Economics
A new Turkish state oil and gas company is negotiating with Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to take stakes in several exploration blocks – a development that would signal dramatic headway for the Kurds in their quest for oil sector autonomy.
But elsewhere the central Iraqi government in Baghdad is struggling to find buyers for all its 2013 oil output on term contracts, industry sources said, as foreign refiners complain of high prices and variable quality from the world's fastest growing crude exporter.
Brent crude fell nearly 4 per cent on Wednesday as problems facing the economies of the United States and Europe darkened investor sentiment a day after the re-election of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Qatar is looking to buy US$9.9bn worth of missiles and defence equipment from the US, Pentagon officials announced, just days after it placed an order for US$6.5bn worth of missile-defence systems.
Bahrain's government plans to cut its budget spending by almost 6 percent in 2013 as it seeks to curb its deficit, a draft budget released by the finance ministry shows.
Companies
Emirates Airline would order at least 100 Boeing 777 wide-body jets if the Chicago-based manufacturer upgraded the design of the aircraft, the Dubai-based carrier’s president has said.
