Business

AMMAN — The Industrial Producers' Price Index rose by 15.86 per cent in the first five months of 2022, reaching 138.55 points compared to 119.58 points in the same period of 2021, according to the Amman-based Department of Statistics (DoS) figures released on Tuesday.

The Industrial Producers' Price Index for May reflected an increase by 18.90 per cent to 145.71 points up from 122.54 points at the end of the same month of 2021, the DoS said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Tuesday.

However, this index reflected a slight drop when compared to the 2022 April figure. In May 2022, the index saw an 0.08 per cent drop when compared to the previous month, registering 145.71 points compared to 145.83 in April of 2022, according to the DoS figures.

LONDON — European and American stocks advanced on Monday as markets began a busy week, with the US Federal Reserve (Fed) poised to lift interest rates again and some of the world's biggest companies scheduled to publish their latest earnings reports.

Asian markets ended lower.

The Fed is widely tipped to hike borrowing costs by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday as it battles soaring inflation.

US second-quarter gross domestic product data are due Thursday, with some observers warning it could show a second successive contraction — which is considered a technical recession.

Investors are also awaiting the release of earnings from business titans Apple, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet.

"Stock markets are modestly in the green, with a fair amount of straw clutching at play once more," said market analyst Craig Erlam at OANDA.

"Earnings not being as bad as feared, the Fed only hiking by 75 basis points and China putting together a plan in the hope of averting the next wave of the property crisis is among the reasons being given for stock markets rising."

"It all seems a bit desperate."

Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com said that bad news has been priced in by investors. 

"Hence, when bad news isn't as bad as expected, it is cheered for being better than feared, whereas good news is just the bee's knees," he said.

Markets were roiled last week when the European Central Bank (ECB) finally began ramping up interest rates to tackle runaway consumer prices in the eurozone.

The ECB had surprised investors on Thursday with a bigger-than-expected rate increase of 0.5 percentage points.

Consumer prices are soaring worldwide after economies reopened from pandemic lockdowns and as the Ukraine war keeps energy prices elevated.

That, in turn, has sparked aggressive rate hikes from major central banks to try and dampen inflationary pressures.

All three main indices on Wall Street ended last week with a loss, ending a three-day rally, following a big data miss on the crucial US services sector.

Fed chiefs have already said their main priority was bringing inflation down from four-decade highs, even at the expense of growth.

"We still see further downside for risky assets as recession fears accumulate and central banks remain committed to fighting inflation at the expense of growth," said Standard Chartered Strategist Eric Robertsen.

Others warned that while inflation could begin to ease, the Fed could still push borrowing costs to around five per cent and was unlikely to lower rates as soon as many traders hope.

RIYADH — For years, Haitham Al-Madini's house was like all the others on his block: a beige, nearly windowless facade sealed off from the outside world.

But two years ago, confined during a pandemic lockdown, Madini decided to open things up, adding a street-facing patio, redoing the exterior walls in limestone and installing soft lighting in the entryway.

Local architects and engineers say such features have become a hallmark of renovation and newly-built projects across the capital Riyadh as Saudis, spurred in part by revised building codes, embrace homes and businesses that are inviting rather than imposing.

The result is a kind of visual marker of the more welcoming narrative Saudi officials are pushing for the traditionally ultra-conservative kingdom. 

In recent years "there have been manifestations of an architectural openness", said Abdullah Al Jasser, owner of the AF Group design firm that worked on Madini's house.

"People have become more accepting of change, and of different patterns of decoration and design." 

In addition to his home's exterior walls and entryway, Madini spruced up the garden with tropical almond trees imported from Thailand and added a swimming pool, creating a new favourite lounge spot for his wife and seven children.

"Now there is an optimum use of the space," the 52-year-old human resources officer said, giving a tour in his traditional white robe and red-and-white headdress. 

"We have taken a step towards improving our way of life." 

Breaking with the past 

Traditional designs — like what Madini's home used to look like — still prevail on residential streets in Riyadh. 

On many homes, the only visible flourish comes in the form of tiny triangular windows typical of architecture in the central Najd region, where Riyadh is located. 

