Sacramento, CA, United States (AHN) – California’s community colleges could turn away more than 400,000 students next year because Republican lawmakers refused to let voters decide in a June ballot whether to temporarily extend taxes.

Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed a budget cutting spending by $12 billion, including $400 million for the state’s 112 community colleges.

The plan also called for tax extensions, which under the state constitution requires the approval of two Republicans from the Assembly and two from the Senate before a special election.

The governor, a Democrat who served two terms as governor three decades ago, had been in negotiations with the GOP about the tax extensions since announcing his budget two months ago. Talks broke down on Wednesday, after what Brown said was “an ever changing list of collateral demands” from Republicans.

Without a June ballot to approve the revenue-generating extensions, Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott quickly warned that an “all-cuts budget” would “devastate our ability to train th[e] workforce.”

A budget that does not continue 2009 taxes expiring this year will double the cuts for community colleges to $800 million. This reduction would force some districts to offer fewer classes in the summer and fall and deny access to 400,000 students, the same number enrolled in the state university system.

The state has already increased fees at community colleges for the fall from $26 to $36 per unit. Fees could rise to $66 if an all-cuts budget is approved, preventing even more students to attend a community college.

Brown continued to seek support from Republicans while calling them out for demands that he said would undermine the budget, such as giving a $1 billion tax break to out-of-state corporations so the companies would bring jobs to California.

In a letter to state Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton on Wednesday, he said, “Democrats have swallowed hard and done their part—they have approved painful cuts… I was very surprised (and frankly, disappointed) that you came today with a very long list of demands (53 separate proposals), many of which are new and have no relationship whatsoever to the budget.”

The demands included moving the U.S. presidential primary to March and extending taxes for only a year and a half instead of five years.

California, the world’s eighth-largest economy and the nation’s most populous state, is facing a $26.6 billion deficit. Last month, Brown slashed the number of state-owned vehicles and cell phones by 50 percent and ordered a hiring freeze to help end the budget crisis.

Republicans say the governor’s budget plan actually has only $7 billion of cuts, a small sum compared to the $60 billion from tax extensions, and far from a balanced proposal.

“Gov. Brown and the Dems can’t have it both ways,” GOP state chair Tom Del Beccaro said in a statement. “They asked for ideas — and then complained there were too many. They wanted specific budget solutions — and then complained there were too many details.”

“The list that Republican leadership gave the governor… included a number of proposals to which Brown has publicly agreed — but obviously angered the public unions that control our state government,” Beccaro added. “Not coincidentally, Brown, unlike Democrat Andrew Cuomo of New York, is refusing to reduce the state bureaucracy — demonstrating that he values bureaucracy more than essential services.”

View full post on All Stories

The expenses incurred in purchasing fuels are something which is bothering the individuals as well as companies these days. With rapid increase in the price of fuel is becoming problematic for all. But to reduce this burden of expense United Kingdom and Europe have a solution that is the usage of fuel cards and diesel cards.

The first and foremost benefit of a fuel card is that one can purchase fuel at a discounted price thereby not being affected by the rise of price in fuel after every few days .it also benefits the companies that are into transportation business or companies that use cars for some or the other commercial purpose. If you have a fuel card with you there is no need of always giving cash to your driver as the invoices come with taxes mentioned individually.

Fuel cards or diesel cards use Smart Chip technology and therefore the number of transactions is limited. Thus the business can use the card as per their requirements. It eliminates the need the company to keep costly stock of fuels .it has an extensive network of outlets so you can get your vehicle filled up anytime and anywhere. Another benefit is that the business can pay a uniformed price for every authorized station of fuel. An added benefit is the discount of three to four pence per liter and the tracking data of the fuel card makes the cost management easy. Also there is a European fuel card which can be used at 3000 locations across mainland Europe including UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The demand for this European fuel card is increasing day by day because at times the fuel is cheaper in this continent than in UK.

Some diesel cards can be used for various purposes and cover fuel, tols etc but the haulier is paying a premium for advantage. The individual cards benefit more as they are more cost effective and offer much more discounts. Many motorway toll cards offer 20% off the standard toll prices. These cards come in a different many more sophisticated forms, like the TIS-PL electronic road toll pass system in France which attaches to the windscreen. At the toll gate the barrier automatically sensing the TIS-PL.A toll card makes your journey easy and smooth as you do not have to drench yourself standing in the queue to pay cash.

