australia, which produced 8 million tons of wheat in 2009/10, had been unable to access the Saudi market.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3462.
Egypt Bucks Global Trend as Increase in Tourism Recorded
The popular holiday destination of Egypt is bucking the decline trend in global tourism by recording a 29% increase in tourist arrivals and a 24% increase in tourism revenues, $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2010.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3461.
Qatar to Invest Millions in Cyprus Property
Qatar and Cyprus signed an agreement to build a multimillion dollar luxury hotel, office and residential complex in the commercial center of Nicosia. The two countries will hold an equal stake in the 55,000 square meter (592,020 square foot) complex that will also include retail shopping and residential quarters.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3460.
Sukuk Market Recovery Expected in 2011-2012
Analysts predict that now is a pivotal time for the global Islamic finance industry since sukuks (Islamic bonds) are expected to grow in importance on the radar of global investors.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3459.
Iraqi Agriculture in Sustained Decline and Iraqi Farmer has Deserted his Land
A member of the outgoing parliament said Iraqi farmers are deserting their land in search of jobs with the military, the police or anything else in the absence of any restrictions on the import of agricultural produce from outside Iraq [primarily from Iran], which render Iraqi produce uncompetitive.
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3458.
Iran Has Oil Capacity of More Than 4.1m b/d
Iran’s oil minister Massoud Mirkazemi declared that Iran has the capacity to produce more than 4.1 million barrels per day (b/d) but is pumping at well under that level due to OPEC restraints. He added: “Iran has always tried not to go beyond 3.6-3.7 million b/d to remain committed to OPEC quotas.”
To read the full post, visit: http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?news=3457.
