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BAGHDAD — Iraq’s central bank on Wednesday eased financial restrictions imposed on the Kurdistan region over its independence vote after receiving a pledge of cooperation from Kurdish banks, an Iraqi banking source said.

All but four Kurdish-owned banks were allowed to resume dollar and foreign currency transfers on Wednesday, the source told Reuters. 

The central bank had informed the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Tuesday it would stop selling dollars to the four Kurdish banks, and would halt all foreign currency transfers to the autonomous region, banking and government sources told Reuters.

The measures were taken in retaliation for the September 25 referendum, in which the region voted overwhelmingly for independence despite opposition from Baghdad and Iraq’s neighbours Iran and Turkey.

The measures aim to tighten the control of the central bank over the Kurdish banking industry.

The central bank will maintain its dollar sale ban for four banks pending a review of their cooperation, the banking source said.

“The dollar sale prohibition will be lifted if the central bank sees that the four banks are really cooperating in disclosing their financial transactions,” the source said.

The Iraqi government has rejected an offer by the Kurdish government to discuss independence. It has demanded that it cancel the referendum result or face continued sanctions, international isolation and possible military intervention. 

SYDNEY —  Australia's central bank left interest rates at a record low on Tuesday with the board upbeat about the economy, while sounding a warning about the strength of the local dollar.

The reserve bank has slashed rates by 300 basis points since November 2011 to 1.50 per cent as the country wrestles with its transition away from an unprecedented boom in mining investment.

But it has left rates on hold since August last year and is yet to show its hand regarding its next move.

Reserve Bank of Austrelia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe acknowledged that the Australian economy had shrugged off the sluggish start to the year, boosted by government and consumer spending, with growth of 0.8 per cent in the June quarter.

"This outcome and other recent data are consistent with the bank's expectation that growth in the Australian economy will gradually pick up over the coming year," he said after a monthly board meeting.

"Over recent months there have been more consistent signs that non-mining business investment is picking up. A consolidation of this trend would be a welcome development."

But the bank remained concerned about high levels of housing debt in cities where property prices have soared, at a time when wages growth remains low. 

It also noted the ongoing strength of the Australian dollar, which was keeping inflation below its target band.

"The higher exchange rate is expected to contribute to continued subdued price pressures in the economy," said Lowe. "It is also weighing on the outlook for output and employment.”

"An appreciating exchange rate would be expected to result in a slower pick-up in economic activity and inflation than currently forecast."

The dollar fell following the rate announcement, dropping below 78 US cents for the first time since mid-July and remained at that level by mid-afternoon.

AMP Capital Chief Economist Shane Oliver said the post-meeting statement "continues to imply a neutral short term bias on interest rates".

"Basically the RBA and official interest rates remain stuck between a rock and a hard place," he said. 

"Improving global growth, strong business confidence and jobs growth, the RBA's own expectations for a growth pick up and already high levels of household debt argue against a rate cut. 

"But record low wages growth, low underlying inflation, the impending slowdown in housing construction, risks around the consumer and the strong dollar argue against a rate hike."

Westpac Institutional Bank's Bill Evans said he expected rates to remain on hold in 2018 and 2019.

WASHINGTON — Google announced new steps to help struggling news organisations on Monday — including an end to a longstanding “first click free” policy to generate fresh revenues for publishers hurt by the shift from print to digital.

The moves come amid mounting criticism that online platforms are siphoning off the majority of revenues as more readers turn to digital platforms for news.

“I truly believe that Google and news publishers actually share a common cause,” said Google Vice President Philipp Schindler.

“Our users truly value high quality journalism.”

Google announced a series of measures, the most significant of which would be to replace the decade-old policy of requiring news organisations to provide one article discovered in a news search without subscribing — a standard known as “first click free”.

This will be replaced by a “flexible sampling” model that will allow publishers to require a subscription at any time they choose.

“We realise that one size does not fit all,” said Richard Gingras, Google’s vice president for news.

This will allow news organisations to decide whether to show articles at no cost or to implement a “paywall” for some or all content.

Gingras said the new policy, effective Monday, will be in place worldwide. He said it was not clear how many publishers would start implementing an immediate paywall as a result.

