Economics
Gold slipped in thin trade on Tuesday after the euro dropped to a two-month low against the US dollar and uncertainty about another tranche of financial aid for Greece to help pay off its debt kept investors cautious.
Brent crude slipped below US$109 on Tuesday, declining for a second day on worries about demand growth in a well-supplied market, as the United States and the European Union grapple with their financial woes.
Employees in the Middle East can expect a 6 percent salary increase in 2013. Salaries in Egypt are expected to see the biggest growth, predicted to rise 9.5 percent.
Consumer confidence in Lebanon hit a record low in the first half of 2012 following deterioration in economic performance and spillovers from the Syrian conflict, according to the Byblos Bank/AUB Consumer Confidence Index published Monday.
Companies
Shares in Dubai-listed Air Arabia have risen to a seven-month high after the carrier posted quarterly earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
Boeing and Qatar Airways have celebrated the delivery of the airline's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airplane, the first of 30 787s ordered by the Doha-based airline, is also the first to be delivered to an airline in the Middle East.
ExxonMobil has told Iraq's top oil official that the company is actively seeking to sell its stake in the super-giant West Qurna 1 oil field. In a recent meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani, an Exxon executive said the company "wishes to withdraw from the West Qurna field," according to Shahristani's spokesman Faisal Abdullah.
