Air Arabia wins bid to operate new low-cost Saudi airline
The new airline would operate domestic and international flights from King Fahd international airport in Dammam, the authority said.
Reuters
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Khaleej Times
7 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Small public companies snap up ether in new crypto gold rush, even as risks linger
Some companies are favouring ether over bitcoin as an inflation hedge as the cryptocurrency hits a sweet spot between affordability and credibility, while being underpinned by a strong blockchain backbone. Corporate treasuries held at least 966,304 ether tokens on their balance sheets at the end of July, worth nearly $3.5 billion, according to a Reuters analysis of regulatory filings and disclosures. That compares with just under 116,000 at the end of 2024. The second-largest cryptocurrency has become the token of choice for those looking for more active returns. Unlike bitcoin, which solely relies on price appreciation, ether can be used in staking, a practice where holders lock up their tokens to support the ethereum network in exchange for rewards. Staking can offer yields of about 3% to 4%. "Ether balances growth potential with the legitimacy of a blue-chip asset. It is large enough to be institutional-grade, yet early enough in adoption to benefit from future upside," said Sam Tabar, CEO of Bit Digital, which has ether on its balance sheet. The cryptocurrency also powers the ethereum blockchain, which supports a wide range of applications including lending platforms, trading protocols and stablecoins, making it a core component of the crypto financial system. "Holding ether is more like owning oil, whereas bitcoin is more one-dimensional, like gold. Ether is the foundation of decentralized finance, not just a pure store of value," said Anthony Georgiades, general partner at VC firm Innovating Capital. Still, challenges such as regulatory uncertainty and price volatility, which affect the assets' fair value, continue to hinder adoption. CAUTION AMID HYPE After disclosing plans to accumulate ether earlier this year, shares of Peter Thiel-backed BitMine and gaming media network GameSquare jumped as much as 3,679% and 123%, respectively, underscoring how eager investors are to chase crypto-linked momentum. But analysts have cautioned against unfettered optimism. "The share price response has the hallmarks of the meme craze," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. The inherent volatility of crypto tokens also makes it a poor fit for boards with a low risk appetite, which could curb ether's appeal beyond core industry players. "Most CFOs would not swap liquid cash for ether. It remains a niche tool best left to 'tech-forward' treasuries that can tolerate swings and complexity," said Anuj Karnik, founder and managing director at Straitsberg, a Singapore-based treasury advisory firm. "Treasury best-practice values liquidity, predictability and regulatory certainty above all. Most corporate leaders view crypto holdings today as experimental 'alternative' allocations, not mainstream policy." Also, while the Securities and Exchange Commission has softened its stance on staking activities, the regulatory framework around the practice is still evolving. Key questions include whether rewards should be taxed as income, how to treat locked tokens on balance sheets and whether offering staking services could trigger custodial obligations. "Every staking reward could be landing in a compliance gray zone," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. Still, despite the risks, some companies continue to double down, raising capital through share sales or debt offerings to fund their ether purchases. BitMine sold a $182 million stake to Cathie Wood's ARK Invest in July. GameSquare CEO Justin Kenna also told Reuters his company might sell stock to invest in ether. "We're not in the business of being overly dilutive. But we'll continue to be opportunistic," Kenna said.
The National
8 hours ago
- The National
Surge in hiring in Saudi Arabia, despite slower regional non-oil business growth
The rate of hiring in Saudi Arabia rose sharply in July in response to strong domestic demand, despite slower non-oil business activity growth in the region's biggest economies. The Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers Index report dropped to 56.3 in July, from 57.2 in June, but remained well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction in the non-oil private sector. However, the rate of business activity growth eased to its lowest since January 2022. "Saudi Arabia's non-oil economy remained on a solid growth track in July, supported by higher output, new business and continued job creation," said Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank. The latest survey showed a historically steep rise in employment at the Arab world's second-biggest economy, as companies responded to higher activity and new orders by hiring more staff in July, the report said on Tuesday. This followed June's fastest uplift in job numbers over the past 14 years. Increased hiring was driven partly by a rise in backlogs of work, as some businesses found existing contract work and constrained capacity held up the completion of new orders, the report said. "Employment conditions are expected to stay supportive, helping firms manage future workloads," Mr Al-Ghaith said. However, input cost pressures continued as wages and purchasing prices continued to rise, prompting companies to raise selling prices, particularly in services, construction and manufacturing, he added. The International Monetary Fund estimated Saudi Arabia's economy will expand at a 3.6 per cent pace in 2025 and 3.9 per cent in 2026, supported by the continued phase-out of Opec production cuts. The kingdom is expected to keep its non-oil growth above 3.5 per cent over