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VIENNA — Ministers from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel on Thursday recommended a drastic production cut of 1.5 million barrels per day to their allies to counter a slump in demand.

However, it remains to be seen whether the OPEC+ states — Russia in particular — will be prepared to countenance such a large cut when they join the meeting of the OPEC on Friday.

OPEC members — led by the world's third-largest oil producer Saudi Arabia — agreed on Thursday to recommend "a further adjustment of 1.5 million barrels per day until 30 June 2020", a statement issued by the Vienna-based bloc said.

Countries in the OPEC+ grouping of the cartel's allies would be asked to take on 500,000 barrels of the cuts, the statement added.

Producers had already had to contend with abundant supplies weighing on prices — agreeing to 500,000-barrels-per-day production cuts at their last meeting in December — but the spread of COVID-19 across the world has sent prices plunging.

The European benchmark, Brent crude, sank to under $50 per barrel on Sunday, a level not breached since July 2017.

'Might not be enough' 

The success of the summit will above all hang on the alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the most important players in the OPEC and OPEC+ groupings, respectively.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted on Sunday as saying the current market price was "acceptable" and above the level foreseen in Russian economic planning.

Russia's RIA Novosti agency reported on Wednesday that Moscow's delegation was proposing an extension of the existing deal with no fresh cuts.

Ann-Louise Hittle, an analyst with Macro Oils, said she expected that Russia, world's number two producer after the United States, to agree with the cut "given their history of co-operation with OPEC".

Tamas Varga of PVM told AFP that even the recommended extra cuts "might not be enough", saying OPEC's new forecasts for a drop in global oil demand growth may turn out to be "overoptimistic". 

"I believe that oil prices will fail to recover significantly for the remainder of the year…," he said.

Some economists believe it is not impossible that the world economy could contract in the first quarter of the year, which implies lower demand for oil than OPEC has been forecasting, although activity is expected to bounce back once the crisis fades. 

Oil prices drifted lower after the announcement.

BEIRUT — A Lebanese prosecutor on Thursday ordered an asset freeze for 20 banks and their board directors, two judicial sources said, in the latest move targeting the crisis-hit country's under-fire banks.

Lebanon has been gripped since October 17 by mass protests against the political class and banking sector, even as it faces its worst economic crisis in decades.

Banks have since September imposed increasingly tight limits on dollar withdrawals and transfers abroad to tackle a severe liquidity crisis, sparking frustration among ordinary depositors.

Financial prosecutor Ali Ibrahim slapped "a notice of asset freeze on 20 banks and on the property of their board directors", a judicial source told AFP.

Assets to be frozen in an apparent move to bring the banks under pressure included "real estate, cars and companies", the source said.

A second source said it was "a preliminary measure that will be followed by others according to the response of the banks and their treatment of small depositors."

Both sources said the decision still needed to be approved by central bank head Riad Salameh, but that he was likely to agree to avoid a collapse of the banking sector.

The move come after the prosecutor separately called in 15 banks on Monday over more than 2 billion dollars in capital flight despite the restrictions in the two months after the start of the protests.

Lebanon is currently facing its worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.

The value of the Lebanese pound has plummeted on the black market, prices have risen, and many businesses have been forced to slash salaries, dismiss staff or close.

Lebanon is one of the most indebted countries in the world, with a public debt equivalent to 150 per cent of its gross domestic product.

The country is now under pressure to pay a $1.2 billion Eurobond maturing on March 9, with a decision expected on Saturday on whether or not to default.

LONDON — As ministers from the cartel of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) gather in Vienna for an extraordinary meeting to mull current market conditions, they must reckon with potential side-effects of pushing for more cuts.

At their last meeting in December, ministers decided on cuts of 500,000 barrels per day, shared out between OPEC members and allies in the so-called OPEC+ grouping.

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia took on a third of the cuts at 167,000 barrels, and said it would add a reduction of 400,000 more barrels a day on a “voluntary” basis.

That dwarfed the three next biggest contributions combined, from the United Arab Emirates (60,000 barrels), Kuwait (55,000) and Iraq (50,000).

Russia, the biggest producer of the OPEC+ group, agreed to a modest cut of 70,000 barrels even though Russian production levels have been slightly higher than Saudi Arabia’s.

