PIF Unveils Innovative Qiddiya Project Logo

The Qiddiya city logo.
The Qiddiya city logo.
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PIF Unveils Innovative Qiddiya Project Logo

The Qiddiya city logo.
The Qiddiya city logo.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund revealed the logo of the Qiddiya Project that plans to build the largest cultural, recreational and sports city in the Kingdom. The design of the innovative logo reflects the unique geography of the region where the city will be established.

The Qiddiya project was announced earlier this year.

The city will be constructed 40 kilometers away from central Riyadh in the Qiddiya region..

The design of the logo was inspired from the breathtaking Tuwaiq mountain range in the Qiddiya region that will overlook the city once it is complete. The lines of the logo reflect the abilities of the residents of the Kingdom and their vibrant colors represent the residents’ diverse capabilities and identities. The logo embodies the project’s goal of providing special recreational destination for Saudis where they will be able to unleash their talents in various fields.

The Qiddiya project highlights the heritage of the region and reflects the beauty of the location that will become an important landmark that will meet the demands of the Kingdom’s recreational, cultural and social needs.

Qiddiya city is one of the significant investment initiatives that provides a diverse number of recreational venues. It also supports the Saudi Vision 2030 that aims at diversifying the sources of national income, bolster the Kingdom’s economy and create job opportunities for the local youth.

Qiddiya city allows visitors to enjoy a number of recreational and educational activities through six main venues that include an amusement park, sports arenas, racing rings, water and snow games, gorgeous natural vistas and several cultural and heritage centers.

Construction of Qiddiya city is expected to begin in 2018 and the first phase of the city will be opened in 2022.



US Labor Market Slows Despite Job Adds in May

Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
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US Labor Market Slows Despite Job Adds in May

Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)

The United States added 139,000 jobs in May, more than expected but pointing to a labor market that continues to slow.

The employment data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics exceeded forecasts for about 120,000 payroll gains but marked a decline from the revised 147,000 jobs added in April. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, remaining near historic lows.

Stocks surged at Friday's open, with all three major indexes gaining about 1%.

In return, US government borrowing costs climbed as investors anticipated the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates higher for longer, making it less attractive to hold US debt.

The BLS report showed job losses in the federal government continued to pile up, with that sector shedding 22,000 roles in May alone.

The federal workforce is down by 59,000 since January, largely due to sweeping cuts by the Trump administration and multibillionaire tech executive Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency project.

Even as the economy continued to add jobs at a relatively steady clip last month, the report showed other signs of a weakening labor market.

The ratio of employed workers to the total population fell to 59.7%, its lowest since the pandemic.

An alternative measure of unemployment that includes “discouraged” workers, or those who have stopped looking for work, returned to a post-pandemic high of 4.5%.

But President Donald Trump cheered the numbers, posting on his Truth Social platform Friday morning: “AMERICA IS HOT! SIX MONTHS AGO IT WAS COLD AS ICE! BORDER IS CLOSED, PRICES ARE DOWN. WAGES ARE UP!”

Trump had urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to slash interest rates by a full percentage point.

“Too Late' at the Fed is a disaster!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

In reality, employers added 212,000 jobs in November, unemployment was at 4.1%, the 12-month average of hourly pay gains have softened from nearly 4.2% then to 3.9% in May, and both the labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio were slightly higher.

Only consumer prices have meaningfully cooled, ticking down from an annual inflation rate of 2.7% in November to 2.3% in April, the latest month with available data.

Analysts at Capital Economics called the May jobs report “not as good as it looks.”

Still, they wrote in a note Friday, “it shows that tariffs are having little negative impact” and added that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue holding interest rates steady “while it assesses the effects of policy changes on the economy.”