The size of the windows reflects a desire not to let in the sun, especially when temperatures stay for much of the day above 40ºC.

They also provide "greater privacy for the family", said Saudi architect Ali Alluhidan, owner of Alluhidan Engineering in Riyadh. 

But he and other champions of new, more modern architecture find fault with the old approach, and not just because it can result in living spaces that are poorly lit and ventilated.

It also carries "great social impact... It contributes to a culture of closing in on oneself", Alluhidan said. 

Closed off is exactly what the kingdom was, socially and geographically, with for example no cinemas or tourist visas until the last few years.

In 2018, the Saudi national building code committee updated guidelines for new buildings — mandating bigger windows, for example, in part to promote public health. 

Other trends, while not explicitly required, reflect changing social and gender norms, a main focus of reforms promoted by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Whereas in the past most houses featured separate reception areas with different entrances for men and women, newer floor plans envision everyone commingling in a single area, allowing for a more efficient use of space, Alluhidan said.

Earlier, exterior balconies were nearly fully enclosed, surrounded by latticed walls that let in air but not much light while now more open balconies and terraces are becoming the standard. 

Not everything has changed, however. 

Even though women gained the right to drive in 2018, new floor plans for affluent Saudis still often include a room for a live-in driver, detached from the rest of the house.

Nevertheless, Alluhidan is convinced the budding mania for modern design "will change the culture of architecture in Saudi Arabia within a few years". 

Open for business 

These new preferences are not limited to residential properties. They are also reshaping commercial complexes and other public spaces.

Saudi restaurants used to have separate entrances and seating areas for families and single men, but authorities did away with that rule in late 2019. 

The reform has helped drive a rethinking of how shopping centres should be organised, said Mohammed Abdel Moneim, supervisor of commercial design for a real estate development firm. 

"The old designs used to serve the idea of a culture of separation and segregation between families and singles," he said, describing what he termed a "radical change".

Riyadh Front, an upscale shopping and dining complex with fountains and a tree-lined promenade, is one of the more prominent examples of this, bringing male and female shoppers of all ages together. 

"There is demand now for these open spaces," Abdel Moneim said, "where there is communication without restrictions between everyone".

WASHINGTON — Twitter blamed disappointing results on Friday on "headwinds," including the uncertainty imposed on the company by Elon Musk's chaotic buyout bid. 

The firm is locked in a legal battle with Tesla boss over his effort to walk away from a $44 billion deal to purchase the platform, leaving the company in limbo.

Twitter missed expectations with revenue of $1.18 billion, due to "advertising industry headwinds... as well as uncertainty related to the pending acquisition of Twitter by an affiliate of Elon Musk", the company reported.

Also, in the current context of tightening credit conditions and economic turbulence, many companies like Twitter that rely heavily on ads are suffering from a decrease in advertisers' budgets.

"Twitter is on a rowboat in the middle of a storm," said analyst Jasmine Enberg. "The Musk saga rocked the boat even harder." 

"Twitter is now in the unenviable position of convincing advertisers that its ad business is solid," she added.

Twitter also reported that the number of "monetisable" daily active users — those who can be shown advertising — increased by 8.8 million, less than expected by analysts, to 237.8 million. 

"Overall we would characterise the daily active user metrics as better than feared and holding up relatively firm in this environment," said analyst Dan Ives.

Despite the less than stellar results, Twitter's stock closed up nearly one per cent at $39.84, as investors seemed relieved the news wasn't worse.

By comparison, Snap's stock finished down 39 per cent a day after the parent company of messaging app Snapchat reported disappointing earnings. 

Twitter's results cover the period ending in June so they do not include Musk's move in July to try to "terminate" the deal on the argument that the platform was not forthcoming about its tally of fake accounts.

The social media network, which is a key exchange of ideas, news and entertainment, has countered by saying the Tesla chief already agreed to the deal and can't back out now.

"Twitter believes that Mr Musk's purported termination is invalid and wrongful, and the merger agreement remains in effect," it said in the earnings report.

