Saudi Arabia Targets Net Zero Emissions by 2060
Top oil exporting nation Saudi Arabia aims to reach net zero emissions of greenhouse gases, mostly emitted by burning fossil fuels, by 2060. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, alongside his energy minister, also mentioned that the Arabic nation is stressing the importance of tackling climate change, while continuing to focus on oil market stability.
MACROECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS
The Group of Seven wealthy countries (G7) agreed on several principles focused on governing cross-border data use and digital trade, setting a middle ground between strictly regulated data protection regimes prominent in Europe and more relaxed approaches used in the United States.
China’s cabinet presented measures to achieve its aim of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2060, 10 years after that of the United States. However, the Asian nation stressed that food and energy security must be taken account of while achieving such goals.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar declines after the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the American central bank must begin reducing asset purchases soon, but should not hike interest rates yet. The dollar index, compared to a basket of major currencies, dropped 0.18% to 93.588.
GOLD
Gold prices witnessed another increase on Friday, driven by a weaker dollar greenback amid the statement of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell which indicated that the U.S. central bank should initiate less asset purchases, without raising interest rates yet. The safe haven futures jumped 0.42% higher to value at $1,792 per ounce.
OIL
Crude oil prices recorded the ninth straight winning week as investors shifted their attention towards the three-year low U.S. crude oil inventories, despite decreasing prices for coal and natural gas. Brent oil futures remain unchanged on Friday at $84.64 a barrel, while WTI oil recorded an impressive 1.79% escalation to $83.98 per barrel.
INDICES
USA: S&P500 -0.11%, Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.21%, Nasdaq Composite -0.87%
Europe: FTSE 100 +0.20%, DAX +0.46%, CAC 40 +0.71%
Asia: Nikkei 225 +0.34%, Hang Seng +0.42%, CSI 300 +0.64%, Nifty 50 -0.35%
Newest
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has provided the closest thing to a confirmation that the company is developing a headset.
In a recent interview with China Daily USA, Cook was questioned about what, in his opinion, are the essential elements for augmented reality, or AR, to be successful in the consumer market.
“I am incredibly excited about AR as you might know. And the critical thing to any technology, including AR, is putting humanity at the center of it,” he said, echoing comments he’s made in the past about how important AR is to the company.
Meta, Microsoft, and other tech titans racing to build the emerging metaverse concept have formed a group to encourage the development of industry standards that will make the companies' nascent digital worlds compatible with one another.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), as well as other well-known standards-setting organizations, are among the participants in the Metaverse Standards Forum, according to a statement released by the group on Tuesday announcing its formation.