Cuts ‘headache’ 

Beyond the stated level of cuts, OPEC’s credibility rests on the commitment of member states to follow through on them, as seen by Saudi Arabia’s scolding of members who have exceeded their quotas, such as Nigeria and Iraq.

But a policy that relies too heavily on production cuts might reveal one of the bloc’s weaknesses.

With non-members, particularly the United States, showing no let up in the amount that they are producing, a further cut runs the risk of reducing the bloc’s share of the global market.

“Deeper production cuts are a headache for OPEC, which has seen its market share falling to a historical low of 35 per cent recently,” says Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

Moreover, not all members have been joining the effort where cuts are concerned: Iran, Venezuela and Libya have exemptions due to various political and economic crises which mean that output has in any case been falling already.

Iran, reeling under the effect of re-imposed US sanctions, has seen its output drop by 40 per cent in two years.

Libya has seen a tenfold fall in production in recent weeks owing to a blockade launched by forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east of the country.

But the prospect of Libya regaining a normal level of output, or Venezuela and Iran overcoming their crises, is not without problems for OPEC either.

Unless there was a concurrent uptick in demand, OPEC would be forced to consider yet more cuts — and overcome the rows that would almost certainly be sparked by considerations of how to share them out fairly among members.

BRUSSELS — The EU's Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier on Tuesday said trade talks had started on the right foot as officials began a three-month sprint to settle future EU-UK relations.

Each side assembled about 100 officials at a Brussels conference centre and split into nine groups for intense and detailed negotiations on a wide range of topics, with trade the thorniest issue.

"The negotiations are going well," Barnier told reporters. "In the first phase, we are trying to see clearly, precisely, where our divergences, grey zones, convergences are."

Barnier and his UK counterpart David Frost officially launched the negotiations on Monday with the first round set to end on Thursday.

The next series is to take place in London and thereafter alternate between the two capitals.

The talks began just over a month after Britain officially left the EU on January 31.

A transition period runs until December 31, during which Britain trades like an EU member with no tariffs or other barriers, but must abide by European rules.

Tensions have been rife in the weeks running up to the talks as both sides dig in to their positions, stoking fears that the talks could fail.

It is assumed that both sides will determine whether the talks are worth continuing at an EU-UK summit in June.

If there is no broad trade deal, economic pain will be felt on both sides — but especially in Britain and Ireland, the EU member most dependent on trade with the UK.

HELSINKI — Nokia's Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri will leave the telecom equipment provider in September and be replaced by the current head of Finnish energy group Fortum, Nokia said on Monday.

Pekka Lundmark will take over on September 1, Nokia said.

Suri, who has been Nokia's president and CEO since April 2014, had "indicated earlier to the board that he was considering stepping down from his role at some point in the future, provided a solid succession plan was in place", the company said.

"After 25 years at Nokia, I have wanted to do something different," Suri said.

Lundmark has also served as CEO of Konecranes, a global material-handling technology leader. Prior to that, from 1990-2000, he held various executive positions at Nokia, including vice president of strategy and business development at Nokia Networks.

Lundmark also has "extensive experience in China", he told a press conference on Monday — a market which Nokia last year said it was backing away from in the light of growing support there for local vendors.

Nokia's share price rose by four per cent on the Helsinki stock exchange to 3.6 euros shortly after opening at 08:00 GMT, before falling back somewhat.

The group has remade itself as a 5G network systems company since its mobile phone business was wiped out by Apple and Samsung.

Suri is behind Nokia's recent transformation, including its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent and the creation of a standalone software business, and the return of the Nokia brand to mobile phones.

He also oversaw the launch of “Internet of things” products designed to revolutionise specific sectors, such as soil sensors for agriculture or tracking systems for logistics firms.

However, Nokia's attempts to break into the 5G equipment market have faltered in the face of fierce competition from Huawei and Ericsson.

Last year Nokia downgraded its 2020 earnings forecast, while Chief Executive Suri played down the firm's delays in delivering some equipment orders. 

Nokia went on to beat expectations in a "challenging" 2019 and last month posted its first full-year net profit since 2015 of 7 million euros, and an operating profit of 2 billion euros.

At Monday's press conference, Suri defended his record, saying that when he took over as CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks in 2009, the year's operating profit was 28 million euros.

"I'm not entirely satisfied with last year but we still had 2 billion compared to that 28 million," he said.

DUBAI — Stock markets in the oil-rich Gulf countries plunged on Sunday.