Twitter left in limbo 

Twitter notched a victory earlier this week in its fight with Musk, when a judge agreed to a fast-track trial on whether to force the billionaire to complete the buyout.

Musk's lawyers had pushed for a February 2023 date, but the court in the eastern US state of Delaware hewed closely to the uncertainty-wracked platform's desire for speed and set an October start.

Billions of dollars are at stake, but so is the future of Twitter, which Musk has said should allow any legal speech — an absolutist position that has sparked fears the network could be used to incite violence.

While the deal remains in limbo, Twitter is left with anxious employees, wary advertisers and hamstrung management.

In early May, at an annual marketing event where companies negotiate large advertising deals, Twitter was "not able to give advertisers any clarity or confidence" that it would continue to be safe showcase for them, Angelo Carusone, president of watchdog group Media Matters, told AFP previously.

"They didn't go anywhere close to what they normally sell at that event. And it's obviously been sluggish since then," he said.

The San Francisco-based social network cannot afford to lose customers. 

Unlike big fish such as Google and Facebook parent Meta, which dominate online advertising and make billions in profits, Twitter lost hundreds of millions of dollars in 2020 and 2021.

The group will capture less than 1 per cent of global ad revenue in 2022, according to eMarketer, compared to 12.5 per cent for Facebook, 9 per cent for Instagram and nearly two per cent for booming upstart TikTok. 

WASHINGTON — In response to multiple global crises disproportionately impacting women, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has adopted new policies to better consider gender in its work, the global crisis lender's managing director announced on Friday.

"I am most pleased and proud to announce that the Executive Board today approved the IMF's first Gender Strategy aimed at integrating gender into the Fund's core activities," said Kristalina Georgieva in a statement.

She explained that the Washington-based organisation would immediately begin implementing the strategy, which includes improving access to gender-disaggregated data as well as "setting up a robust framework to ensure that macro-critical aspects of gender are integrated in IMF country work".

"Successful implementation of this strategy will assist our member countries in achieving more inclusive and equitable economic growth and resilience," said Georgieva.

"When women do well, countries do well."

A Bulgarian economist who has worked for decades in international development, Georgieva added that "well-designed macroeconomic, structural, and financial policies can support efficient and inclusive outcomes and equitably benefit women, girls, and society in general".

FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday brought an end to the era of negative interest rates in the eurozone, with a bigger than expected half-point hike as inflation soars and an energy crisis looms.

The rate hike is the Frankfurt institution's first since 2011.

The ECB said its new "assessment of inflation risks" justified taking "a larger first step on its policy rate normalisation path than signalled at its previous meeting" in June when policymakers shared their intent to raise rates by a more modest 25 basis points or a quarter of a percentage point.

Inflation in the eurozone hit 8.6 per cent in June, the highest-ever level in the currency club and well above the central bank's target of two per cent. 

The ECB also unveiled the first details of a new crisis tool to fight bond market stress in parts of the eurozone.

The instrument is a response to recent increases in the borrowing costs for governments in more highly indebted, usually southern eurozone members, such as Italy.

Dubbed the "Transmission Protection Instrument [TPI]", the targeted bond-buying scheme "can be activated to counter unwarranted, disorderly market dynamics that pose a serious threat to the transmission of monetary policy across the euro area", the ECB said in a statement.

Negative outlook 

The ECB's hike lifts its deposit facility out of negative territory for the first time in eight years, to zero per cent. 

The rate on its main refinancing operations climbs to 0.50 per cent and on its marginal lending facility to 0.75 per cent

With prices taking off, the euro weak against the dollar and other central banks racing ahead with bigger hikes, the ECB was under pressure to think about making a bigger move at the meeting on Thursday.

Future rate hikes "will be appropriate", the ECB said, as it looks to catch up with the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England which both started raising rates earlier and more aggressively.

The "frontloading" of the rate hikes meant the ECB could take a "meeting-by-meeting approach to interest rate decisions", it said, stressing that future moves would be "data-dependent".

The ECB had a fine line to tread between soaring inflation and the weakness of the eurozone economy, rattled by the war in Ukraine.

