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NEW YORK — The dollar jumped against the yen on Tuesday, after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said it intends to keep rates low for an “extended period of time”, and the greenback was firm against a basket of peers ahead of the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) two-day monetary policy meeting ending on Wednesday.

The dollar was 0.72 per cent higher against the yen, on pace for its best day in nearly three weeks.

"Clearly the yen is struggling as a result of the Bank of Japan announcement overnight," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.

At a two-day rate review that ended on Tuesday, the BOJ kept its interest rate targets steady but for the first time adopted a forward guidance on future policy.

"I think there was some expectation leading up to this meeting that we could see a more meaningful shift in BOJ policy, particularly with respect to their huge asset purchase," said Esiner.

"The BOJ has now effectively been taken off the table as a potential driver of the yen. The market can go back to focusing on more US-centric developments," he said.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.16 per cent at 94.474, as investors await the conclusion of the Fed two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday.

"Although US interest rates are widely expected to be left unchanged in July, investors are more likely to be concerned with any potential tweaks in the language of the policy statement," Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at futures brokerage FXTM in London, said in a note.

The dollar index, which has risen 2.6 per cent for the year, was on pace to finish July down 0.2 per cent, its first monthly decline since March.

"Buying sentiment towards the dollar could receive a boost if the central bank strikes a hawkish tone," Otunuga said.

On Tuesday, data showed US consumer spending increased solidly in June, while inflation rose moderately. Other data showed employers boosting benefits for workers in the second quarter, but wage growth slowed. 

With savings at lofty levels and lower taxes increasing take-home pay for some workers, consumer spending is likely to remain strong this year and allow the Fed to continue gradually raising interest rates.

The British pound was little changed against the dollar as investors prepared for the Bank of England's monetary policy meeting later this week, for which markets are now pricing in a near-90 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point rate rise.

The Chinese yuan rose against the dollar on Tuesday in offshore trading after Bloomberg reported the United States and China aim to resume talks in a bid to avert a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. 

TUNIS — Tunisian airport employees plan to strike on Wednesday and Thursday, disrupting the reviving tourist trade, unless the government meets demands for improved working conditions, a labour union official said on Monday.

Tunisia is in the midst of an austerity programme agreed with foreign donors, such as the International Monetary Funds. Government officials have rejected union demands for pay rises in a bloated public service which the IMF wants to trim.

"We decided to go on strike on August 1 and 2 to protest at the government's non-compliance with previous agreements," said Mansif Bin Ramadan, head of the airport workers union.

He said the union wants the government to upgrade working conditions and clear a debt of unpaid fees by state-run Tunisair and other airlines owed to the civil aviation body.

Ramadan did not elaborate on the demands but said talks were going on with the government, which had no immediate comment.

Tunisia has been praised as the only democratic success among the nations where "Arab Spring" revolts erupted in 2011. But successive governments have failed to trim its fiscal deficit and create economic growth.

The IMF programme agreed in 2016 is worth about $2.8 billion.

Airport strikes would hit the tourism sector, which has recovered since two militant attacks in 2015 killed dozens of foreigners.

Some 3.229 million tourists visited Tunisia from January 1 through June 30, up 26 per cent from the same period last year, according to official figures seen by Reuters this month. Tourist revenues climbed 40 per cent to reach $522 million. 

DUBAI — Iran's currency plunged to another record low on Sunday, dropping past 100,000 rials to the US dollar as Iranians brace for August 7 when the United States is due to reimpose a first lot of sanctions on their economy.

In May the United States pulled out of a 2015 deal between world powers and Tehran under which international sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Washington decided to reimpose sanctions on Iran upon its withdrawal, accusing it of posing a security threat, and has told countries they must halt all imports of Iranian oil from November 4 or face US financial measures.

On Sunday, the Iranian rial plunged to 111,500 against one US dollar on the unofficial market, down from about 97,500 rials on Saturday, according to foreign exchange website Bonbast.com. Other websites said the dollar was exchanged between 108,500 and 116,000 rials. 

The rial has lost about half of its value since April because of a weak economy, financial difficulties at local banks and heavy demand for dollars among Iranians who fear the effects of sanctions.

US President Donald Trump has called the agreement one of the worst deals ever negotiated, but in a bid to salvage the accord, Iran's European partners in the nuclear deal are preparing a package of economic measures to offset the US pullout. 

