The United States and Saudi Arabia signed 18 partnership agreements in fields including energy, communications, space and healthcare during a visit by US President Joe Biden, Saudi state TV al-Ekhbariya reported.

Traditional debt crisis signs of crashing currencies, 1,000 basis point bond spreads and burned FX reserves point to a record number of developing nations now in trouble.

The Indian rupee weakened in opening trade on Thursday to hit record lows against the greenback for a fourth straight session after data showed US inflation, already at four-decade highs, accelerated even further.

The United Arab Emirates has pledged $2 billion to help develop a series of “food parks” in India to tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East, the UAE, India, the United States and Israel said on Thursday.

Job vacancies seem to come ten-a-penny in Keswick, a tourist town in England’s picturesque Lake District, as the hospitality sector cries out for staff -- shortages which are a direct result, critics say, of the coronavirus pandemic and of Brexit.

Wall Street’s top investment banks that stand to lose lucrative fees from Elon Musk abandoning his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc hope the start-ups backed by the world’s richest person will make up for the lost business.

India’s annual wholesale price-based inflation kept above 15 per cent in June, government data showed on Thursday, but the slight easing from the prior month’s three-decade high of 15.88 per cent strengthens prospects for more rate hikes next month by the central bank.

The European Commission cut its forecasts for economic growth in the euro zone for this year and next and revised up its estimates for inflation on Thursday largely due to the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors focused on the prospect of a large US rate hike that could stem inflation but at the same time hit oil demand.

China is a “very important” creditor of Sri Lanka and it would likely be in the interest of both countries if China participated in restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday.

US inflation surged to a fresh peak of 9.1 per cent in June, further squeezing American families and heaping pressure on President Joe Biden, whose approval ratings have taken a battering from the relentless rise in prices.

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against six Indians from Assam state in connection with a case of trafficking Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis into Indian territory for sexual exploitation and settling them in this country.

​​​​​​​A cost-of-living crisis sparked in part by higher fuel and food prices is expected to hit women the hardest, the World Economic Forum reported Wednesday, pointing to a widening gender gap in the global labor force.

Thailand is close to introducing chemical castration as a means of tackling sex crime after lawmakers approved a Bill that will give some offenders the right to choose the procedure in return for a reduced prison sentence.

With broad-basing of its industrial sector, Bangladesh could well be the tiger economy of the future, according to former Indian diplomat Ambassador Sarvajit Chakravarti.

The International Monetary Fund should speed up its handling of internal complaints and further strengthen internal safeguards, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.

Apple on Wednesday unveiled a new way for activists, journalists and other targets of state-sponsored espionage to protect themselves from spyware.

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday said the outlook for the global economy had “darkened significantly” since April and she could not rule out a possible global recession next year given the elevated risks.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka has raised interest rates one percentage point on Thursday, the second sharp hike in three months, as the central bank warned of 80 per cent inflation and a painful recession.

Investors hoping the second half of the year would bring some relief after a bruising six months, may not be feeling very optimistic after the last 24 hours.