Sullivan plans talks in Saudi Arabia, Israel amid tensions over Rafah

axios.com National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend amid the rising tensions over the Israeli military operation in Rafah, three…

Miracle at Haneda: How a Focus on Safety Culture Enabled the Great Escape

newsweek.com On January 2, 2024, Japan Airlines (JAL) flight 516 was landing at Haneda Airport in Tokyo when it collided with a Coast Guard aircraft on the runway, causing both planes to…

MBS might be ready for some 'tough conversations' about 'recalibrating' Saudi Arabia's Neom and Vision 2030 projects

aol.com None Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince is reportedly open to having "tough conversations" about Vision 2030. • None MBS might be ready to discuss which projects should proceed…

Saudi stock exchange attracts more Asian investors, Tadawul CEO says

scmp.com Investors from Asia represented more than 17 per cent of qualified foreign investor (QFI) activity on the Saudi Exchange’s main market in the first quarter of 2024,…

Not US, But UK Seeks Partnership With Saudi Arabia For Trade Deals

watcher.guru The UK is looking to be a part of Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’ even before the US reaches out to the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s ambitious project Vision 2030 is attracting…

Saudi Director Shahad Ameen Shooting Female Empowerment Road Movie ‘Hijra’ With CAA Handling U.S. Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com Saudi Arabian director Shahad Ameen, whose feminist fable “Scales” made a splash after launching from Venice in 2019, is back behind the camera on “Hijra,” an ambitious…

Jimmy Dunne resigns from PGA Tour board. He feels his input is no longer needed

apnews.com Jimmy Dunne, one of the architects behind the PGA Tour's stunning reversal to strike a deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, abruptly resigned Monday from the PGA Tour…

Power Broker Behind Saudi Golf Deal Resigns From PGA Tour Board

wsj.com Jimmy Dunne, an investment bank executive with deep connections inside golf, quit noting there has been ‘no meaningful progress’ in talks with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers.

Neom's push for foreign investment is getting trickier after allegations of Saudi brutality

aol.com None Saudi Arabia needs foreign businesses to help it realize its Neom megacity project. • None But it's facing a backlash over its human rights record. • None The BBC…

Arm owner SoftBank reports £1.2bn profit as it shifts towards AI

theguardian.com The Japanese tech investor SoftBank made a profit for the second consecutive quarter as it tries to turn its performance around before big planned investments in artificial…

Saudi Cannes Un Certain Regard Title ‘Norah’ Sets French Distribution With Nour Films

deadline.com Paris-based Nour Films has acquired French rights to Saudi director Tawfik Alzaidi’s first feature Norah ahead of its world premiere in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain…

10 Sunday Reads

ritholtz.com Avert your eyes! My Sunday morning look at incompetency, corruption and policy failures: • The Modern Curse of Overoptimization: My current working definition of…

China-Middle East link is creating an ‘untapped world’ of investment potential, MSCI director says

scmp.com As the relationship between China and the Middle East continues to deepen, capital market investors will be presented with more financial products and investment…

KFSH&RC Strives to Pioneer in Maximizing Healthcare Spending Value

benzinga.com RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Majid Al Fayyadh, CEO of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC) joined the Gulf Creatives…

How a Hong Kong-backed Saudi online trading app became a ‘massive success’

scmp.com The app has seen “massive success”, driven by innovative app design and some promotional initiatives, according to Steven Chou, the chairman of Sahm Capital. A Hong…

Was Sam Bankman-Fried Proven Right About FTX’s Solvency?

coindesk.com Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates. This is an excerpt from…

Fact Check: Was Osama bin Laden's family plagued by plane accidents?

newsweek.com It's been 13 years since Al-Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy Seals in a compound in northern Pakistan. The mass murderer, whose…

Construction restarts on world's tallest skyscraper

newsweek.com After years of delays, construction on the Jeddah Tower, set to become the world's tallest building, resumed this week in Saudi Arabia. Formerly known as Kingdom Tower, the…