The continent's dependence on Russian energy imports has eurozone members bracing for a difficult winter and planning to ration supplies if Moscow halts gas deliveries.

Central banks would normally hesitate before raising rates with the economy in such a delicate position, "but inflationary pressures have increased to a point where the ECB has to act whatever it breaks", said Frederik Ducrozet, head of macroeconomic research at Pictet.

Lost transmission 

A problem not faced by other central banks is the question of what to do about the widening spread between the borrowing costs faced by the 19 members of the eurozone. 

Limiting the divergence was "critical" to make sure monetary policy moves were felt evenly across the bloc, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said in early July.

Besides designing a new instrument, the ECB has said it will "flexibly" reinvest maturing bonds from its portfolio to hoover up debt from more at-risk countries and ease the pressure.

The new tool, whose design was sped up after an emergency ECB meeting in mid-June, was initially met with scepticism by some governing council members.

Bond purchases under the programme, were it ever to be used, were "not restricted" ahead of time, the ECB said.

Instead, the scale would depend "on the severity of the risks facing policy transmission".

TRIPOLI — Mahmud Aguil has a comfortable house in Libya’s capital Tripoli, but chronic power outages in the war-battered country and roasting summer heat now force him to sleep in his air-conditioned van.

“This is my bedroom,” the 48-year-old said pointing to the cramped vehicle, its back seats removed to make space for him and his two young children. “In the morning I wake up with a terrible backache."

“That’s our life these days.”

The people of Libya are enduring electricity cuts of up to 18 hours a day, despite their country sitting atop Africa’s largest proven oil reserves.

After a decade of violence, rising poverty and fragmenting government, many have reached the limits of their tolerance.

Public anger spilled into the streets earlier this month, when protests drew thousands chanting “we want the lights to work” in the capital and in Benghazi, the country’s second largest city.

Demonstrators torched and ransacked the House of Representatives, based in the eastern city of Tobruk, along with other official buildings, while masked protesters burned tyres and blocked roads in Tripoli.

“Even when we have electricity, it’s very weak — just enough to keep the lights on,” said Aguil, who works for a group clearing unexploded ordnance.

The electricity crisis is just the latest trial for Libyans after a decade of insecurity, fuel shortages, crumbling infrastructure and economic woes since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed Muammar Qadhafi.

‘Trouble with everything’ 

One of the walls of Aguil’s house is riddled with bullet holes, bearing witness to the violence that has repeatedly ravaged the North African country.

“We have trouble with everything: The health sector, education, the roads are terrible,” he said. “We have nothing.”

Under Qadhafi, Libya boasted a generous welfare state financed by oil revenues.

But that too has fallen victim to the country’s conflict and division, with fuel squandered, infrastructure damaged or dilapidated, and crippling oil-facility blockades.

Many of Libya’s 7 million people have turned to unreliable, gas-guzzling and polluting generators for electricity.

More dependable models cost those who can afford them around $5,000.

“Thanks to our government,” Aguil said bitterly.

The Tripoli-based authorities have sought to quell public anger over the power outages, admitting they had underestimated the problem.

Interim prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said three power stations were to open this month, two in the west and one in the east.

‘State is absent’ 

Dbeibah leads a western-based administration, while former interior minister Fathi Bashagha draws support from the eastern Tobruk-based parliament and military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Supporters of the eastern camp have restricted production at key oil facilities in recent months to pressure Dbeibah to transfer power to Bashagha.

The blockade has also reduced the amount of fuel available for power stations, exacerbating electricity shortages.

Sitting with his severely disabled son in Benghazi, the cradle of Libya’s 2011 uprising against Kadhafi’s 42-year rule, Ahmed Hejjaji said he feels helpless.

His four-year-old’s medical equipment needs electricity, and the power cuts are wreaking havoc with his treatment.

The authorities “must guarantee us access to electricity” the 42-year-old father said.

Hejjaji said the daily challenges are never-ending.

Before the Muslim Eid Al Ahda celebration, he said, “I went to the bank early to take out money, but I waited in the queue until 3 pm.

“Why? Because the state is absent.”