Category: Market

Riyadh: Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s airline wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), entered today into a strategic partnership with Artefact, a leading global consultancy specializing in data and AI transformation services to revolutionize the aviation industry through AI applications, a press release from Riyadh Air stated.

The partnership, said the release, will focus on building Riyadh Air’s data analytics platform and developing AI solutions across its main business and corporate functions by utilizing cutting-edge cloud and AI technologies.

Through these AI solutions, Riyadh Air aims to “hyper-personalize its guest experience and elevate its guest service through intelligent channels, optimize its flight and ground operations through real-time data insights and predictions, and launch fit-for-purpose offerings of air and non-air products through efficient and targeted sales channels’.

Vice President of Digital and Innovation at Riyadh Air Abe Dev said: “Our partnership with Artefact signifies
Riyadh Air’s dedication to leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance guest experiences at every touchpoint of their journey. This partnership with Artefact builds upon our recent collaborations with leaders in the aviation industry.”

CEO and Managing Partner of Artefact MENA Rahul Arya underlined the importance of the partnership with Riyadh Air and Artefact’s commitment to developing AI solutions tailored to the aviation industry. He emphasized that the combination of Riyadh Air’s forward-thinking approach and Artefact’s expertise in data and AI solutions will pave the way for setting “new innovation standards” within the airline sector.

According to the release, Riyadh Air is set to make its maiden flight in 2025; it aims to “revolutionize” the future of air travel and set a new standard for guest experience.

Leveraging cutting-edge innovation, Riyadh Air will connect the Kingdom to over 100 global destinations, in line with the goals of both the National Aviation Strategy and National Tourism Stra
tegy, which aim to attract 330 million visitors annually to the Kingdom by 2030.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Washington: Inflation is proving stickier than expected in the US and Europe, creating a headache for central bankers and sowing doubts on whether investors are too optimistic about the world economy, the Wall Street Journal said.

The decline in inflation from highs of around 9% to 10% across advanced economies in 2022 represent the easy gains, as supply-chain blockages eased and commodity prices, especially for energy, normalized, the newspaper said.

The “last mile” is proving tougher. Underlying inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, slowed to 3% in the second half of last year across advanced economies but has since moved up to 3.5%, according to JP Morgan estimates.

Economists’ and central banks’ forecasts of sustained falling inflation depend on “strong gravitational forces that are not yet validated in global labor costs, short-term expectations, or in recent signals from commodity markets,” JP Morgan wrote in a note. Services inflation remains elevated while goods prices, which h
ad fallen last year, are now moving higher, it noted.

That is forcing investors to rethink bets that inflation would steadily decline to central banks’ targets, generally around 2%. There are even concerns it could surge again, the newspaper said.

On Friday, the US Commerce Department reported that the price index of personal-consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred indicator of inflation, rose a relatively tame 2.5% in the 12 months through February, up modestly from 2.4% in January. Beneath the surface, the trend was less comforting. The index excluding food and energy climbed by 3.5% on an annualized basis in the three months through February, up from around 2% late last year.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Fed Chair Jerome Powell as saying on Friday that inflation is on a sometimes bumpy path toward 2%, and strong economic growth allows policymakers to wait. “Is progress on inflation going to slow for more than two months? We’re just going to have to let the data tell us that,” Powell said.

Sour
ce: Qatar News Agency

Riyadh: Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s airline wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), entered today into a strategic partnership with Artefact, a leading global consultancy specializing in data and AI transformation services to revolutionize the aviation industry through AI applications, a press release from Riyadh Air stated.

The partnership, said the release, will focus on building Riyadh Air’s data analytics platform and developing AI solutions across its main business and corporate functions by utilizing cutting-edge cloud and AI technologies.

Through these AI solutions, Riyadh Air aims to “hyper-personalize its guest experience and elevate its guest service through intelligent channels, optimize its flight and ground operations through real-time data insights and predictions, and launch fit-for-purpose offerings of air and non-air products through efficient and targeted sales channels’.

Vice President of Digital and Innovation at Riyadh Air Abe Dev said: “Our partnership with Artefact signifies
Riyadh Air’s dedication to leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance guest experiences at every touchpoint of their journey. This partnership with Artefact builds upon our recent collaborations with leaders in the aviation industry.”

CEO and Managing Partner of Artefact MENA Rahul Arya underlined the importance of the partnership with Riyadh Air and Artefact’s commitment to developing AI solutions tailored to the aviation industry. He emphasized that the combination of Riyadh Air’s forward-thinking approach and Artefact’s expertise in data and AI solutions will pave the way for setting “new innovation standards” within the airline sector.