Satellite images show progress at world's biggest construction site

newsweek.com In the northwest corner of Saudi Arabia, construction is underway on a megaproject that promises to one day house more people than New York City, spread across a vertical…

Energy CEO said he canceled a $100M contract with Neom when he realized the Saudis were bulldozing villages to make space

businessinsider.com The planned design for The Line in Neom. Neom Malcolm Aw said he pulled out of a Neom contract because of alleged Saudi human rights abuses. The CEO of Solar Water told BI…

Neom's planners are reportedly worried people won't want to live at the bottom of a 1,640-foot horizontal skyscraper

aol.com None Neom planners are worried about The Line as costs skyrocket, The Wall Street Journal reported. • None Planners are reportedly concerned the horizontal skyscraper's…

SoftBank has sold off or written down $29 billion in U.S. Vision Fund assets as Masayoshi Son tries to get his mojo back by turning to AI and chips

fortune.com SoftBank Group Corp.’s flagship Vision Fund has quietly sold off or written down billions of dollars’ worth of its publicly-listed holdings in recent years, a sign of…

Exclusive

scmp.com China’s Kuaishou aims to replicate model in overseas expansion plan with focus on Middle East, Brazil and Southeast Asia Kuaishou Technology, China’s second-largest short…

SoftBank Sells Off Vision Fund Assets as Son Pivots to AI, Chips

finance.yahoo.com SoftBank Group Corp.’s flagship Vision Fund has quietly sold off or written down billions of dollars’ worth of its publicly-listed holdings in recent years, a sign of…

McIlroy says he and Adam Scott also involved in Saudi meetings

apnews.com Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott are joining Tiger Woods on the subcommittee directly involved in negotiating with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, an addition to what the PGA Tour…

Saudi bourse operator Tadawul to benchmark reforms on HKEX experience

scmp.com Saudi Tadawul rates HKEX highly, saying it has ‘learned a lot’ from the Hong Kong bourse operator The Saudi stock exchange will weigh its reforms against the likes of the…

The Israel-Hamas War

newsweek.com Seven months ago this week, Hamas broke through what was thought to be an impenetrable barrier separating Gaza from Southern Israel. The result was an earthly-version of…

Biden, the arms supplier

reason.com No more! Earlier this week, some 3,500 bombs that were meant to be delivered to Israel did not actually make it there. President Joe Biden, long a major arms supplier to…

Exiled Saudi colonel says forces were authorized to kill villagers who refused to make way for The Line in Neom

aol.com May 9, 2024 at 6:53 AM • None An exiled colonel told BBC News that Saudi Arabia authorized lethal force to clear land for Neom. • None The Huwaitat tribe primarily occupied…

Telefonica earnings hit $3.4 billion in Q1 amid merger between Spanish rivals Masmovil and Orange

fortune.com Telefonica SA reported first-quarter profit that matched analysts’ estimates and said it’s on track to meet its guidance this year. First-quarter adjusted earnings before…

Hong Kong woos Saudi money in attempt to revive stock market

japantimes.co.jp Hong Kong is turning to oil-rich Saudi Arabia for new funds to help offset a growing list of challenges facing its stock market. The Saudi Tadawul Group and Hong Kong…

Hong Kong works on an ETF of HKEX stocks for Tadawul exchange in push for collaboration with Saudi Arabia

scmp.com “We are working with several financial institutions on the listing of [the] ETF,” Wong said during the forum at the Connect Hall of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited…

China Blasts US For Talking Gaza "Ceasefire While Pouring In Weapons"

zerohedge.com China Blasts US For Talking Gaza "Ceasefire While Pouring In Weapons" First the Ukraine war and now the Gaza conflict... China increasingly finds itself the leader of the…

Tiger Woods to be lone player on negotiating committee with Saudis

apnews.com Tiger Woods will be the lone player on a five-member subcommittee that will be involved in negotiations with the Public Investment Fund, part of a busy day of governance as…

A US ally is forging ties with China's air force but probably won't get its J-20 stealth fighter

businessinsider.com China's J-20 stealth fighter is probably not in the offing for the United Arab Emirates Air Force. Wan Quan/Getty Images The UAE is boosting ties with China's air force. It…

