Weekly Roundup of Top World and GCC Finance and Business News
World's Rich Nations Jostle to Lead OECD, UAE Richest Country in the Middle East, Bankers Always Get Paid, No Matter What.
World's Rich Nations Jostle to Lead OECD, the Clubhouse of Globalisation
Angel Gurria retires next year as Secretary-General of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Washington is proposing U.S. President Donald Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Christopher Liddell, as a successor.
The race to fill a role at the heart of world economic policymaking is turning into a new battleground for the future of globalisation.
The OECD acts like an auditor for globalisation, shaping policies and setting standards in areas from taxation to trade and education.
Bankers Always Get Paid, No Matter What
URL - https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-10-30/do-bankers-really-deserve-more-money-right-now
Raising banker compensation in the midst of a pandemic isn’t the best look. But this is the dilemma facing Wall Street after a bumper year for performance. Pay too little and you lose your stars; pay too much and you infuriate the public.
With the world awash with cash, companies have been selling debt at a record pace, while market volatility has bolstered banks’ revenue from trading stocks and bonds.
Three consecutive quarters of substantial profit leave them on course for their best year since the financial crisis.
Foreigners Are Snapping Up China Government Bonds Like Never Before
Overseas funds boosted their holdings of Chinese sovereign debt by a record 439 billion yuan ($66 billion) last quarter, according to Bloomberg calculations. With a 10-year yield at 3.19%, the securities are attractive to foreign traders at a time when $16 trillion of the world’s debt yields less than zero.
UAE Richest Country in the Middle East; New World Wealth Report
URL: https://www.gccbusinessnews.com/uae-richest-country-in-middle-east-new-world-wealth-report/
The UAE is home to 12 billionaires, 214 millionaires with more than $100 million wealth, 3,410 millionaires with assets above $10 million, and 79,100 millionaires with more than $1 million. Their total wealth is $825 billion (Dh3 trillion).
Israel is the second richest country in the world with $744 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia ($482 billion), Turkey ($422 billion) and Iran ($266 billion).
The UAE appeared among the top five countries as an investment destination for investors from the Indian Subcontinent, Europe and the Middle East in a survey conducted by Knight Frank.
China’s Sinovac Vaccine Awaits Saudi Approval
URL: https://www.gccbusinessnews.com/chinas-sinovac-vaccine-awaits-saudi-approval/
The vaccine passed the third level of trials at the King Abdullah Center for the National Guard.
Recently, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health Dr Tawfiq Al-Rabiah stated that the country will soon approve a coronavirus vaccine which is found to be safe and effective for the people.
Middle East Cities Set to Lead the Way in Post-Pandemic Era: HSBC Report
Middle East cities such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh are expected to set the benchmark as potential global hubs in the post-pandemic era.
e HSBC City Reports released recently states that remote working, distance learning, telemedicine, eCommerce and online media content are among the key areas for these cities to prioritize in the post-pandemic period.
The Middle East cities highlighted in the report are set to lead as future global hubs, the report said.