Fuel cards therefore ease you from the burden of fuel expenses and make your life easy.

NAIROBI, Kenya (IRIN) – Power transfers from soldiers to civilians, concession speeches, post-poll lawsuits, unprecedented violence – West Africa has seen mixed outcomes in recent elections, and the region’s most populous country and largest economy is up next: Nigerians are scheduled to vote for a president, legislators and state governors in the coming weeks.

Various think tanks and rights groups have been examining election-related violence, calling on candidates and new leaders to safeguard Nigerians’ rights, suggesting measures for avoiding a repeat of the nearly universally condemned 2007 elections, and recommending what’s needed to seal much-needed reforms. Observers say with these polls Nigeria could either explode or blossom. Here is a selection of recent reports (in no particular order):

The International Crisis Group says the head of the Independent National Election Commission “carries the expectations of the nation” but has had just a few months in office to prepare for such a complex set of polls. “He inherited an organisation complicit in the 2007 fraud” whose rough start has been a reminder of challenges, the report says.

Pointing to chaos in the region’s second-largest economy, Crisis Group says: “Laurent Gbagbo’s attempt to defy democracy in Côte d’Ivoire is casting a shadow throughout the continent; the [Nigerian] elections will resonate, for good or ill, well beyond national borders. Nigeria’s prestige and capacity to contribute to international peace and stability are at stake.”

A US Institute of Peace paper from December 2010 says success would require robust enforcement of election law in the short- and long-term, with the judiciary stepping up to prosecute fraud and the eventual creation of a commission specializing in electoral crimes.

In an 18 March report titled Loss of life, insecurity and impunity in the run-up to Nigeria’s elections, Amnesty International says violence has increased in the past six months, with few people held accountable for the “politically-motivated” killings and “increasing intimidation and harassment…of human rights defenders and journalists, who play a key role in monitoring” the elections.

A panel of Nigerian and international human rights experts on 8 March debated concerns over “logistical hurdles” and the challenges of “maintaining an open and secure environment for political contestation”. The Open Society Justice Initiative and Right to Know (R2K), a Nigerian open government group, on 18 March called on parliament to pass legislation that “genuinely enhances public access to official information”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a “human rights agenda” released on 28 March sets out issues candidates and leaders should address in a country “with profound human rights challenges”. HRW makes recommendations on inter-communal violence, the conduct of security forces, government corruption, the Niger Delta and elections, saying the upcoming polls could either further entrench the conditions eroding Nigerians’ human rights or mark a step towards improving governance and the people’s lives.

The Nigerians Talk blog has a discussion on a number of election-related topics, including the electoral commission’s social networking efforts and why politicians and candidates can no longer ignore the country’s formidable youth constituency.

The youth “is finally awake”, says Nigerian writer and analyst Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in a commentary for the Guardian (UK) She compares the Egyptian revolution with the political situation in Nigeria, where she says that despite years of military dictatorship the political climate is “not repressive – the press is relatively free, people are no longer under the spell of fear”. Noting that an estimated 70 percent of Nigeria’s population is under 35, Adichie expresses hope that the “slow-burning but intense awakening” of young people in Nigeria could “yet be the making of a great revolution” akin to those under way across the Arab world.

mf/np/cb

– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

View full post on All Stories

As time passes on there is a vast advancement in the trends of international trade, commerce and world market. It raises the competition in the world market which in turn changes the tricks of business where different suppliers, buyers, sellers, manufacturers have now started using online b2b portals. These business to business portals are commonly known by exporter manufacturer directory or buyer seller directory. In India one of the business destinations of the world houses number of b2b directory where you will find different manufacturers, sellers, buyers, importers from all over the world. These b2b directory india is turn into an outstanding marketplaces that have emerged as technology for enhancing business at the speed of thought. The aim of all these b2b directories with different items is to promote one’s business. There are different types of business directories where you will find all types of products related to aircrafts, food products, consumer electronics, electrical equipment & supplies, rubber & plastics, textiles, motor parts, home & garden, chemicals, fashion accessories, massive manufacturing base, agriculture products, medical, cars, power plants, lighting, capital machinery, apparel, food items, telecommunications, toys, timepieces jewelry & eyewear and many more products that are listed by different sellers, manufacturers, buyers, importers and other online traders.