According to the release, Riyadh Air is set to make its maiden flight in 2025; it aims to “revolutionize” the future of air travel and set a new standard for guest experience.

Leveraging cutting-edge innovation, Riyadh Air will connect the Kingdom to over 100 global destinations, in line with the goals of both the National Aviation Strategy and National Tourism Stra
tegy, which aim to attract 330 million visitors annually to the Kingdom by 2030.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Doha: Ooredoo announced that it will revolutionize Qatar Airways’ operations through advanced cloud solutions powered by Microsoft.

This marks a significant step in Qatar Airways’ digital transformation journey by harnessing cloud and enabling innovation through AI. The technology is set to enhance its operational agility, security and competitive edge in an ever-evolving and hyperconnected global landscape.

Qatar Airways will also leverage the scalability and agility of Microsoft Azure with Ooredoo’s bespoke private cloud setup, enhancing centralized data management, operational efficiency, and optimized IT solutions.

Ooredoo will offer a robust network fabric for Microsoft Azure, synchronized with other network elements to support the comprehensive hybrid cloud environment tailored specifically for Qatar Airways’ unique business needs.

Speaking on this landmark partnership, Chief Business Officer at Ooredoo Qatar Thani Ali Al Malki said, “Our collaboration with Qatar Airways and Microsoft is a testament
to Ooredoo’s commitment to driving digital transformation in Qatar. By leveraging Microsoft Azure and our robust network capabilities, we are not only enhancing Qatar Airways’ operational efficiency but also contributing to Qatar’s vision of a technologically advanced future.” For his part, Group Chief Information Officer at Qatar Airways A.T. Srinivasan said, “With the evolving needs of our customers and our drive to provide exceptional customer experience, we are embarking on a digital transformation that will leverage the power of cloud technology, AI, and Analytics to bring business agility and operational robustness to our organization.” “Our partnership with Ooredoo and Microsoft to leverage Microsoft Azure public cloud will allow Qatar Airways to respond to our customers’ needs with innovative services, and coupled with AI and Analytics, offer them hyper-personalized experiences.” Srinivasan added.

Qatar Airways is set to strengthen its position in the aviation industry by utilizing Microsoft Azure to
develop advanced applications enriched with AI, data analytics, IoT, and hybrid capabilities.

Microsoft 365’s integration will further streamline productivity through cloud-based services.

Qatar Airways chose Ooredoo as its trusted partner to develop a cutting-edge hybrid multi-cloud environment, paving the way for next-generation applications that will bolster the airline’s customer experience and business performance.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Baghdad, The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced that it has succeeded in drilling and reclaiming 52 oil wells during the first quarter of 2024.

Director General of the Iraqi Drilling Company of the Ministry of Oil, Khalid Hamza Abbas stated that the company’s technical and engineering teams have succeeded in drilling 19 oil wells and reclaiming 33 wells for the national and international exploration firms operating in Iraq.

The Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC) is considered the most active arm in drilling and reclaiming oil wells in Iraq, with the Iraqi government striving to enhance the projects of increasing oil production in the country through a five-year plan to reach a daily production rate of six million barrels.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Joachim Nagel, president of Germanys Bundesbank and a member of the European Central Bank’s rate-setting committee said in late February that underlying inflation in the eurozone was still 2 percentage points higher than its 1999 to 2019 average.

“If we reduce interest rates too early or too sharply, we run the risk of missing our target,” and might need to raise interest rates again, the Wall Street Journal quoted Nagel as saying. He highlighted a recent International Monetary Fund report that found four out of every 10 inflation shocks since the 1970s had yet to be overcome even after five years.

The newspaper pointed out that central banks themselves may be inadvertently adding to inflation pressure. By signaling a pivot toward interest-rate cuts last fall, they pushed global borrowing costs down and asset prices up, supporting spending.

Some factors favor inflation declining further. In both the US and Europe, a surge of immigration could help keep a lid on wage increases, it added.

Higher government
spending on defense and green energy, and geopolitical tensions that crimp global trade, are likely to pressure central banks to tolerate higher inflation over the coming years, according to a Brookings Institution paper published in March.

“A strengthening of central bank independence combined with a more credible public debt policy is likely needed,” said the paper, by economist Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University and three co-authors.

If central banks react to stubborn inflation by backing away from rate cuts, that would put pressure on both heavily indebted governments and employers. That could test central banks’ will to finish the last mile and push inflation all the way to target, the newspaper said.

Source: Qatar News Agency