Sultan Qaboos returns to Oman after medical treatment in Belgium: ONA - Reuters:
Oman’s Sultan Qaboos has returned home after medical treatment and checks in Belgium, Oman state media said on Friday, citing a Royal Court statement.
Western-backed Qaboos, 79, has ruled the Arabian Peninsula state since he took over in a bloodless coup in 1970 with the help of Oman’s former colonial power Britain. He has traveled abroad for medical reasons at least twice since 2014.
He had traveled to Belgium on Dec. 7, according to the Royal Court, which did not give details of his condition.
Qaboos did not attend an annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, where the country’s delegation was led by the deputy prime minister.
Friday 13 December 2019
Oil nears three-month high as trade hopes, UK election boost sentiment - Reuters
Oil nears three-month high as trade hopes, UK election boost sentiment - Reuters:
Oil rose on Friday to its highest in nearly three months as investors cheered progress in resolving the U.S.-China trade dispute and a decisive general election result in Britain.
Washington and Beijing announced a “Phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of American farm goods.
Brent LCOc1 futures, the global benchmark, gained $1.02, or 1.6%, to settle at $65.22 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose 89 cents, or 1.5%, to $60.07.
Both contracts settled at their highest since Sept. 16, up a little over 1% for the week.
Oil rose on Friday to its highest in nearly three months as investors cheered progress in resolving the U.S.-China trade dispute and a decisive general election result in Britain.
Washington and Beijing announced a “Phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of American farm goods.
Brent LCOc1 futures, the global benchmark, gained $1.02, or 1.6%, to settle at $65.22 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose 89 cents, or 1.5%, to $60.07.
Both contracts settled at their highest since Sept. 16, up a little over 1% for the week.
Mohammed bin Salman: a combustible royal blazes a trail | Financial Times
Mohammed bin Salman: a combustible royal blazes a trail | Financial Times:
On the eve of King Salman’s ascent to the throne in 2015, an executive who has since been brought into the heart of Saudi government aired his concerns about the king’s favoured son, Mohammed bin Salman.
The executive feared that the inexperienced, combustible son of an infirm father would shake the kingdom’s foundations — for the worse. “He is scary,” the executive said of Prince Mohammed, then an obscure minor royal.
For all his foreboding, he could not have predicted the extent to which Prince Mohammed, who is also known as “MbS”, would tear up the rule book. As deputy prime minister, the 34-year-old crown prince has overturned tradition, ending bans on women driving and, just this week, part-privatising Saudi Aramco, the foundation of the kingdom’s power and prosperity.
The four-year saga of the oil company’s $25bn initial public offering reached a conclusion on Wednesday with its record-breaking listing on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange.
On the eve of King Salman’s ascent to the throne in 2015, an executive who has since been brought into the heart of Saudi government aired his concerns about the king’s favoured son, Mohammed bin Salman.
The executive feared that the inexperienced, combustible son of an infirm father would shake the kingdom’s foundations — for the worse. “He is scary,” the executive said of Prince Mohammed, then an obscure minor royal.
For all his foreboding, he could not have predicted the extent to which Prince Mohammed, who is also known as “MbS”, would tear up the rule book. As deputy prime minister, the 34-year-old crown prince has overturned tradition, ending bans on women driving and, just this week, part-privatising Saudi Aramco, the foundation of the kingdom’s power and prosperity.
The four-year saga of the oil company’s $25bn initial public offering reached a conclusion on Wednesday with its record-breaking listing on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange.
#Saudi Aramco’s public debut is a hollow victory | Financial Times
Saudi Aramco’s public debut is a hollow victory | Financial Times:
Saudi Aramco has confirmed its position as the world’s most valuable public company. Shares in the oil producer jumped on their second day of trading, touching the $2tn valuation so coveted by the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. It is certainly an achievement. At $2tn, it is worth more than technology giants Apple and Microsoft, and bigger even than the top five oil companies — ExxonMobil, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and BP — combined. In nominal terms, it is the ninth largest economy in the world.
But these bragging rights are misleading. When the crown prince announced he would take Saudi Aramco public he promised the move would create more transparency. The kingdom’s national champion would be subject to a greater level of scrutiny than ever before. It would help to bring foreign capital into the country — a symbol of its opening up to the world. In practice, he has achieved a pyrrhic victory, one achieved through a mixture of coercion and stage management.