Business to business directory has played an important role in building a common platform for all online traders where they can perform online deals with different world leading companies. Company of any type may be in finance, banking, advertising, insurance and other industries can be found in these type of business to business directories. India has emerged as super economy power only because of its highest usage of b2b marketplace where you can find types of products listed by small or big traders comprising Indian exporters, manufacturers, sellers, buyers, sellers, importers and other traders performing online dealing at affordable prices.

B2b directory of India has widely known as tradecaste.com that results into an enhanced business with intelligence and various types of business activities. It provides best of the Indian manufacturers and Indian exporters deals in different types of products carrying different business activities in terms of buying or selling a particular product at reasonable rates. These business directories act as online catalog and E-visiting cards for particular companies. B2b directory offers relevant information about the list of online traders of particular business that proves to be the best place to consult within case of new business. Therefore, online business directory brings the whole world into small vessel containing different types of materials of business world.

London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – British Business Secretary Vince Cable said Sunday that the coalition government will end the 50 percent tax rate. The abolition is the result of an order by Chancellor George Osborne for a review of tax on top earners last week.

Osborne said the 50 percent tax rate on Britons earning more than $225,000 (GBP 150,000) was temporary. The review order caused speculation that the rate would be reduced as early as 2013. Labour introduced the tax rate in 2010 as a temporary measure. Osborne agreed not to keep it permanent because it has the potential of doing more damage on the British economy.

However, despite the end of the 50 percent tax rate, Cable said the government would introduce a mansions tax for the wealthiest Britons to contribute more to government coffers. The tax seeks to ease accusations that the government is softening taxes for the rich, while the rest of the country had to tighten their belts because of the austerity measures.

To show their displeasure over the coalition government’s economic plans, about 500,000 Britons demonstrated Saturday.

While ending the 50 percent tax rate, the coalition government launched Monday the Start Up Britain initiative that put in place a new 50 percent tax relief rate of up to $150,000 (GBP 100,000) investment in start-up businesses. The move aims to encourage more Britons to open their own enterprises.

At the launch, 60 new companies took the challenge, which entitled them to special offers and assistance of up to $2,250 (GBP 1,500) per company. The assistance would come from 39 venture capitalists, including Sir Ronald Cohen – who was a major donor to the Labour Party – and the founders of Silicon Fen and Lastminute.com.

The venture capitalists’ participation was an offshoot of the budget introduced last week, which relaxed rules and permitted investors to contribute twice as much to new business or up by $1.5 million (GBP 1 million) each. The new rules permitted start-up companies to receive a maximum of $15 million each – five times the previous allowable maximum of $3 million (GBP 2 million).

View full post on All Stories

Jerusalem, Israel David E. Miller – Two years into office is about the time most Israeli governments are fraying at the edges if not already teetering at collapse. But as Binyamin Netanyahu readies to mark the second anniversary of his government this Thursday, the prime minister’s position looks as strong as ever, analysts and opinion surveys say.

A survey by the Dialog Institute for the daily newspaper Ha’aretz published at the end of last week showed that Netanyahu remains the leader of choice for most Israelis, besting his closest rival, Tzipi Livni, chairwoman of the opposition Kadima Party, by 9 percentage points.

The poll found Netanyahu’s Likud Party running neck-and-neck with Kadima in the Knesset, each receiving 31 seats. But the Likud has a wider choice of likely coalition partners and in an election draw would probably be called on to form the government, as happened in 2008 when Kadima was the biggest vote-getter. Together with religious parties and those of the right, the Likud could garner a 68-seat majority in the Knesset.

Israel isn’t scheduled to hold elections until 2012, but governments typically fall long before their term is over, with the average life expectancy at about 23 months.

“If you compare it to what we had in the past, it definitely looks very stable,” Avraham Diskin, who teaches political science at the Herzilya Interdisciplinary Center, told The Media Line. “Netanyahu really invested a lot of effort when they formed the government in all kinds of measures to strengthen the coalition.”

The media made fun of Netanyahu when he created a cabinet of 29 ministers representing six parties, but Diskin said stuffing the government with office holders has kept a broad and often disparate alliance together. Netanyahu was also helped by new legislation creating two-year budgets, thereby avoiding the traditional coalition crisis that erupted every year over the spending package.

More than that, analysts said, Netanyahu has also presided over a period of relative peace and prosperity. The economy sailed through the global financial crisis with virtually no turbulence. Tensions on its border with Lebanon and Gaza haven’t boiled over into war. And, while Israel suffered two terror attacks in the past two weeks, violence remains very low.

