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Iran Applies to Join China and Russia in BRICS Club

A delegate walks past a BRICS logo ahead of the 10th BRICS Summit, in Sandton, South Africa, July 24, 2018. (Reuters)
A delegate walks past a BRICS logo ahead of the 10th BRICS Summit, in Sandton, South Africa, July 24, 2018. (Reuters)
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Iran Applies to Join China and Russia in BRICS Club

A delegate walks past a BRICS logo ahead of the 10th BRICS Summit, in Sandton, South Africa, July 24, 2018. (Reuters)
A delegate walks past a BRICS logo ahead of the 10th BRICS Summit, in Sandton, South Africa, July 24, 2018. (Reuters)

Iran, which holds the world's second largest gas reserves, has applied to join the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that Beijing and Moscow cast as a powerful emerging market alternative to the West.

The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 to describe the startling rise of Brazil, Russia, India, China. The BRIC powers had their first summit in 2009 in Russia. South Africa joined in 2010.

Iran's membership in the BRICS group "would result in added values for both sides", Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Russia said Argentina had also applied to join.

Russia cast the applications as evidence that the West, led by the United States, was failing to isolate Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

"While the White House was thinking about what else to turn off in the world, ban or spoil, Argentina and Iran applied to join the BRICS," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Argentine officials could not be reached for immediate comment but President Alberto Fernandez, currently in Europe, has in recent days reiterated his desire for Argentina to join BRICS.

China has by far the largest economy in the BRICS grouping, accounting for more than 70% of the group's collective $27.5 trillion economic might. India accounts for about 13%, with Russia and Brazil each accounting for about 7%, according to IMF data.

BRICS account for more than 40% of the world's population and about 26% of the global economy.

Chinese power

Chinese President Xi Jinping joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other BRICS leaders for a virtual summit last week.

Xi criticized "the abuse" of international sanctions, while Putin scolded the West for fomenting global crisis, with both leaders calling for greater BRICS cooperation.

Putin has said relations with China are the best they have ever been and touts a strategic partnership with China aimed at countering US influence.

US President Joe Biden has said the West is locked in a battle with autocratic governments such as China and Russia.

The United States and European powers blame Putin's decision to invade Ukraine as the reason relations with the West have sunk to the lowest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis -- including the severest sanctions in modern history.

But Putin says the West wants to destroy Russia, that the economic sanctions are akin to a declaration of economic war and that Russia will build ties with other powers such as China and India.

Putin, who casts the Ukraine war as a "special military operation", blames the United States for humiliating Russia in the aftermath of the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union and threatening Moscow by enlarging the NATO military alliance.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 to degrade its southern neighbor's military capabilities, root out people it called dangerous nationalists and defend the Russian-speakers of two eastern Ukrainian regions.

Ukraine says Russia has launched an imperial-style land grab and will never surrender its territory to Russia.

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Business

Gold Rises as Investors Seek Safety amid US Policy Jitters

A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk
A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk
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Gold Rises as Investors Seek Safety amid US Policy Jitters

A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk
A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk

Gold climbed on Tuesday, hovering just shy of the $5,100-per-ounce mark breached for the first time in the previous session, as uncertainty around US President Donald Trump's policymaking prompted investors to seek safety in bullion.

Spot gold rose 1.2% to $5,073.52 per ounce as of 1155 GMT. It hit an all-time high of $5,110.50 on Monday.

US gold futures ‌for February ‌delivery eased 0.2% to $5,071.20 per ounce, Reuters reported.

"The constant ‌back ⁠and ​forth (on ‌tariffs) by President Trump and the US administration, coupled with growing concerns around a military operation in Iran" are unlikely to curb safe-haven demand anytime soon, said Zain Vawda, analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.

Gold has surged 18% so far in 2026, building on gains from last year due to factors including sustained safe-haven demand amid ⁠geopolitical and economic uncertainty, expectations of US rate cuts and robust central bank ‌purchases. In trade news, Trump said on ‍Monday he would hike ‍tariffs on autos and other goods imported from South Korea. Meanwhile, ‍the United States is "open for business" if Iran wishes to contact Washington, a US official said on Monday, after Trump renewed warnings to Tehran.

Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale anticipate gold prices to reach $6,000/oz in ​2026, highlighting the scope for further gains.

Market is now focused on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting starting on ⁠Tuesday, where it is expected to hold interest rates steady, while investors are also awaiting news on Chair Jerome Powell's replacement.

Spot silver jumped 7.4% to $111.59 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $117.69 on Monday. It has surged more than 50% so far this year.

"We expect prices to ease in the coming months as supply tightness eases and industrial demand for silver starts to peak with a slowing Mainland Chinese economy," BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note.

Spot platinum fell ‌3.1% to $2,673.50 per ounce, after hitting a record $2,918.80 in the previous session. Palladium added 2.2% to $2,025.60.

Business

Fed Expected to Keep Rates Unchanged as Chair Powell Pivots Back to Economics

The New York Stock Exchange bell is seen from the trading floor in New York City (EPA)
The New York Stock Exchange bell is seen from the trading floor in New York City (EPA)
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Fed Expected to Keep Rates Unchanged as Chair Powell Pivots Back to Economics

The New York Stock Exchange bell is seen from the trading floor in New York City (EPA)
The New York Stock Exchange bell is seen from the trading floor in New York City (EPA)

After two weeks of intense political and legal scrutiny, the Federal Reserve will seek to make this week's meeting about interest rates as straightforward and uneventful as possible, though President Donald Trump probably still won't like the result.