“The reaction to our efforts has been positive,” he told a conference call announcing the new policy.

“This is not a silver bullet to the subscription market. It is a very competitive market for information. And people buy subscriptions when they have a perception of value.”

Google said it is recommending a “metering” system allowing 10 free articles per month as the best way to encourage subscriptions.

News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson, whose company operates the Wall Street Journal and newspapers in Britain and Australia, welcomed Google’s announcement.

“If the change is properly introduced, the impact will be profoundly positive for journalists everywhere and for the cause of informed societies,” said a statement from Thomson, a fierce critic of the prior Google policy.

Thomson and others had complained that “first click free” penalised news organisations that declined to participate by demoting their articles in Google searches.

“The felicitous demise of First Click Free (Second Click Fatal) is an important first step in recognising the value of legitimate journalism and provenance on the Internet,” he said.

One-click subscriptions 

The California tech giant also said it would work with publishers to make subscriptions easier, including allowing readers to pay with their Google or Android account to avoid a cumbersome registration process.

“We think we can get it down to one click, that would be superb,” Gingras said.

He explained people are becoming more accustomed to paying for news, but that a “sometimes painful process of signing up for a subscription can be a turn off. That’s not great for users or for news publishers who see subscriptions as an increasingly important source of revenue”.

Google would share data with the news organisations to enable them to keep up the customer relationship, he added.

“We’re not looking to own the customer,” he said. “We will provide the name of user, the e-mail and if necessary the address.”

Gingras said Google is also exploring ways “to use machine learning to help publishers recognise potential subscribers,” employing the Internet giant’s technology to help news organisations.

He added that Google was not implementing the changes to generate revenues for itself, but that some financial details had not been worked out.

Google does not intend to take a slice of subscription revenues, he noted.

“Our intent is to be as generous as possible,” he said.

Research firm eMarketer estimates that Google and Facebook will take in 63 per cent of digital advertising revenues in 2017 — making it harder for news organisations to compete online.

Facebook is widely believed to be working on a similar effort to help news organisations drive more subscriptions.

Google created a “Digital News Initiative” in Europe in 2015 which provides funding for innovative journalism projects.

DUBAI — Hard hit by a drop in oil income, energy-rich Gulf states will next year introduce value-added tax (VAT) to a region long known for being tax-free.

Some have hailed introducing VAT as the start of "exciting, dramatic" change in the region, but the measure is also expected to push prices up for all residents including citizens and low-income workers.

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates doubles the price of tobacco and increases soft drink prices by 50 per cent, ahead of the more general VAT on goods and services from January 1.

The UAE is one of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to have agreed to introduce VAT at 5 per cent next year as they seek to revitalise their economies.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have said they will implement VAT from January 1, 2018, while the other GCC states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar are expected to follow suit during the year.

Economies in the Gulf — home to the world's biggest exporters of oil and liquefied natural gas — took a major hit after a global supply glut triggered a drop in prices in 2014.

Their balance sheets have remained in the red despite government austerity measures recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including freezing wages, benefits and state-funded projects, cutting subsidies and raising power and fuel prices.

Governments across the region have also drawn hundreds of billions of dollars from their massive sovereign wealth resources in an attempt to curb the deficit.

'Already struggling' 

The six states are now taking austerity measures a step further with the plan to introduce VAT, ending their decades-old reputation for being tax havens.

Accounting and consultancy firm Deloitte has said the progressive implementation of VAT from next year "marks the start of some of the most exciting, dramatic and far-reaching            socioeconomic changes in the region since the discovery of oil" more than half a century ago.

But the move is expected to increase prices across the board including for nationals, who make up roughly half of the GCC's overall population of 50 million.

Gulf nationals have for decades benefited from a generous cradle-to-grave welfare system, and have largely been spared by austerity measures so far.

VAT, a consumption tax imposed on goods and services, is generally paid by individual consumers to businesses, which then transfer the funds to tax authorities.

"Citizens won't be happy about the price hikes from the VAT. I don't think it will be acceptable as it will affect people's budgets," said Khaled Mohammed, a Saudi working in Dubai's property sector.

