Finance officials across the world held emergency talks yesterday in an effort to stem the fallout from the debt crises in both the US and Europe.
Financial Fallout: More on the global economic chaos
Region feels the effect of US ratings downgrade Concerns over the global economy pushed stocks down in the UAE and much of the Gulf. Read article
UAE likely to stick with dollar peg Regional pegs to the US dollar may come under the spotlight after the downgrade of the US credit rating by Standard & Poor's. read article
US downgrade threat to Gulf borrowing costs Banks in the Gulf may find themselves in a tough position following the downgrade of the US's credit rating by Standard and Poor's, analysts say. read article
Global gloom takes its toll on UAE stock markets Markets slumped in the Emirates amid a broad selloff of company stocks. Read article
From Friday's downgrading of the US credit rating by Standard & Poor's to how to stop Italy from becoming the next victim of the euro-zone sovereign debt troubles, officials had plenty to discuss.
Finance ministers from the G7 leading nations spoke by conference call, while European central bank governors were expected to hold emergency talks.
Officials are meeting ahead of the opening of Asian, European and US financial markets today. GCC stocks have already dipped in response to the US ratings cut.
"There may be choppiness in markets in the short term, although I expect the impact of the ratings cut to be limited in the longer term," said Nick Stadtmiller, a fixed income analyst at Emirates NBD.
Ahead of S&P's action late on Friday, concerns about the outlook of both the US and European economies led to steep declines in global markets. S&P lowered the US long-term credit rating by one notch from "AAA" to "AA plus" in a move reflecting the weaker fiscal standing of the world's biggest economy. S&P warned the outlook was negative, an indication a further downgrade could happen in the next 12 to 18 months.
The move attracted criticism from the US Treasury department, which said it identified thousands of billions of dollars of errors in some figures used by the agency. The billionaire investor Warren Buffet also raised questions about the action.
Several global investors including central banks have signalled support to the US and the dollar since the downgrade. Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's finance minister, was expected to pledge at the G7 meeting to keep buying US treasuries, the country's Kyodo news agency reported yesterday.
Jordan had faith that the dollar and dollar debt would continue to be the prime benchmark for "risk-free debt", Faris Sharaf, the central bank governor of Jordan, told Bloomberg News.
In contrast, China on Saturday said Washington had itself to blame for the downgrade and called for a new global reserve currency. Across the Atlantic in the euro zone, tensions have also been ratcheted up. The European Central Bank (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet wanted officials at yesterday's meeting to make a final decision about whether to buy Italian debt, according to an ECB source quoted by Reuters.
If the decision is taken to intervene, the ECB and national central banks would start buying the bonds when markets open today, the source said. So far, the ECB has bought only small quantities of Irish and Portuguese bonds.
Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, made an unscheduled appearance on Friday, promising further austerity and to balance Italy's budget in 2013. In recent weeks, the price Italy has to pay on its government bonds has risen sharply as concerns grow about whether it can service high debt levels against a backdrop of weak economic growth.
A second financial bailout of Greece just over two weeks ago was intended to help stop the debt crisis from spreading but has had little impact on soothing concerns elsewhere in the euro zone.
tarnold@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
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The%20specs
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now