However, France said earlier this month that it was unlikely that European powers would be able to put together an economic package for Iran that would salvage its nuclear deal before November.

On August 7, the United States will reimpose sanctions on the purchase or acquisition of US dollars by the Iranian government, Iran's trade in gold and precious metals, and on the direct and indirect sale, supply and transfer to or from Iran of graphite, raw or semi-finished metals, coal and industrial-related software.

Sanctions also will be reapplied to the importation into the United States of carpets and foodstuffs made in Iran, and on certain related financial transactions.

Iran's oil exports could fall by as much as two-thirds by the end of the year because of the new US sanctions, putting oil markets under huge strain amid supply outages elsewhere in the world.

NEW YORK — Wall Street stocks on Friday finished the week on a downbeat note, with the tech-rich Nasdaq sinking 1.5 per cent on worries that US economic growth has peaked.

The American economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.1 per cent in the second quarter, matching analyst expectations, due in part to strong consumer spending and a trade-war driven bump in exports, according to Commerce Department data. That is the fastest growth in almost four years.

President Donald Trump hailed the figure as an "American economic miracle", promising more impressive growth ahead.

But US investors seemed to be betting on the opposite, sending stocks lower and punishing technology companies especially hard.

"There's a general sense that maybe we're hitting peak growth," said Jack Ablin of Cresset Wealth Advisors.

Ablin said the tech sector was vulnerable because it is tied more closely to growth than some sectors and because of worries that rising political and social scrutiny of Facebook and others that could crimp growth.

The declines in the United States also followed a largely disappointing round of earnings, with Exxon Mobil, Intel and Twitter all falling significantly.

European shares closed with higher gains. London finished 0.5 per cent higher, with shares in telecoms group BT rising more than 5 per cent after posting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Paris climbed 0.6 per cent while Frankfurt added 0.4 per cent in value, aided partly by this week's easing in EU-US trade tensions.

Asian stocks mostly edged higher Friday with Tokyo buoyed once more by a weaker yen, which helps exporters.

 'Come off the boil' 

While the strong US growth rate was welcome, analysts said investors had plenty to worry about from here on.

"The US economy is likely to come off the boil in the coming quarters as the boost to growth delivered by the tax cuts begins to wear off, trade restrictions and an overall slowing of the global economy start to weigh on exports, and further interest rate hikes tighten financial conditions," said economist Pablo Shah at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

He said the growth rate was nonetheless impressive, and that the strong labour market together with still-accommodative fiscal and monetary policies meant the United States was likely to remain at the top of the growth pack among advanced nations.

AMMAN — Arab Bank Group said its net income after tax for the first half of 2018 was $436 million compared to $415 million in prior period, recording a growth of 5 per cent, according to an Arab Bank statement. 

The group’s net income before tax grew by 6.4 per cent to reach $582 million with net operating income reaching $668.5 million and recording a solid double digit growth of 13 per cent. 

Sabih Masri, chairman of the group’s board of directors described the group’s performance as “solid”. He said this solid performance confirms the group’s success in dealing with the challenging operating environment.

Nemeh Sabbagh, chief executive officer, said the strong underlying performance of the Arab Bank Group is reflected in the growth of the net operating income, achieved during the first half of the year. 

This has come as a result of core banking income generated from interest and fees, coupled with effective cost management, he said in the statement. 

Net operating income grew by 13 per cent and net interest income went up by 12 per cent as a result of yield improvements and loan growth. 

Loans grew by 3 per cent to reach $25.5 billion while customer deposits reached $33 billion, according to the statement. 

Sabbagh said the Arab Bank Group enjoys strong liquidity and robust capitalisation. 

The group’s loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 71.6 per cent, while its capital adequacy ratio calculated in accordance with Basel III regulations was 15.4 per cent. 

He added that the asset quality of the group remains high, with credit provisions held against non-performing loans exceeding 100 per cent.

LAGOS — Google launched a network of free Wi-Fi hotspots in Nigeria on Thursday, part of its effort to increase its presence in Africa's most populous nation.

The US technology firm, owned by Alphabet Inc., has partnered with Nigerian fibre cable network provider 21st Century to provide its public Wi-Fi service, Google Station, in six places in the commercial capital Lagos, including the city's airport.

Internet penetration is relatively low in Nigeria. Some 25.7 per cent of the population made use of the Internet in 2016, according to World Bank data.