The IMF has insisted the introduction of VAT will not drive away millions of expatriates until now lured by a tax-free environment.

But the future looks daunting for the region's tens of thousands of low-income workers.

"It's going to be tough for all those who draw small salaries," said Rezwan Sheikh, an Indian restaurant worker in Dubai.

"We're already struggling with finances. How much are we going to save after the VAT?" asked Sheikh, who sends most of his salary home to his parents and pregnant wife.

'Social justice'? 

Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone make up 75 per cent of the GCC's $1.4-trillion economy and are home to 80 per cent of the Gulf population, citizens and expatriates.

Under the agreement between GCC states, some goods and services will be exempt from the tax.

Bryan Plamondon of the US-based IHS Markit Economics says food, education, and healthcare, as well as renewable energy, water, transportation, and technology, are likely to receive preferential treatment.

He estimates that VAT will raise between $7 billion (5.95 billion euros) and $21 billion (17.77 billion euros) annually — or between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent of GDP.

The IMF has said the returns could reach around 2 per cent of GDP.

But inflation rates will also increase.

Faisal Durrani, who heads research at Cluttons Dubai, expects inflation to double to 4 per cent in the UAE next year.

Capital Economics has projected Saudi inflation could reach 4.5 per cent, a stark shift from the current 0.4 per cent deflation.

According to leading Kuwaiti economist Jassem Al Saadun, governments will need more than numbers to ensure a successful introduction of VAT.

"People must be convinced that there is social justice, that raised funds will be used for development projects and that corruption is checked," the head of Al Shall Consulting told AFP.

"None of these factors is guaranteed.”

DUBAI/LONDON — Saudi Arabia’s plans to float state oil titan Aramco are prompting the country to think the unthinkable. 

Late last year, Saudi Arabia tried to get fellow oil producers around the world to agree to reduce production. Before an OPEC meeting in Vienna in November, Saudi officials were armed with an unprecedented bargaining chip: if there was no deal, the kingdom would quit the exporter group altogether.

The strategy was approved at the highest level of the Saudi government, said sources familiar with the matter. 

It was not only aimed at ensuring the smooth workings of the world’s energy supply. It was also driven by a desire to push up oil prices to maximise the valuation of Saudi Aramco ahead of the listing, said the sources who declined to be named as the information is confidential. 

In the end, the world’s biggest oil exporter did not have to enact that option. OPEC members along with non-OPEC producers including Russia agreed a deal in December to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day. 

But the fact such a move was considered shows how Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) — expected to be the biggest in history — is forcing the kingdom to rethink its OPEC policies.

Riyadh’s stance represented a shift, OPEC sources said, from its decades-old role of advocating restraint and seeking to convince fellow members like Algeria, Venezuela and Iran that prices rising too fast benefited alternative energy providers. 

“Saudi Arabia is now the main price hawk”, said a high-level OPEC source. He added he was surprised how quickly the kingdom shifted from its policy of prioritising market share, by pumping oil at full tilt, to supporting production cuts following its decision to list Aramco.

The Saudi energy ministry and OPEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

The IPO also raises questions over Saudi Arabia’s future role in OPEC, as the kingdom would become the only member with a national oil firm listed abroad. That in turn raises questions over the future of OPEC itself given the kingdom has been the group’s driving force since its inception almost 60 years ago.

Until now, Aramco — which oversees Saudi Arabia’s vast reserves — has always been a tool in the country’s OPEC policies, to reduce or increase production. 

Once a stake in Aramco is floated, however, the company will have to take into account the interests of outside investors, according to industry sources.

Listing rules and anti-trust legislation, particularly in the United States, also preclude price-fixing, which Aramco could be accused of if it continued to follow Saudi Arabia’s OPEC policy of adjusting output to manage prices, the sources said.

“Aramco is the instrument used to manage the market even though it is not involved in making the policy,” said Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist at US -based Rapidan Group.

Saudi Aramco declined to comment on the potential risks of investors suing it post-IPO if it followed Saudi OPEC policies.

Norwegian path 

Saudi authorities aim to list around 5 per cent of Aramco by the end of 2018 on both the Riyadh stock exchange and one or more international markets, with London, New York and Hong Kong in the running.

