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Cruise Saudi Appoints Lars Clasen as Chief Executive Officer

Lars Clasen.
Lars Clasen.
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Cruise Saudi Appoints Lars Clasen as Chief Executive Officer

Lars Clasen.
Lars Clasen.

Cruise Saudi - a 100% Public Investment Fund-owned business - is pleased to announce the appointment of Lars Clasen as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. He is a global industry expert with 30+ years of experience in the shipping and cruise industries across Asia, Europe and North America.

Fawaz Farooqui, Managing Director of Cruise Saudi commented: “We are excited to announce that Lars Clasen has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Cruise Saudi. Clasen brings three decades of experience in the global cruising industry, and we look forward to having him as a key member of the team.”

Clasen on joining Cruise Saudi said: “As a cruise professional and enthusiast, I’ve been following the tremendous progress Cruise Saudi has made in such a short span of time; from setting up an entirely new industry and welcoming guests on cruise ships for the first time in Saudi Arabia, to garnering a great deal of attention globally as the newest player in the cruise industry.”

“I am honored to be joining a diligent team of professionals and look forward to achieving more milestones together as Cruise Saudi embarks upon a new phase of development in opening not just one gateway, but several new gateways connecting the world to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Prior to joining Cruise Saudi, Clasen held several key roles across leading cruise companies; Managing Director at The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Co-founder and Managing Director of Dolce Cruise Management, CEO of A-ROSA River Cruises, President of AIDA Cruises, and is also the founder and owner of Lars Clasen Cruise Consulting. His profound experience in the world of cruising is ideally suited for Cruise Saudi as it pursues its development of the cruise sector in the Red Sea and elsewhere.

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Business

Oil Dips on Ample Supply Outlook, Market Weighs Venezuelan Output

FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
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Oil Dips on Ample Supply Outlook, Market Weighs Venezuelan Output

FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

Oil prices fell on Tuesday on expectations of ample global supply amid weak demand, and as the market weighed the prospect of higher Venezuelan crude output following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

Brent crude futures fell 0.2%, or 14 cents, to $61.62 a barrel by 0450 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $58.13 a barrel, down 0.3% or 19 cents.

Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova, noted the oil price response to major geopolitical events, such as the US military action in Venezuela and ongoing strikes on Russian ‌energy infrastructure, had ‌been surprisingly muted, suggesting fundamental demand-supply factors remained the ‌key ⁠concern.

"From a ‌supply perspective, the oil complex remains packed with barrels. According to the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) and US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, global crude supply continues to outpace consumption growth, pushing inventories higher and keeping downward pressure on prices," she said. Market participants polled by Reuters in December said they expected oil prices to be under pressure in 2026 due to growing supply and weak demand.

Price pressure ⁠could be exacerbated by the US capture of Venezuela's leader on Saturday, increasing the chance of ‌an end to a US embargo on Venezuelan ‍oil and potentially leading to higher ‍output. Maduro pleaded not guilty in a New York court on Monday ‍to narcotics charges. The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to meet US oil executives this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

"I think if the Trump playbook even partially comes to pass, Venezuelan crude oil production should increase... Should it increase, there will be more pressure on an already over-supplied market," said Marex ⁠analyst Ed Meir. Venezuela is a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and has the world's largest oil reserves at about 303 billion barrels. However, its oil sector has long been in decline due in part to under-investment and US sanctions.

Its average output last year was 1.1 million barrels per day. Oil analysts said Venezuelan output could increase up to half a million barrels a day over the next two years with political stability and US investment.

ANZ Research said in a note, however, that they saw heightened levels of political instability as the more likely scenario, and that a significant injection ‌of funds would be required to increase output beyond Venezuela's current effective capacity.

Business

Gold Hits One-week High on Fed Rate-cut Bets, Venezuela Turmoil

FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo
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Gold Hits One-week High on Fed Rate-cut Bets, Venezuela Turmoil

FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo

Gold rose further on Tuesday to hit a one-week high, as dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials boosted interest rate-cut bets and Venezuela tensions bolstered safe-haven demand.

Spot gold was up 0.5% at $4,469.96 per ounce, as of 0534 GMT, after rising nearly 3% in the last session. Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26, and logged its best annual ‌performance since ‌1979 last year with a jump ‌of ⁠64%.

US gold ‌futures for February delivery rose 0.7% to $4,481.30, Reuters reported.

"(Comments by Fed officials) certainly didn't hurt but it doesn't look like the calculus has changed all that much. We of course have a big week this week with the jobs report on Friday," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel ⁠Kashkari said on Monday inflation was slowly easing, but there was a risk ‌the jobless rate could "pop" higher, increasing the ‍likelihood of a rate cut.

Investors currently ‍expect at least two rate cuts this year, while they ‍look to the nonfarm payroll report, due on Friday, for more monetary policy cues.

Toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty on Monday to narcotics charges after US President Donald Trump's capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to regroup.

"The capture of Maduro illustrated this rupture ⁠between the US and China and more broadly (the ongoing trend of) de-globalization," Spivak said.

Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty.

Spot silver gained 3.5% to $79.18 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on December 29. Silver ended 2025 with annual gains of 147%, far outpacing gold, in what was its best year on record.

Spot platinum was up 2.8% at $2,334.25 per ounce, after rising to an all-time high of $2,478.50 last Monday. It rose more than 5% ‌earlier in the session to a one-week high.

Palladium traded 1.9% higher at $1,739.25 per ounce.

Business

Egypt Signs MoU to Supply Syria with Gas, Ministry Says

Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)
Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt Signs MoU to Supply Syria with Gas, Ministry Says

Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)
Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)

Egypt has signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) with Syria to cooperate on supplying gas for power generation and ‌meeting Syria's ‌petroleum product ‌needs, Egypt's ⁠petroleum ministry ‌said on Monday.

The statement said that Syria would receive gas through regasification ships or gas ⁠transportation networks, without providing details ‌on quantities.

Due ‍to ‍the destruction of ‍energy infrastructure during its 14-year civil war, Syria today produces just a fraction of the electricity it needs, though ⁠the supply of power has improved notably in the past months thanks to supplies of gas from Azerbaijan and Qatar.