The poor Internet infrastructure is a major challenge for businesses operating in the country, which is Africa's largest oil producer. Broadband services are either unreliable or unaffordable to many of Nigeria's 190 million inhabitants.

"We are rolling out the service in Lagos today but the plan is to quickly expand to other locations," Anjali Joshi, Google's vice president for product management, told Reuters in Lagos.

The company said it aimed to collaborate with Internet service providers to reach millions of Nigerians in 200 public spaces across five cities by the end of 2019.

It said it would generate cash from the service in Nigeria by placing Google adverts in the login portal. Google did not disclose the amount invested in the new Nigeria service.

The technology firm said it planned to share revenues with its partners to help them maintain and deploy the Wi-Fi service but did not disclose the expected advertising revenue split.

Nigeria is the fifth country to launch Google Station. Similar services have been launched in India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand.

The service is aimed at countries with rapidly expanding populations. The United Nations estimates Nigeria will be the world's third most populous nation, after China and India, by 2050. 

"A lot of people who found data to be too expensive for them to use, are using it," said Joshi. "In India, we have tens of millions of users, and close to a million in Mexico".

Africa's rapid population growth, falling data costs and heavy adoption of mobile phones has made it an attractive investment prospect for technology companies. But many do not disclose how profitable the continent's markets are, or if they make the companies money at all.

Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo welcomed efforts to improve internet connectivity in a speech at a Google conference in Lagos on Thursday.

"Access to information means that the gap in equality and exclusion are bridged," said Osinbajo who earlier this month met Google's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters.

Last year, Google announced plans to train 10 million Africans in online skills within five years.

JOHANNESBURG — Chinese President Xi Jinping said there would be no winner in a global trade war, urging fellow developing powers on Wednesday to reject unilateralism in the wake of tariff threats by US President Donald Trump.

Trump's warnings have given Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa fresh impetus to enhance trade cooperation, and their leaders found a collective voice championing global trade as they began a three-day BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The meeting of presidents from the trade bloc is the first since Trump's administration launched a push to rebalance trade multilateralism that Trump has deemed unfair — relationships that the United States once championed. 

"We should be resolute in rejecting unilateralism," Xi said at the opening ceremony.

"A global trade war should be rejected because there will be no winner," said Xi, who oversees the world's second-largest economy, and whose nation is dominant in the BRICS bloc.

"Unilateralism and protectionism are mounting, dealing a severe blow to multilateralism," he said. "China will continue to develop itself with its door wide open."

Xi also said the collective rise of emerging markets and developing countries "is unstoppable and will make global development more balanced". He urged the BRICS governments to observe international rules, regardless of their size.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for thorough discussions at the summit on the role of trade in promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth.

"We are meeting here at a time when the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges," he said in a speech.

Worried by unilateralism  

"We are concerned by the rise in unilateral measures that are incompatible with World Trade Organisation rules and are worried about the impact of these measures, especially on developing countries."

Last week, Trump said he was ready to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of imported goods from China. But even South Africa — the continent's most industrialised economy but a tiny exporter of steel, aluminium and automobiles to the United States — is facing barriers.

South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said it was suffering collateral damage.

He said 7,000 South Africans work in jobs affected by the metals tariffs; an effort to secure an exemption from the US government was unsuccessful.

South Africa has invited the leaders of 22 additional countries to participate in this week's summit, including 19 from Africa.

As the member hardest-hit by Trump's trade moves, China is looking to diversify its trade ties to mitigate fallout.

ERBIL, Iraq — At Luxury Time, a restaurant in the Kurdish city of Erbil, there are no man-size portions.

The women-only restaurant, with its all-female staff, opened this month by 23-year-old business graduate Tara Mohammed Ihssan who was fed up of unwanted attention on nights out with friends in northern Iraq.

"If you want to go out, it is so uncomfortable because everyone is staring at you," she told Reuters.

"So I have always thought about doing something like this for me and for the rest of the girls to feel comfortable."

The restaurant's sleek, modern interior, with hanging chandeliers and colourful couches, has drawn unwanted attention, however, with some men coming to the door to see what the fuss is all about.

"I have been thinking, if it stays this way I will put security on the door," Ihssan said.

"I find it unfair as all the cafes here are just for men, why can't you accept that there is this cafe for ladies."