The real science behind the billionaire pursuit of immortality

vox.com Jonathan An tries to ignore the hype about new life-extension treatments, but it’s caught up to him anyway. He has heard the gospel of the longevity influencers, including…

Telfaz11 & New Distribution Label Metis Films Partner On UK & Ireland Release Of Saudi Hit ‘Mandoob’

deadline.com Rising Riyadh-based independent studio Telfaz11 and newly launched UK distribution label Metis Films are partnering to release Saudi hit Mandoob in the UK and Ireland. The…

The $10 Billion Oil Pipeline Bet: Barron's

aol.com Lightning forks overhead as rain from the Congo rolls in across Lake Albert. A foreman on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, or EACOP, ushers workers under a corrugated…

Hight School Graduation Project Survey

forms.gle This survey aims to assess the current financial literacy levels, attitudes, and specific needs of Saudi students. Your valuable insights will guide the development of a…

Is Saudi Aramco cooling on crude oil?

economist.com HAS SAUDI ARABIA stopped believing in a future for petroleum? In recent weeks the question has hung over Saudi Aramco. The desert kingdom’s national oil goliath has a…

BP ends Big Oil earnings with maintained share buybacks

financialpost.com Payouts from the world’s biggest international oil companies hit a record US$114 billion last year. Exxon is now planning a buyback that could exceed some American tech…

Neom planners reportedly fear its huge mirrored structure called The Line will kill a 'significant number of birds'

aol.com May 7, 2024 at 6:50 AM • None Neom planners are worried The Line will kill a large number of birds, The Wall Street Journal reported. • None The futuristic mirrored…

BP Maintains Share Buybacks as Cash Flow Drops, Debt Rises

finance.yahoo.com BP Plc maintained the pace of its share buybacks even as first-quarter profit and cash flow fell by more than expected and net debt increased. • None At $2 Million Per…

Saudi Aramco maintains dividend despite lower net income in first quarter

theglobeandmail.com Saudi Arabian state-owned oil giant Aramco expects to pay $31-billion in dividends to the Saudi government and its shareholders despite reporting lower earnings for the…

Saudi Arabia needs peace in the Middle East for its $500 billion Neom megaproject to succeed

aol.com None Conflict in the Middle East is a threat to Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 plans. • None Some Neom projects are located along the Red Sea coast, where tensions…

Saudi Aramco to increase dividends despite drop in profits

ft.com Group plans to boost key source of revenue to Saudi state in spite of earnings miss

Saudi Aramco upholds dividend despite drop in first-quarter profits

cnbc.com Net income for the three months up to March 31 came in at $27.3 billion, down from $31.9 billion for the same period last year, the company reported. The figure was in line…

LIV Golf's New CMO Doesn't Come From Sports. He Comes From PepsiCo

wsj.com Adam Harter, a former ringleader of the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show, is tasked with turning the Saudi-backed golf circuit from a controversial brand into a household…

Haifaa Al Mansour Returns To Saudi Arabia To Shoot Crime Feature ‘Unidentified’ As UTA & Memento Int’l Board Sales For Cannes Market Launch

deadline.com Director Haifaa Al Mansour is returning to her native Saudi Arabia for the shoot of crime feature Unidentified, exploring the reality of women amid the current period of…

An Oil Price-Fixing Conspiracy Caused 27% of All Inflation Increases in 2021

thebignewsletter.com Welcome to BIG, a newsletter on the politics of monopoly power. If you’d like to sign up to receive issues over email, you can do so here. I’m at the Google antitrust…

The longshot plan to end the war in Gaza and bring peace to the Middle East

vox.com President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrive for a photo during a summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 16, 2022. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty…

China 'the most competitive market in the world' for the iPhone says Tim Cook

theregister.com Apple CEO Tim Cook called China "the most competitive market in the world" on the back of a somewhat poor quarter for the iPhone. The CEO of the iPhone maker discussed the…