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Saudi Arabia, IMF to Hold High-Level Conference on Emerging Markets in AlUla in Feb

The first conference in this series will be held in AlUla on February 16-17. SPA
The first conference in this series will be held in AlUla on February 16-17. SPA
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Saudi Arabia, IMF to Hold High-Level Conference on Emerging Markets in AlUla in Feb

The first conference in this series will be held in AlUla on February 16-17. SPA
The first conference in this series will be held in AlUla on February 16-17. SPA

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund IMF Kristalina Georgieva announced on Thursday that the Kingdom and the IMF have agreed to jointly organize an annual high-level conference in AlUla in Feburary 2025.

“The world is confronting deeper and more frequent shocks, including from conflicts, geoeconomic fragmentation, pandemics, climate change, food insecurity, and the digital divide. If not addressed adequately, these shocks threaten to undermine the hard-won improvements in living standards for emerging market economies. Such setbacks would affect large segments of the world population and put at risk global growth and macro-financial stability,” Aljadaan and Georgieva said in a joint statement.

“Against this backdrop, the International Monetary Fund and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to jointly organize an annual high-level conference in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, to address the challenges and opportunities facing emerging market economies. The first conference in this series will be held on February 16-17,” they said.

The AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies will provide a unique platform to exchange views on economic developments and to discuss policies and reforms aimed at fostering inclusive prosperity and building resilience through strong international cooperation.

It will bring together a select group of finance ministers, central bank governors, and policymakers from emerging markets, as well as leaders from the public and private sectors, international institutions, and academia, they added.

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Business

Bank of America Pledges $250 Billion for US Infrastructure Financing

Signage is seen at the Bank of America Tower in Manhattan, New York City, New York, US, November 2, 2022. (Reuters)
Signage is seen at the Bank of America Tower in Manhattan, New York City, New York, US, November 2, 2022. (Reuters)
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Bank of America Pledges $250 Billion for US Infrastructure Financing

Signage is seen at the Bank of America Tower in Manhattan, New York City, New York, US, November 2, 2022. (Reuters)
Signage is seen at the Bank of America Tower in Manhattan, New York City, New York, US, November 2, 2022. (Reuters)

Bank of America said on Wednesday it plans to deploy $250 billion by July 2027 to support US digital and infrastructure projects, a move it says will boost the country's economic growth and help create tens of thousands of jobs.

The Wall Street bank said its "Critical Infrastructure Finance Initiative," launched on the heels of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations, will provide primary market lending, investments, ‌capital markets services, ‌and banking and advisory offerings.

The announcement underscores how ‌major ⁠US financial institutions are seeking ⁠to capitalize on rising demand for AI data centers, critical minerals and energy infrastructure upgrades.

It comes days after Morgan Stanley said it would facilitate roughly $1.5 trillion over the next decade to finance technology and infrastructure projects.

Last year JPMorgan Chase launched a $1.5 trillion plan to facilitate, finance and invest in industries deemed critical to the US national security and economic resilience, including defense, ⁠energy and advanced manufacturing.

BOOSTING GROWTH, CREATING JOBS

Bank of ‌America's financing will target three areas: ‌digital infrastructure, including data centers and computing; energy and power infrastructure, including renewable generation ‌and energy storage; and core infrastructure such as transportation and natural gas.

"Meeting ‌America's growing infrastructure needs requires mobilizing capital at scale across increasingly interconnected sectors," said Karen Fang, global head of infrastructure and sustainable finance at Bank of America.

"Delivering these projects requires integrated financing solutions spanning corporate and project-level capital in both public ‌and private markets."

The $250 billion target will be measured over an 18-month period from January 1, 2026, to July ⁠4, 2027, ⁠the bank said.

"If we all do our job right, we should be deploying more capital," said Fang, who is also co-head of global capital solutions at BofA, when asked about potential deployment of more capital after July 2027.

Many projects require new infrastructure to be built before becoming operational, she said.