DUBAI — A proposed reshuffle of state assets would allow Saudi Arabia to delay the listing of national oil giant Aramco until 2020 or beyond while still spending on economic development projects, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Late last week Aramco confirmed a Reuters report that it was working on a possible purchase of a "strategic stake" in local petrochemicals maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom's top sovereign wealth fund.

The deal could inject tens of billions of dollars into the PIF, giving it resources to proceed with its plans to create jobs and diversify the economy beyond oil exports, including a $500 billion business zone in the northwest of the country.

A major goal of the planned Aramco listing — which was initially slated for the end of 2018 and could prove the biggest IPO in history — was to raise money for the PIF, making the fund an engine for transforming the Saudi economy.

A SABIC deal would allow the government to buy time for the initial public offer of shares in Aramco, according to industry and international banking sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

It could raise roughly as much money for the PIF as an Aramco IPO, while giving the government more time to reach decisions on contentious aspects of the flotation such as whether Aramco shares should be listed on a foreign market as well as in Riyadh.

"The PIF will have more cash to invest and there is no need to IPO now," one of the sources said.

Aramco declined to comment on its IPO plans, and a Saudi government official did not respond to a request for comment. 

Aramco's Chief Executive Amin Nasser said on Friday in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that the SABIC acquisition was a complex deal and would need a certain timeframe to be completed, delaying the Aramco IPO.

"There is no doubt that the potential acquisition of a strategic stake in SABIC... will delay the IPO," he said.

Valuation

Final decisions on the listing rest with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed, the sources said. 

The planned IPO is the centrepiece of an ambitious plan championed by the crown prince to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy beyond oil. When he announced the plan to sell about 5 per cent of Aramco in 2016, he predicted the sale would value the whole company at $2 trillion or more.

Since then, however, many estimates by oil and gas industry analysts have been far lower, around $1-1.5 trillion, implying the PIF would receive a $50-75 billion windfall from the IPO.

The fund owns 70 per cent of SABIC, which has a market capitalisation of $104 billion. Aramco has not said exactly how much of SABIC it might buy but two sources told Reuters on Monday that Aramco aims to become a "majority" owner; buying the PIF's entire stake could give the fund over $70 billion. 

The PIF has officially reported assets of over $220 billion but most of that is believed to be tied up in real estate or stakes in big Saudi companies, which could not be sold without undermining the local property and stock markets.

The SABIC deal would put temporary pressure on the finances of Aramco, the government's main source of revenue. But higher oil prices this year have given Riyadh more money to play with.

Investment bank Jadwa forecasts state oil revenues of $154 billion this year instead of the $131 billion budgeted by Riyadh last December.

Crown jewel 

If the Aramco IPO eventually goes ahead, at least two problems will need to be resolved, according to several sources. One is the company's valuation.

Prince Mohammed's declaration of a $2 trillion valuation created a potential political headache. If the IPO produces a valuation much below $2 trillion, the Saudi public may conclude he is selling the country's crown jewel too cheaply.

This might be finessed by selling part of the Aramco stake in a private placement, probably to deep-pocketed strategic investors in oil-consuming states such as China. A placement is being considered, one industry source said, but that would take many months to finalise.

The SABIC deal would boost Aramco's valuation giving it access to petrochemicals assets domestically and abroad, the sources said. 

The other major issue is whether some Aramco shares will be listed on a foreign exchange such as New York, London or Hong Kong. Prince Mohammed initially proposed an overseas listing to attract foreign capital and lift Saudi Arabia's profile.

But some officials oppose the idea on the grounds it would dilute the benefits to Riyadh's bourse of hosting Aramco. And an overseas exchange could impose tougher governance, disclosure requirements and legal risks for Aramco.

These risks may have strengthened the case for a Riyadh-only listing. But an IPO in Riyadh alone might have to be smaller than 5 per cent because the market's capitalisation of just $535 billion would struggle to absorb a listing of Aramco's size.

That may encourage authorities to delay listing Aramco until after Riyadh's market enters emerging market equity indexes next year, making it more liquid. Entry could attract around $30-45 billion of fresh foreign money, funds estimate.

Riyadh will join FTSE Russell's index in stages between March and December 2019, and MSCI's index between May and August 2019. One banking source said some bankers had advised Prince Mohammed to wait until the arrival of foreign funds directly benchmarked to those indexes, since the funds could be counted on to buy Aramco shares as an index component.