The drop comes amid prevailing uncertainty which threatens to undercut Gulf economies. Gulf countries have already been battling a downturn and struggling to wean themselves from their decades-old addiction to energy revenues.

The Saudi bourse, the region's largest and one of the world's top 10 equity markets, closed down 3.7 per cent to its lowest level in 18 months.

Energy giant Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest listed firm, dropped 2.1 per cent to 32.65 riyals ($8.70), its worst performance since its listing on December 11 in a record-breaking initial public offering .

The other five markets operating on Sunday in the region, which were closed the previous two days for the weekend, were also hit badly as oil prices sagged below $50 a barrel.

The region's slide was led by the Kuwait Bourse, where the All-Share Index fell 10 per cent, triggering its automatic closure. Kuwait's bourse was closed for most of last week for national holidays.

The Dubai Financial Market dipped 4.5 per cent, while its sister market in Abu Dhabi was down 3.6 per cent at the close of trading, both one-year lows.

Bahrain's bourse ended 3.4 per cent down and the Muscat Securities Market in Oman finished down 1.2 per cent.

"GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] equities witnessed a downfall as panic over coronavirus spread across the region," M.R. Raghu, head of research at Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), told AFP.

Global stocks slumped on Friday, marking the largest weekly drop since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Oil

Crude oil prices tumbled as well and analysts said central banks, led by the US Federal Reserve, might have to shift into crisis-resolution mode with urgent interest rate cuts.

"The news flow today is quite negative and it will make the narrative between now and Monday morning even more important than it was on Friday," Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co., told Bloomberg News.

But thanks to reforms following the global financial crisis, the markets are proving "resilient", the Bank of International Settlements' chief economist Claudio Borio said on Sunday.

LUXEMBOURG — Luxembourg on Saturday became the first country in the world to offer free public transport, as the small and wealthy EU country tries to help less-well-off workers and reduce road traffic.

Some cities elsewhere have already taken similar, partial measures. But the transport ministry said it was the first time such a decision covered an entire country.

The free transport, flagged as "an important social measure", affects approximately 40 per cent of households and is estimated to save each one around 100 euros ($110) per year.

Not all passengers were aware of the change, which was brought forward one day ahead of schedule.

"It's free? I didn't know," said a woman in her 50s who gave her first name as Dominique as she waited at Luxembourg's main train station.

Transport workers were concerned about what impact the measure would have on their job security.

"We don't yet know" what will happen to their positions, said one ticket seller at the station who declined to give his name. 

"All the public transport workers are worried. It's not yet clear."

Traffic woes 

The measure is part of a plan intended to reduce congestion.

Private cars are the most used means of transport in the Grand Duchy, accounting for 47 per cent of business travel and 71 per cent of leisure transport.

With more than 200,000 people living in neighbouring France, Germany and Belgium who work in Luxembourg and most of them driving in, that makes for major traffic jams at peak hours. 

The population of the tiny country is just 610,000 and those cross-border workers account for half the total employees.

The capital city of Luxembourg has invested in its public transport network, notably by building a tram network, but commuters complain it is still patchy. 

It will be some years before the network links to the northern airport, for instance.

"There's been an enormous delay to the development of public transport," said Blanche Weber, head of the Luxembourg Ecological Movement pressing for better links on environmental grounds.

"Systematic and continuous investment is a sine qua non [essential] condition for promoting the attractiveness of public transport," admitted transport minister Francois Bausch.

Sales of tickets on the domestic network — which cost two euros per journey — previously covered just eight per cent of the 500-million-euro cost of running the transport system. That shortfall will now be met from the treasury.

Ticket machines are to be gradually removed from stations, but offices selling tickets for international train trips and for first-class seating in Luxembourg — which continues to be a paying service — will remain. 

NEW YORK — Global stocks slumped again on Friday to mark the largest weekly drop since the 2008 global financial crisis over fears of uncertainty.
Crude oil prices tumbled as well and analysts said central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve, might have to shift into crisis-resolution mode with urgent interest rate cuts.

Frankfurt headed the losses in Europe, shedding almost 3.9 per cent as the market closed.

Leading European stock markets have lost more than 10 per cent in just one week, with London's FTSE 100, which fell by 3.4 per cent on Friday, dropping 11.3 per cent.