The IPO is the centrepiece of Vision 2030, an ambitious reform plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil which is championed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

The prince has said he expects the IPO to value Aramco at a minimum of $2 trillion, and Saudi officials and investors say the valuation will be directly impacted by oil prices.

Saudi officials have said they want to see $60 per barrel this year, with banking sources suggesting the IPO might be timed to happen with crude trading at $60-$70 per barrel. Prices have been around $50 for most of this year and were above $58 this week.

Listing its national oil firm represents unknown territory for Saudi Arabia and OPEC. But Norway, which has listed its state oil company Statoil, might offer some guide to the path ahead. 

The Nordic nation, which still owns 67 per cent of the oil firm, has refrained from joining any international steps in regulating oil output since 2002, months after listing in New York and Oslo in 2001.

Over the past year, Saudi officials have met officials from Norway and Statoil to discuss how best to restructure Aramco’s business operations ahead of the IPO, according to several industry sources familiar with the meetings. 

The sources cited US anti-trust laws as the main reason why Norway does not join accords on production, such as the deal agreed in December. 

A Statoil spokesman said the company had not advised Saudi officials on the IPO in any official capacity. Its CEO Eldar Saetre also told Reuters in February that it was not officially advising Aramco, but said it was “sharing” its experience. Statoil referred queries about Norway’s position regarding international output accords to the ministry of energy. The ministry said there was no link between Norway not joining OPEC cuts and the fact that Statoil is a US listed company. 

Losing market share 

While Prince Mohammad, the likely future ruler of Saudi Arabia, is determined to proceed with the IPO, there are still concerns inside the government and Aramco about the wisdom of the move, according to Saudi and industry sources. Some conservatives oppose the idea of Riyadh relinquishing any control over its oil’s crown jewel.

Saudi officials have said that production decisions are a sovereign matter that will remain with the government — which will still own the bulk of Aramco post-IPO — but did not explain how this policy would be compatible with a listed company.

One Saudi-based industry source said Aramco would have to act like other listed oil company such as Chevron or ExxonMobil. If it wanted to cut production, it would have to demonstrate to the investors that they would financially benefit from the move.

Inside Aramco, some executives do not believe that Saudi Arabia’s OPEC policies in preparation for the IPO will benefit the company in the long term, according to several sources. They point to the fact that OPEC’s output cuts have eaten into Aramco’s market share in Asia, the world’s biggest oil-consuming region. 

Since January, Riyadh has cut production by more than it was required to help OPEC achieve a full compliance with cuts and boost prices as other members were slow to reduce output.

The kingdom, previously China’s biggest crude supplier, has been overtaken by Russia while Iraq has eclipsed it as India’s number one source. 

BRUSSELS — Google formally offered its solution to avoid more EU mega-fines on Wednesday, proposing to run its controversial shopping service as a standalone business.

The European Commission in June slapped Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro (more than $2.7 billion) fine for illegally favouring its shopping service in search results.

The fine came after seven years of investigation launched by complaints from other price-comparison services that lost 90 per cent of traffic against Google Shopping, according to the European Commission.

“We’re implementing a remedy to comply with the European Commission’s recent decision,” Al Verney, a spokesperson for Google said in a statement.

Google, which was given until Thursday to provide its remedy or face further fines, is also appealing the decision at EU court.

The remedy by Google invites other comparison services to auction for display space on Google search results.

These slots will be labeled with the name of the service providing the link, such as “By Google”, a feature that emerged on certain EU versions of Google last week.

To ensure fairness, the firm said its Google Shopping unit is to be separated from Google and will also have to participate in the auction for display space on search results.

“Google Shopping will compete on equal terms and will operate as if it were a separate business participating in the auction in the same way as everyone else.” said Verney.

The unit would remain part of the company, but use its own revenues to bid for ads.

Google’s search results are prized internet real estate with the US giant controlling roughly 90 per cent of the search market in Europe, according to EU data.

The fine over Google Shopping broke the previous European Union record for a monopoly case against US chipmaker Intel of 1.06 billion euros in 2009 and made the EU the global leader in regulating Silicon Valley giants.

The EU is also expected to soon decide another case against Google over abusing its dominance of internet search to impose its Android mobile operating system.