In the United States, infrastructure construction loans typically have terms of five to seven years. Once projects are completed and operating, they are often refinanced with longer-term debt lasting 10, 15 or 20 years, Fang said.

She said greater infrastructure investment would help drive economic growth and create long-term jobs.

"Infrastructure spending will lead to economic growth and prosperity," she said.

Business

IEA Cuts 2026 Oil Demand Forecast Again as Hormuz Remains Shut

Boats and a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Boats and a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 3, 2026. (Reuters)
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IEA Cuts 2026 Oil Demand Forecast Again as Hormuz Remains Shut

Boats and a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Boats and a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 3, 2026. (Reuters)

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday sharply reduced its forecast for global oil demand this year, as supplies remain crimped by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and high prices deter buyers.

Demand is expected to slump by 1.6 million barrels per day (mb/d), compared with its forecast slump of one million barrels in its previous monthly report in July.

Crude prices have remained well above levels seen before the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, sparking a war that has seen Iran launch attacks at several Gulf countries.

Tehran also responded by effectively shutting down tanker and cargo traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil supplies usually transit.

"The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz and elevated fuel prices continue to weigh on oil consumption," the Paris-based IEA said.

Despite a purported ceasefire and repeated claims that a deal to open the strait was imminent -- what the IEA referred to as "sudden diplomatic pivots" -- only a handful of ships are being let through, leading to volatile pricing on global oil markets.

The IEA said global supplies rose by 2.4 million barrels per day in July, to reach 101.5 mb/d, but that was still 6.3 mb/d lower than a year ago.

But "renewed hostilities and maritime disruptions in July and early August undermined the recovery efforts," the agency said.

It now expects global supply to fall by 4.3 mb/d on average this year, before recovering next year.

On the demand side, the IEA is projecting a return to growth in the fourth quarter of this year.

Business

Oil Rises After Attacks on Ships in Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb

A drone view of drilling rigs in Midland, Texas, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view of drilling rigs in Midland, Texas, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Oil Rises After Attacks on Ships in Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb

A drone view of drilling rigs in Midland, Texas, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view of drilling rigs in Midland, Texas, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after attacks on two ships reinforced worries about disruptions to Middle East supplies, while industry data showing swelling inventories of US crude might keep bulls in check.

Brent futures were up 90 cents, or 1%, at $89.81 a barrel by 0757 GMT, set for their sixth day of gains. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 88 cents, ‌or 1.1%, to $84.08, ‌up for a fifth day. Both contracts earlier ‌rose ⁠more than $1.

The United States ⁠and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, two crucial export valves for Middle Eastern oil and gas in addition to the Suez Canal.

Iran's top security official said Hormuz would stay closed unless the US accepted Iran's conditions to end the war, including release of its frozen ⁠assets.

Shipping data showed the number of vessels transiting ‌Hormuz fell to a one-week low of ‌eight on Tuesday. Before the war, 125 to 140 vessels passed through the ‌crucial waterway each day.

In Libya, the country's National Oil Corporation ‌said all fires at fuel storage tanks in the Zawiya oil complex were under control.

On the supply front, a Reuters poll showed that US crude oil and fuel inventories were expected to have fallen last week.

However, market sources citing ‌American Petroleum Institute data said US crude inventories rose sharply, while gasoline and distillate stocks fell.

Crude stocks rose ⁠by about 9.1 ⁠million barrels, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels and 596,000 barrels, respectively, from the previous week, the sources said.

The crude build far exceeded expectations and, if confirmed by the Energy Information Administration report later on Wednesday, could ease market concerns about supply tightness, Haitong Futures said in a note.

Official numbers from the EIA, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, are due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT).

For longer-term supply, the EIA expected significant disruptions to Middle East crude supplies to persist through the end of 2027. The EIA said it expects 2026 Brent crude oil prices to average $86.81 a barrel, and WTI to average $80.88.