WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush will visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in May, a trip intended to hail Israel s 60th anniversary but also shove along Mideast peace talks that have stalled as Bush s term winds down. The White House on Monday released details of Bush s trip, the broad outline of which …

CAIRO: It is not market rivalry that is making some of the world’s largest fast-food chains operating in Egypt jittery; it is fear of more bleak inflationary pressures amid escalating food prices that have already soared urban consumer inflation to its highest rate in over three years. “One of the biggest problems we face these …

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Qatar-based Gulf Petroleum Ltd. said Monday it has secured the Malaysian government s approval to build a $5 billion oil and gas complex project. Gulf Petroleum said the project s development will start as soon as possible after resolving technical issues regarding a 1,000-acre site in Malaysia s northern Perak state. At …

RIYADH: Inflation in oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia hit 9.6 percent in March, the highest level in more than two decades, according to figures published by the official SPA news agency on Sunday. Sharp rises in rents and the price of food, drinks and services drove up inflation, SPA said. The figure compared with year-on-year rate …

CAIRO: Egypt hopes to boost its tourism earnings by 26 percent to $12 billion by 2011, the official MENA agency reported on Saturday. According to a plan launched by Tourism Minister Zuheir Garana, Egypt hopes to welcome some 14 million tourists in 2011, requiring a capacity of 240,000 hotel rooms, compared with 11 million in …

LONDON: Oil prices hit a historic peak close to $120 on Monday as energy supplies were disrupted in Britain and Nigeria, traders said. New York s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, jumped to $119.93 on Monday, beating last Thursday s previous peak of 119.90. The contract later stood at $118.92, …

ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Monday in Islamabad for the first time since Pakistan’s February parliamentary elections, to discuss bilateral economic and security ties. During the visit, Ahmadinejad met his counterpart, President Pervez Musharraf and newly elected Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani. Accompanied by a delegation of top ministers, the Iranian president and his …

CAIRO: While its coffee aroma seems to be waning in its homegrown market on the heels of the US mortgage meltdown, Starbucks is robust on Egyptian market operations. “As a new market for Starbucks, Egypt’s [sales] figures are better than those of other countries, said Omar Abdelhay, operations manager at Starbucks Egypt. “Our expansion strategy …

China calls for more judicial co-op with Egypt A senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Friday called for greater judicial cooperation between China and Egypt, Xinhua reported. The Chinese news agency said that Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made …

KUWAIT CITY: Inflation in OPEC member Kuwait raced to a new all-time high of 9.53 percent in January, driven by sharp rises in housing services and prices of beverages, official figures showed on Thursday. The consumer price index in January hit 126.4 points compared to 115.4 points a year ago, the new figures released by …

LONDON: The European single currency fell further on Friday from this week s record dollar high as dealers continued to focus on soft economic data in the eurozone, analysts said. In early European trading, the euro sank to $1.5589, from $1.5685 in New York late on Thursday. It had hit a historic peak of $1.6019 …

LONDON: World oil prices climbed back toward this week s record peaks Friday as traders fretted over threats to global energy supplies in Britain and Nigeria, analysts said. New York s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, added 82 cents to $116.88 a barrel. London s Brent North Sea crude …

CAIRO: After closing at record highs for two days in a row, Egypt’s stock market reversed track by mid-week on profit taking prior to local holidays. The market snapped its two-day losing streak on Thursday, lifted by banking stocks. The CASE30 Index rose to record highs on Sunday, gaining 1.56 percent at 11,754.53 points, on …

CAIRO: Renowned lawyer Mona Zulficar was named non-Executive Chairman to the Board of regional investment bank EFG-Hermes. The bank’s general assembly has chosen Zulficar, who’s also a member of the Board of Governors of the Human Rights Counsel to the United Nations. The firm s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) concluded with the decision to amend …

CAIRO: “Cheap chic, “fast fashion – pert monikers for Swedish clothier Hennes & Mauritz’s (H&M) retail style abound. Whatever the label, people are buying it: Since 2000, the chain has mushroomed through North America and Asia. Today they run over 1,500 stores in nearly 30 countries. Last year their revenues pushed 92.1 billion Swedish krona …

CAIRO: Amid the ongoing wave of wage strikes and undercurrents of social unrest in response to spiraling food prices, the Minister of Investment suggested that corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies could expedite the trickle down effect of the government’s economic reform measures. “Policies that seek to achieve more growth as well as better wages present …

CAIRO: Speaking to journalists at the Arab League headquarters yesterday, a cadre of private and public officials announced that the First Arab Consumer and Brand Protection Forum will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this October. Pirated goods net about $50 billion per year in the Arab world, said Abdul Aziz Bin Othaimeen, co-chairman of …

CAIRO: Teleperformance, global expert in contact center management, has officially inaugurated its operations in Cairo. To celebrate the occasion, a ceremony presided over by Dr Tarek Kamel, the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, was held at Teleperformance Egypt’s new headquarters above the Shoubra tunnel at the newly completed Post Office building. This ceremony was …

STRASBOURG: The European Commission on Tuesday announced a further 117.25 million euros ($185.5 million) in food aid to the world s most vulnerable to offset the impact of soaring prices. The rise in basic food prices is a worldwide humanitarian disaster in the making, said EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel told the European Parliament in …

CAIRO: Since the dollar and the Egyptian pound parted ways five years ago, they’ve had their differences – but few as glaring as now. Propelled by economic malaise in the United States, a gush of foreign cash into Egypt and growing profits from tourism and exports, the dollar sunk to LE 5.38 yesterday, its nadir …

CAIRO: The government will raise prices of natural gas and electricity for energy-intensive industries starting July, instead of September, to help ease pressure on the budget, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a press statement. The Ministry announced Monday it would hike the price of natural gas to $2.22 per million British Thermal …

CAIRO: Ahli United Bank-Egypt has launched the “My Global services to cater for Egyptian expatriates, to reduce the cost and inconvenience of their international banking requirements. Available in countries like Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Kingdom, the account facilitates global access to the bank’s international network, with services such as consolidated global account statements, and …

CAIRO: If cheaper building techniques based on a new scientific approach are used in construction, costs would be cut down by 10 percent for each square meter, Housing Minister Ahmed El Maghrabi said at a conference last week. “We build 300,000 units annually over an area of 40 million square meters. But if we manage …

CAIRO: The number of institutions offering sharia-compliant financial instruments in Egypt are on the rise, and the sector now represents more than $270 billion globally. ISI Egypt has highlighted the rise of such sharia-compliant financial information products in a gathering of representatives from ISI global, local banks and the media. Both state-owned and private banks …

CAIRO: To compete more effectively on the global market place, Egyptian products must adhere to quality, British Ambassador to Egypt Dominic Asquith told an assembly of business experts in Cairo. The buzzword, he said, is public-private partnership (PPP) schemes that bring government entities, businesspeople, and multinational donor organizations to work together to raise the quality …

NAIROBI: Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan Saturday told governments to invest more in agriculture to avoid future food crises, but warned that current shortages would hurt the poor. Annan said the surging price of basic foods like rice, wheat and corn in some of the world s poorest countries, which have triggered riots …