AMMAN — A paper recently published by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) recommends licensing interested companies to provide liquidity as the companies will play the role of market-makers, according to a JSF statement. 

Market-makers are obliged under the law to continuously offer their bid and ask prices, so this will improve liquidity, the paper said. 

In its paper entitled “Amman Stock Exchange [ASE]: The Way Forward”, the forum has made several recommendations geared at promoting the market’s growth. 

The licensing of companies does not have to be applied to all listed companies at once.

The market can start by selecting a list of companies. Evidence shows that such a move increases liquidity (trading volume), reduces liquidity cost (bid-ask spread), and reduces volatility (improves price stability), the forum’s paper, focusing on market performance since its establishment in 1978 indicated. 

Reducing the “minimum tick” from the currently existing multiples of one piaster to half of one piaster, for example, is another step that can help reduce liquidity cost, the forum’s paper suggested. 

Furthermore, encouraging companies to “reverse split” their stocks will bring their prices up, and reduce liquidity cost, the paper said. 

The fact that more than one hundred listed stocks are priced at less than one dinar means that any change in their prices, by definition, is considered large percentage changes, according to the forum’s statement.

Short selling, the sale of a security that is not owned by the seller, or that the seller has borrowed, is also recommended. Once the market improves in its liquidity dimension, the paper recommends introducing short-selling to improve liquidity even further. Short-selling is allowed in the Saudi Stock Exchange, and other markets of Arab Gulf countries are about to introduce this facility.

The paper also recommends that the government must seriously consider “activating” the secondary market for the issued treasury bills and making it liquid. Such a market is also useful to the listed firms themselves to have a liquid corporate bonds market. Such a market would provide them with an additional source of financing for their capital investments.

The forum’s policy paper examined the ASE because such markets provide economies with financial services which promote real economic growth. 

This is why the number of stock exchanges around the world has increased from around 50 in 1975 to more than 170 by the end of 2016, according to the forum’s statement.

The paper was based on several values and indices, like price index, market value of subscribed shares, number of listed companies and turnover ratio. 

The forum said the reasons behind the fall in stock prices vary. Irrespective of what they are, the JSF policy paper argues that one main issue that must be dealt with is liquidity.

ABU DHABI — The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will discuss extending production cuts that have boosted oil prices and imposing output quotas on all cartel members at a November meeting in Vienna, an Emirati minister said Monday.

United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suheil Al Mazrouei said the oil market had rebalanced after OPEC and non-OPEC producers agreed to cut output in a historic deal last year. 

The deal has boosted prices, which currently hover at around $55 a barrel, the minister said.

“The next OPEC meeting will discuss whether there will be a need to extend the output cuts deal and for how long,” Mazrouei told reporters.

Major crude producers — OPEC and non-OPEC countries — agreed late last year to cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day for six months.

The agreement was then extended for an additional nine months until March 2018.

“The meeting will also discuss adding new producers to the cuts deal,” the minister said.

Mazrouei said OPEC will also discuss imposing the quota system to countries that have so far been exempted.

OPEC members Libya, Iran and Nigeria have been spared in the current deal.

He said the United Arab Emirates, OPEC’s fourth largest producer with around 2.7 million barrels per day, has “cut 10 per cent of its production in the past two months” and is prepared to do more to boost the market.

The oil market is rebalancing as inventory levels are dropping and the number of drilling rigs is falling, Mazrouei said.

But inventory levels have not reached the average of the past five years, he said.

Oil prices collapsed starting in mid-2014 as a result of a production glut and weak demand.

WELLINGTON — The New Zealand dollar (NZD) is set for more volatility in coming weeks after a general election left New Zealand's major parties with no majority to govern, forcing them to enter negotiations with the nationalist New Zealand First Party.

The ruling National Party secured the largest number of votes in Saturday's election, but two of its possible allies lost seats in parliament, making it rely on New Zealand First and its outspoken leader, Winston Peters, to form a coalition.

Labour could also still be in a position to rule, if together with the Green Party, it gets New Zealand First on board. Negotiations are likely to carry on for weeks, with a final tally, including a large number of overseas votes, not due until October 7.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see the Kiwi a little more volatile on this result," Stuart Ive, dealer at OM Financial said on Sunday, referring to New Zealand dollar.