By any measure, this has not been a normal listing. The level of state interference in one of the most well-run organisations in the kingdom has been unprecedented. At every turn, the crown prince and his advisers have sought to determine the price of the offering rather than leave it to the market: wealthy Saudi families have been pressured to buy shares; banks have had to issue loans to retail investors; funds in the kingdom and regional allies, including Abu Dhabi, were asked to bolster the sale after plans to market the listing globally were abandoned. The size of the original stake had to be scaled back to 1.5 per cent.
Saudi Aramco has confirmed its position as the world’s most valuable public company. Shares in the oil producer jumped on their second day of trading, touching the $2tn valuation so coveted by the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. It is certainly an achievement. At $2tn, it is worth more than technology giants Apple and Microsoft, and bigger even than the top five oil companies — ExxonMobil, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and BP — combined. In nominal terms, it is the ninth largest economy in the world.
But these bragging rights are misleading. When the crown prince announced he would take Saudi Aramco public he promised the move would create more transparency. The kingdom’s national champion would be subject to a greater level of scrutiny than ever before. It would help to bring foreign capital into the country — a symbol of its opening up to the world. In practice, he has achieved a pyrrhic victory, one achieved through a mixture of coercion and stage management.
By any measure, this has not been a normal listing. The level of state interference in one of the most well-run organisations in the kingdom has been unprecedented. At every turn, the crown prince and his advisers have sought to determine the price of the offering rather than leave it to the market: wealthy Saudi families have been pressured to buy shares; banks have had to issue loans to retail investors; funds in the kingdom and regional allies, including Abu Dhabi, were asked to bolster the sale after plans to market the listing globally were abandoned. The size of the original stake had to be scaled back to 1.5 per cent.
The GCC Split With #Qatar Will Mend, But Slowly - Bloomberg
The GCC Split With Qatar Will Mend, But Slowly - Bloomberg:
The 40th Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh this week did not, as some had hoped, bring to an end the isolation of Qatar. But it did show that relations between the parties on either side of the embargo continue to improve, suggesting that their dispute will be overcome as slowly and incrementally as it developed.
As with other recent summits, the Qatar’s ruler was invited to Riyadh; this time, there was some optimism Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani might attend, not least to reciprocate for the participation of other GCC soccer teams in the recent Gulf Cup in Doha. Instead, the emir instead sent his prime minister, Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani.
Was it, or was it not, a gesture of goodwill? On the one hand, it was the highest-level Qatari participation in a GCC summit since the start of the embargo. On the other, the prime minister has attended more routine Gulf Arab meetings. This perfectly sums up the state of tension between an ongoing stalemate and a slowly developing rapprochement.
The 40th Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh this week did not, as some had hoped, bring to an end the isolation of Qatar. But it did show that relations between the parties on either side of the embargo continue to improve, suggesting that their dispute will be overcome as slowly and incrementally as it developed.
As with other recent summits, the Qatar’s ruler was invited to Riyadh; this time, there was some optimism Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani might attend, not least to reciprocate for the participation of other GCC soccer teams in the recent Gulf Cup in Doha. Instead, the emir instead sent his prime minister, Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani.
Was it, or was it not, a gesture of goodwill? On the one hand, it was the highest-level Qatari participation in a GCC summit since the start of the embargo. On the other, the prime minister has attended more routine Gulf Arab meetings. This perfectly sums up the state of tension between an ongoing stalemate and a slowly developing rapprochement.
Oil prices climb to highest in three months on renewed U.S.-China trade deal hopes - Reuters
Oil prices climb to highest in three months on renewed U.S.-China trade deal hopes - Reuters:
Oil prices extended gains on Friday, scaling three-month highs as the United States and China moved closer to a resolution to the 18-month trade war between the world’s two biggest economies that has raised big questions about global demand for crude.
Brent futures LCOc1 climbed 47 cents, or 0.7%, to $64.67 a barrel by 0730 GMT, its highest since Sept. 23.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 34 cents, or 0.6%, to $59.52 a barrel, the highest since Sept. 16.
“Risk appetite ran wild after Trump signaled the he made a deal with China and that will only be positive for global demand forecasts for crude,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Oil prices extended gains on Friday, scaling three-month highs as the United States and China moved closer to a resolution to the 18-month trade war between the world’s two biggest economies that has raised big questions about global demand for crude.
Brent futures LCOc1 climbed 47 cents, or 0.7%, to $64.67 a barrel by 0730 GMT, its highest since Sept. 23.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 34 cents, or 0.6%, to $59.52 a barrel, the highest since Sept. 16.
“Risk appetite ran wild after Trump signaled the he made a deal with China and that will only be positive for global demand forecasts for crude,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
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