the medium term, which mirrors the positive effects led by its Vision 2030 economic programme, the Washington-based lender said. In July, non-oil companies' output grew on the back of existing projects and incoming new orders that helped to sustain growth, according to qualitative survey reports. However, output growth eased to its lowest rate in three and half years due to higher competition and lower customer footfall, the survey said. Orders also grew, driven by domestic demand and increased efforts by sales teams to fulfil orders. However, companies faced difficulties in attracting new foreign clients, leading to a decrease in new export orders for the first time in nine months. Cost pressures eased slightly in July, despite steep rises in labour costs. Salary expenses rose sharply, underlined by efforts to retain workers and offer bonuses. Looking ahead, expectations for future business activity in July "softened notably" from June's two-year high, although in general businesses expect output to increase due to "resilient market conditions" and strong client demand, the report said. Overall optimism was the lowest recorded since July 2024. UAE growth Meanwhile in the UAE, non-oil business conditions grew at their weakest level since June 2021 as geopolitical tension weighed on sales, according to S&P. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 52.9 in July, from 53.5 in June, the report on Tuesday said. "New order volumes helped firms to expand, but this trend is declining, with the latest data indicating the softest rise in incoming new work in almost four years," said David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Companies partly attributed this slowdown to the Israel-Iran tension that flared in June, which made some clients hesitant to spend. They also highlighted weaker tourism activity and headwinds from global trade disruption. Firms blamed more crowded markets for the increasing difficulty in securing new orders. "Should regional tensions ease, we may see a recovery in sales growth in the coming months," Mr Owen said. "Nevertheless, the ongoing trends of rising competition, limited inventory, constrained hiring growth and relatively low confidence among surveyed firms suggest that downside risks remain elevated.' Despite the demand slowdown, companies received higher new orders in July compared to the previous month but the upturn was the least amount recorded since August 2021. July data showed softening of job growth at non-oil companies in the UAE. Employment rose slightly, marking the weakest uplift in four months, coinciding with a steeper rise in backlog orders. In Dubai, the business and tourism hub of the Middle East, the non-oil sector showed a solid recovery, with its PMI rising to 53.5 in July from 51.8 in June, driven by a sharper improvement in sales volumes. The outlook Looking ahead, UAE non-oil companies remained optimistic in July, driven by hopes of strengthening demand levels. However, the degree of confidence eased slightly, as some companies highlighted risks stemming from global economic uncertainty and heightened competition. In Egypt, non-oil business conditions deteriorated for the fifth consecutive month in July, but the decline was less severe than in June. This was because companies reported softer contractions in activity and new orders, while employment increased for the first time in nine months, according to the S&P Global Egypt PMI report. The headline PMI rose to 49.5 in July from 48.8 in June, remaining below the 50 mark. The outlook for business remained at a historically subdued level in July, as companies continued to express concerns about demand strength and broader economic uncertainty, the report said. Optimism in July improved only slightly from June's record low.
Al Etihad
9 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Stocks rise on Fed rate cut hopes after disappointing jobs data
5 Aug 2025 15:53 TOKYO (REUTERS)Global stocks rose for a second session on Tuesday and the US dollar steadied as investors raised bets the Federal Reserve would act to prop up the world's largest shares rallied on Monday on generally positive earnings reports and increasing bets for a September rate cut from the Fed after disappointing jobs data on prices edged lower after output increases by OPEC+, while gold hovered near a one-week Europe, the STOXX 600 rose 0.4% in early trading, up for a second day, echoing the strength across Asia markets, where MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.8%.In currencies, the dollar edged up modestly, rising 0.35% against the Japanese yen at 147.6, while the euro fell 0.25% to $1.1543. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, rallied 0.34% after a two-day concern mounting about the fragility of the underlying economy and the potential for oversupply, oil prices dropped for a fourth day, leaving Brent crude futures down 1% at two-week lows at $68.05 a heavyweights Nvidia, Alphabet and Meta surged overnight, and Palantir Technologies raised its revenue forecast for the second time this year on expectations of sustained demand for its artificial intelligence services.U.S. stock index futures were up 0.2-0.4%, pointing to a modest rise at the start of on Tuesday showed business activity in the euro zone grew at a slightly faster pace in July than in June, but remained sluggish.A separate UK survey showed British businesses recorded their largest drop in new orders in almost three years in July and cutting staff by most in six from Asia's two biggest economies showed resilience in their service sectors. In Japan, the S&P Global final services purchasing managers' index (PMI) climbed to 53.6 in July from 51.7 in June for the strongest expansion since services activity last month expanded at its fastest pace in more than a year. Bitcoin, meanwhile, fell 0.6% to $114,235, while gold rose 0.1% to $3,375 an ounce.