The central bank's interest rate-setting committee is almost certain to keep its key short-term rate unchanged at about 3.6%, after three straight quarter-point cuts last year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after December's meeting that they were “well positioned to wait to see how the economy evolves” before making any further moves.

When the Fed lowers its short-term rate, it can over time influence other borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans and business borrowing, though those rates are also affected by market forces.

This week's meeting — one of eight the Fed holds each year — will be overshadowed by the bombshell revelation earlier this month that the Justice Department has subpoenaed the Fed as part of a criminal investigation into testimony Powell gave last June about a $2.5 billion building renovation. It's the first time a sitting Fed chair has been investigated, and prompted an unusually public rebuke from Powell.

Now, Powell will have to shift from a dispute with the White House to emphasizing that the Fed's decisions around interest rates are driven by economic concerns, not politics. Powell said Jan. 11 that the subpoenas were “pretexts” to punish the Fed for not cutting rates as sharply as Trump wants.

Powell will be "under even more pressure to underscore, ‘everything we’re doing here ... is all about the economics,’” said Claudia Sahm, a former Fed economist and chief economist at New Century Advisors. "'We didn’t think about the politics.'”

Michael Gapen, chief US economist at Morgan Stanley and also a former Fed staffer, said that despite the scrutiny, the Fed can be expected to consider its interest rate policies like it always does.

“The meetings have a regular flow to them,” he said. "There are presentations that are made, there are discussions that have to be had. ... Some of these other broader-based attacks on the Fed don't really come up."

Not long after the Justice Department's subpoenas, the Supreme Court last week considered whether Trump can fire Fed governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she denies. No president has fired a governor in the Fed's 112-year history. During an oral argument, the justices appeared to be leaning toward allowing her to stay in her job until the case is resolved.

Other Fed officials have also signaled the central bank is likely to keep rates unchanged at their two-day meeting that ends Wednesday. The Fed's three rate cuts last year were intended to bolster the economy after hiring slowed sharply over the summer and fall in the wake of Trump's April tariffs on dozens of countries.

Yet the unemployment rate ticked lower in December, after picking up for much of last year, and there are other signs the job market may be stabilizing. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits has stayed historically low, a sign layoffs haven't spiked.

Meanwhile, inflation remains elevated and actually ticked higher last year, according to the Fed's preferred measure. Prices rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, the latest data available. That is up from 2.6% in November 2024.

Unless businesses start cutting jobs or the unemployment rate rises, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates again for at least a few months, economists say. If inflation slowly declines this year, as economists expect, the Fed may cut again in the spring or summer. Wall Street investors expect just two quarter-point rate reductions this year, according to futures prices.

Many economists expect growth could pick up in the coming months, which would be another reason to forego rate cuts. Gapen estimates that tax refunds could be about 20% higher this spring than last year as the Trump administration's tax cuts take effect. Refunds could average $3,500, Gapen said.

The economy expanded at a 4.4% annual rate in last year's July-September quarter and may have grown at a similarly healthy pace in the final three months of last year. If such solid growth continues, Fed officials will likely wait to see if hiring picks up as well, further reducing the need for more rate cuts.

 

Business

Saudi GDP Surges to SAR 4.7 Trillion, More Than Doubling in Less Than a Decade

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks during the fourth annual Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 27, 2021. (Reuters)
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks during the fourth annual Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 27, 2021. (Reuters)
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Saudi GDP Surges to SAR 4.7 Trillion, More Than Doubling in Less Than a Decade

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks during the fourth annual Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 27, 2021. (Reuters)
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks during the fourth annual Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 27, 2021. (Reuters)

Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose to SAR 4.7 trillion ($1.25 trillion) by the end of 2024, up from SAR 2.6 trillion ($693 billion) in 2016, the year the Vision 2030 reform program was launched, representing growth of more than double in less than a decade.

Speaking at a government press conference in Riyadh on Monday, Al-Falih said the economic leap was not merely reflected in headline figures, but was underpinned by far-reaching reforms that strengthened the labor market and enhanced private-sector competitiveness.

The Saudi economy has created 800,000 new jobs, he said, highlighting the vitality of emerging sectors and their ability to generate employment opportunities.

He added that foreign investment had quadrupled by the end of 2024 and is expected to reach SAR 150 billion ($40 billion) in 2025.

Al-Falih said the number of Saudi investors has surpassed 1.86 million, which shows growing engagement in economic activity and the availability of growth incentives, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.

He noted that the number of registered foreign investors has reached 62,000, while emphasizing that Saudi nationals remain the dominant participants in the business sector.

Moreover, the minister also revealed that more than 700 multinational companies had obtained licenses to establish regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia by the end of 2025.

Al-Falih highlighted significant progress in national workforce participation, noting that women’s contribution to the Saudi economy has doubled. He also pointed to an important indicator of job quality: average wages for Saudi nationals in the private sector have risen by 45 percent.

As part of its drive to diversify income sources, Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia has reduced its reliance on oil, with non-oil sectors accounting for 56 percent of the national economy for the first time in the Kingdom’s history, an indication that the country has begun to reap the benefits of Vision 2030.

Commenting on Saudi Arabia’s recent participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Al-Falih said the Saudi economy had a strong and positive presence at a time when pessimism and uncertainty dominated many delegations’ views of the global economic outlook.