ABEOKUTA, Nigeria — "Come, I'll show you what a potential billion dollars looks like," said P.J. Okocha, opening the door of a small, modern house in southern Nigeria to reveal a thousand yam seedlings. 

"These thousand plants can make three million seeds," he said, with a broad smile. 

At just 34, Peter Okocha Junior — also known as P.J. — is a high achiever. 

Okocha cut his teeth in his family's shipping and logistics business, then decided to forge his own path.

He identified Nigeria's agricultural sector as one of enormous potential where he can make the most impact. Today, he is a pioneer in hydroponics.

"I always knew I wanted to invest in agriculture but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do," he told AFP. 

"One day, I saw an agro-researcher on Twitter. I contacted him, and said, 'Hey bro, let's change the world together'."

His pitch hit home. In a few months, their company PS Nutrac was born. 

Two years later, tens of thousands of yam plants grow without soil, suspended in water in special greenhouses — a cutting-edge agricultural technique rarely seen in developing countries. 

One afternoon in June, young PS Nutrac employees were training a group of old local farmers on a new organic variety of yam. 

Farming communities have been gutted by an exodus of young people for big cities to carve out a living, said Chief Awufe Ademola, who is in his 60s and owns 3 hectares of land.

In rows before him, the old farmers sat with curved backs and calloused hands.

"With the average age of the African farmer hovering just above 60 years of age, it's imperative for the new generation to delve into farming," said Okocha.

"Nobody wants to do the conventional standing in the hot sun, and sweating and labour that comes out with that, therefore to combine it with data, technology and automatisation, it makes it more attractive."

 Food challenge 

Nigeria, which is home to more than 180 million people, is under pressure to produce more food. By 2050, it is expected to become the third most populous country in the world. 

After the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the 1950s, Nigeria's prosperous agricultural sector suffered a precipitous decline as successive leaders and investors switched focus entirely.

Decades have passed and with the collapse of the railway network, agricultural goods now have to be transported by truck on crumbling roads. 

There are not enough storage sheds; those that exist are mostly not refrigerated; and there are few processing plants.

That means huge amounts of produce go to waste in a country so fertile it can grow everything from avocados to cashews to corn. 

For example, about 4 million tonnes of citrus fruits are produced annually, according to US Department of Agriculture figures for 2009.

But up to 60 per cent goes to waste before getting to the final consumers in urban centres. 

Meanwhile, Nigeria imports $315 million (270 million euros) of orange concentrate a year, the bulk of national consumption.

"Opportunities in agriculture are beyond the imagination," said Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu, the proud owner of a 200-hectare palm oil plantation in the southeast.

"The future billionaires in Nigeria will be people investing in agriculture, tech and renewable energy, which are sectors that can create employment, not like the oil sector," said the 34-year-old, whose grandfather was Nigeria's first minister of agriculture.

 Starting from scratch 

Making farming profitable is not easy, though. 

The main problem for businesses is access to bank loans, which attract high rates of interest compared to other countries in the region.

"Access to finance is a big issue," Okeke-Ojiudu said, adding that banks ask for large amounts of collateral and charge double-digit interest rates for agriculture ventures. 

"So today, the people who are investing in this sector are already wealthy, already connected."

Okeke-Ojiudu was educated in the United States and England. Seyi Oyenuga also spent most of his life between Chicago and Washington before coming to his father's homeland.

Three years ago, he swapped life in the construction sector to settle in Oyo, southwest Nigeria and started a farm. 

On the four-hour drive from Okocha's farm, women pound dried cassava along the road. 

Nearly all the farms surrounding the sleepy villages have been abandoned. 

 Farming revival 

But a farming revival is taking place at Oyenuga's Atman Farm, where he is busy repairing tractors to plough the cassava fields. 

"We have to use old-generation tractors because people here only know how to operate them," he said, dressed in a John Deere cap, blue gingham shirt and a keffiyeh around his neck.

Oyenuga learned everything from scratch, including how to negotiate with local leaders to acquire property deeds, to teach employees the metric system and how to use tractors. 

"We learned the hard way," he said, speaking under a relentless sun after fixing up the tractors side by side with his staff. 

This year, he hopes to plant cassava on 400 hectares — five times the area of his first harvest last year. 

It is just the start. Ultimately, he wants to cultivate 2,000 hectares within 10 years.

"It's really been exciting, I've been able to do things that I've never imagined or thought were possible," he added.