#US Treasuries holdings of major #GCC nations’ rise in year-on-year terms in Mar 2024, up 4.5% higher vs end-2023. #SaudiArabia was the 17th largest investor in US Treasury bonds in Mar & #UAE ’s holdings jumped 3% mom & 15.3% yoy to $70.9bn Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

The lesson from Japan: if you don't get your debt under control, you have to use your central bank to cap yields to avoid a debt crisis, causing big Yen devaluation. If the Euro zone doesn't find a way to bring high periphery debt levels down, the Euro will follow the same path.

#SaudiArabia 's #oil #exports to top 5 destinations (China, South Korea, Japan, India & US) stood at 58.2% of total oil exports in Mar. Non-oil trade with the GCC moved to a surplus SAR 443mn in Q1, from a deficit SAR 1.95bn a year before Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

#IMF calls out #Lebanon on “lack of action on necessary economic reforms”. Lebanon’s unresolved political-economic crisis, high #unemployment and #poverty levels, and the conflict in Gaza add further uncertainty and risk to economic growth Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

#Inflation in #Lebanon fell to 59.7% yoy in Apr (Mar: 70.4%), the lowest reading since May 2020; food & non-alcoholic beverages eased to 33.5%. World Bank: #poverty has more than tripled over the past decade, with income inequality worsening Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

⁦World Bank⁩ finds #Gaza conflict spilled over into Syria with repeated Israeli airstrikes since Oct 2023, resulting in fatalities & extensive damage to civilian infrastructure. Captagon trade may have become the most valuable sector of the economy linkedin.com/posts/eric-le-…

MIT just made its classes available online for free.

Payment is not necessary.

The following 10 classes are must-takes in 2024:

Very informative report from World Bank : 2024 State and Trends of Carbon Pricing: wrld.bg/R6g750RPsI0

Superb views of Dubai from Za’abeel Tower One

#UAE #GDP expanded by 3.6% yoy in 2023, supported by 6.2% non-oil sector growth; within non-oil, #financial sector growth dominates Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

#oil sector accounted for just over one-fourth of #UAE 's #GDP in 2023 (25.7%), followed by wholesale & retail #trade (12.6%) & #manufacturing (11.2%). Oil sector contracted by 3.1%; wholesale & retail trade and manufacturing grew 3.9% & 3.8% Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

#Exports from #SaudiArabia grew by 4.9% month-on-month to SAR 100.7bn in Mar, supported by both #oil (5.5% mom) and non-oil exports (6.0% mom). Oil exports share in overall exports stood at 76.9%. Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

#UAE #GDP expanded by 3.6% yoy in 2023, supported by 6.2% non-oil sector growth; within non-oil, #financial sector growth dominates with strong capital inflows, including FDI.

Our Weekly Insights is live: UAE GDP. Saudi foreign trade. Lebanon inflation. GCC’s US Treasury holdings. WEF’s Travel & Tourism Development Index for the MENA region. nassersaidi.com/2024/05/25/wee…

An analysis on the dynamics between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and existing digital payment methods, as well as the implications of increased CBDC usage on traditional bank deposits, from @ProfDiMaggio, Ghosh, Kanti Ghosh, and Wu nber.org/papers/w32457

My interview today on العربية: i expect only 1 Fed rate cut in Dec given continued strong US growth continued fiscal stimulus & very high Treasury debt issues & election year politics, preceded by Bank of England & European Central Bank given lower & falling inflation rates & weaker economies.

كيف تؤثر السياسة والانتخابات على قرارات الفدرالي؟ ومن يُخفض #الفائدة أولاً؟

◀️ الدكتور ناصر السعيدي في حوار مع Lara Habib Chamat لارا حبيب شامات

#العربية_Business

#Oman posted a budget surplus of OMR 162mn in Mar (showing sharply from a surplus of OMR 450mn in Q1 2023), as both revenues & spending slowed – the former at a much faster pace Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/20/wee…

#SaudiArabia ’s #PIF reduced its #US #equities holdings by 42% to $20.55bn as of March 31st as per a filing to the US Securities & Exchange Commission. PIF divested itself of 25 companies Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/20/wee…

#CPI in #SaudiArabia eased to 1.58% yoy in Apr (Mar: 1.6%), with a few posting slight declines: #food & beverages (0.8% from 0.9%), #housing costs (8.7% from 8.8%). Recreation costs meanwhile moved into deflation territory Nasser Saidi nassersaidi.com/2024/05/20/wee…