Wall Street also had another difficult day, with the Dow finishing down 1.4 per cent at 25,409.36, which meant a drop of more than 12 per cent for the week. 

But US indices cut their losses after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell released a statement saying the US economy remains "strong" but vowing to "use our tools" to provide support if needed.

The markets in Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo all closed down 3 per cent, while Jakarta shed more than 4 per cent. 

"The panic mode is full on," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen continue to benefit from its status as a haven investment in times of economic uncertainty, making solid gains against the dollar.

Yields on 10-year US Treasuries hit new all-time lows.

Concern that global crude demand will crash meanwhile sent oil prices down again: In London, Brent crude fell 3.2 per cent, while the US benchmark WTI crude dropped 4.9 per cent.

BEIRUT — Eighteen-year-old domestic worker Mary came to Lebanon to help support her family, but now a financial crisis is preventing her from sending money home to Ethiopia.

A crippling liquidity crunch in the Mediterranean country has drastically limited access to dollars, and tens of thousands of migrant workers toiling for remittances in the hard currency are suffering the backlash.

On a recent Sunday, Mary strolled down a bustling street in the capital Beirut with her girlfriends, dressed in an elegant outfit of skirt, jacket and ballerinas for her day off.

"I used to earn 400 dollars... but today I get my salary in Lebanese pounds," she said. "I can't send money to Ethiopia anymore."

Around her, migrant workers of all ages flocked to shops that sell imported food or clothes from home, the women in their Sunday best. Young men sat on the pavement outside calling centres and restaurants, music spilling out onto the street.

The Lebanese pound used to be easily exchangeable for dollars at a fixed rate, but now banks have capped withdrawals of the US currency and its value has plummeted on the parallel market.

The de-facto devaluation means Mary has lost at least a third of her salary.

But she insisted her employees were not to blame. The problem, she said, "is from the state".

'What will I do?'

In a wave of mass street protests since October 17, Lebanese have railed against what they condemn as a corrupt political class that has mismanaged the country.

An estimated quarter of a million domestic workers live in Lebanon, many in conditions that have repeatedly been condemned by their countries of origin and rights group, who point to the fact that many are underage.

The large majority of foreign workers hail from Ethiopia, but many also come from the Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

A sponsorship system known as "kafala" leaves maids, nannies and carers outside the remit of Lebanon's labour law, and at the mercy of their employers.

Thousands more foreign men work petrol pumps, clean the streets or labour in private businesses and restaurants.

Before Lebanon's economy went into meltdown, most of these workers earned the equivalent of $150 to $400 a month, often according to nationality.

But their salaries have now been de facto slashed amid the worst liquidity crisis to rock Lebanon since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war.

With access to dollars severely limited and the value of the local currency tumbling, many employers have decided to pay their employees in Lebanese pounds.

Migrant worker are then forced to exchange their local wages into foreign currency at a substantial loss on the black market.

"What will I do?" Mary asked. "My siblings are in school and I'm supposed to help my family, but now I can't."

After years of political turmoil, Lebanon's economy is collapsing, prices have soared, and businesses are struggling to stay open.

'No more dollars'

Thousands of Lebanese have been laid off or forced to take pay cuts, and foreign workers too are feeling the pinch.

Amandeep Singh, 23, has been working for four years in a plant nursery north of Beirut and sent money home to India.

He says his salary has suddenly been slashed from $500 to $360 after his employer decided to pay him half in pounds.

He was told the situation would improve soon.

"I'll wait and see," Singh said.

But "if there are no more dollars, there will be nothing left for me in Lebanon. I will go home to India".

The crisis saw more than 1,000 Filipinos flock to their embassy in December to sign up for free repatriation.

The mostly female domestic workers, some with children in tow, signed up for the free flight.

Jasmin Bighoun, 32-year-old female domestic worker from Bangladesh, said she used to be able to send $300 home to the family, but now that has dropped to just $150.

"There are no more dollars and everything is more expensive. It's not the same as before, life is hard," she said.

"My 'madame' says she has no more dollars... I can't do anything," she said.

If necessary, she and her husband will pack up and return to Bangladesh, she said.

Other migrant workers have already made up their minds.

Nav, an 18-year-old from Ethiopia who works as a cleaner for hourly wages, said the sacrifices are no longer worth it.

"They pay me in pounds," she said. "What's the point of staying? I want to leave."

By Layal Abou Rahal