"Clearly when we open on Monday morning, we're at the moment no better off — it's either going to be Labour or National leading the country."

Last month, the New Zealand dollar fell more than 4 per cent against the US dollar to be the worst performer amongst major currencies, and underperformed its Australian counterpart as political jitters and worsening data weighed.

Policy implications

The Kiwi, which was the 11th most traded currency in the world in 2016, has tended to fall when the Labour Party led in the polls due to their "unknown" factor and risen when it showed a lead for National, which has been in power for nearly a decade.

New Zealand has out-performed most of its developed market peers since the global financial crisis, with growth averaging 2.6 per cent a year over the past 2.5 years and the government balancing its books.

Critics say much of the growth has come from immigration which has helped fuel a sharp jump in house prices that has in turn widened the gap between rich and poor.

Labour is planning to reduce immigration by up to 30,000 from a record 70,000 a year currently. It also plans to renegotiate certain trade deals to accommodate for a planned ban on foreign ownership of existing homes.

Some economists say those policies would stifle two key sources of New Zealand's robust growth of recent years, although the impact on growth could be somewhat offset by its plan to build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 years.

Both National and Labour were expected to maintain a policy of fiscal prudence if they form the next government, with Labour aiming to cut net debt at a slightly slower pace.

But they are likely to differ on monetary policy, with Labour pushing to add employment to the central bank's inflation-targeting mandate which could mean more stimulatory monetary policy, weighing on the Kiwi at first instance.

Markets favour national

Nick Tuffley, chief economist at ASB Bank, said markets were likely to put the odds in favour of another National-led coalition given its wide lead over Labour.

"Based off the way the NZD lifted in response to opinion polls that showed swings back to National, the NZD is likely to have a floor under it while the prospects of a National-led government remain," he said.

New Zealand's small stock market has performed strongly, with its benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index up 13.6 per cent year to date. Volatility has increased around the election too, but it remains within striking distance of its August all-time high.

New Zealand First, which has worked under governments led by both parties, said it would not be rushed to decide with which party it would work.

"At this stage, we have very little clue as to which way they will go," said Stephen Toplis, head of research at Bank of New Zealand. "With that in mind, I am not sure the market will have anything to come on. If there is anything, I guess it's uncertainty."

SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON — Half a million people have signed an online petition in under 24 hours backing Uber's bid to stay on roads of London, showing the company is turning to its tried-and-tested tactic of asking customers for help when it locks horns with regulators.

London's transport authorities stunned the powerful start-up on Friday when they deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service for safety reasons and stripped it of its licence from next week, although it can continue to operate while it appeals. 

The regulator cited Uber's failure to report serious criminal offices, conduct sufficient background checks on drivers and other safety issues, threatening the US firm's presence in one of the world's wealthiest cities. 

Uber immediately e-mailed users in London and urged them to sign a petition that said the city authorities had "caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice". 

By (12:00GMT) on Saturday, more than 515,000 people had signed in support of Uber. 

It counted 3.5 million active users in London in the past three months. Even if many tourists are probably included in the total, the figure represents a potential political force of commuters who face long journeys between their home and offices and who use Uber as a cheaper alternative to other taxi firms. 

Turning to users for help is one of the first steps in Uber's playbook. In Jakarta, Budapest, Toronto and Portland, it asked riders to sign petitions and built online tools to contact lawmakers to show their support.

Regulators have at least partly relented in Portland, Toronto and Jakarta, but Budapest remains a work in progress.

Uber now faces a showdown with London's Mayor Sadiq Khan, who this month said he would not let his teenage daughters use cabs like Uber on their own over fears for their safety. 

Khan, a leading figure in the opposition Labour Party, said on Friday: "All private-hire operators in London need to play by the rules. The safety and security of Londoners must come first."

As mayor, Khan is chairman of Transport for London, the regulator which stripped Uber of its licence.

London's decision is the first major challenge for new Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over from co-founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick. He was forced out after internal and external investigations into sexual harassment complaints, the thwarting of government inquiries and potential bribery.