The greatest crisis Netanyahu had to deal with in his first two years was with the U.S., said Dan Schueftan, director of the National Security Studies Center at Haifa University. Ultimately, the prime minister resisted U.S. demands for a lengthy suspension of settlement construction, but the victory came at great cost to relations between Israel and its most important ally.

But Netanyahu faces critical challenges ahead that could rapidly reverse the period of prosperity and relative peace the country has enjoyed since he took office.

Turmoil in the Middle East has undermined allies like Egypt and Jordan. Trouble even among traditional foes, like Syria, could boomerang on Israel in unexpected ways, heightening the risk of conflict or putting into power even more hostile regimes. Recent terror attacks may portend a surge in Palestinian unrest. Domestically, Israel’s economy is at risk to a global downturn spurred by higher energy prices and Japan’s woes.

Schueftan said Netanyahu’s great mistake was opting back in 2009 as he was enlisting coalition partners to go with parties mainly from the right of center and religious parties, instead of the center-left Kadima Party. Schueftan is particularly critical of Netanyahu’s decision to bring Shas, which he sees as the driving force behind campaigns to enable Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority to avoid army service and employment.

“The most important thing for him [Netanyahu] is the stability of the government and he starts on the assumption that you need a stable government and that means bringing in Shas,” he told The Media Line. “He mortgaged an important interest of Israeli society when he gave precedence to government stability over policy.”

While Netanyahu’s government is perceived by many abroad as right-wing and hawkish, in Israel Netanyahu succeeded in capturing the political center, analysts said. Netanyahu publicly accepted the idea of Palestinian statehood early in his government and agreed to a one-month settlement freeze, two moves that have distanced him from Israel’s right, Diskin said.

That has cost him some votes, which have drifted to Yisrael Beiteinu, but has almost certainly brought in others, Diskin said. Indeed, in spite of his foot-dragging on peace, Netanyahu probably does accept the need of reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians as does the majority of the Israeli public.

“He understands that partitioning the land is inevitable and necessary,” Schueftan of Haifa University said. “I don’t think he has a fantasy of greater Israel. The question is whether he is willing to take the risk.”

Nevertheless, the Israeli voter isn’t particularly enamored of either Netanyahu or his government. While he outscores Livni on suitability as a prime minister, only 44 percent told Dialog they felt that way about him. Only 39 percent said they were satisfied with his performance, well below the 50 percent that Ha’aretz political correspondent Yossi Verter said was the minimum to make a leader feel secure. His key ministers don’t score much better.

“This is a government that is neither hated nor loved. Both parts of the public [the left and the right] see the glass half empty,” Verter wrote.

View full post on All Stories

It’s an electrifying adventure that you’re concerning to start by being self-employed. It is time to let everyone apprehend concerning your soon-to-achieve success organization by marketing your home company. If you would like to create an online business that will be fully automated and allow you to attract tons of traffic that converts into sales then check out what Keith Baxter and Jon Shugart are saying in my Epic Traffic Systems Review.

While employing a promoting or public relations organization is an straightforward choice, since you are just starting out, it may be a weapon you can’t nonetheless afford. If this is often the case, it is up to you to expand different press suggests that to plugging your home trade.

The most clear is beginning a Net site. There are various freelances out there who would happily try this for you for a charge, but this is not extremely mandatory if you have got basic computer knowledge. Several websites are dedicated to instructing you on a step-by-step process on how to make a Net website for advertising your home business. Several give usage for a worth, however there are some out there in which you’ll be able to use for no cost at all. This is able to be a sensible option. A free web site would possibly not offer all the thrives of a paid-for one, but as your initial priority would be simply promoting your home business, different options, graphics and designs can be added once the money starts rolling in and you’ve got additional money to pay on making a stand out web site.

Writing a weekly or monthly newsletter is also a great promoting tool in advertising your home business. Fill the copy together with your personal background, services provided and prices included. Update your news letter with savings advertisements, novel services offered and comments from happy customers when marketing your home business through a news letter.

Whereas posting a link or member choice to your internet site for the newsletter may be a given, further initiative must be taken as half of advertising your home business. Obtain e-mail addresses of many corporations or people who may be curious about using your services. Let off for the addresses of actual individuals instead of sending a letter promoting your home business to a general business site. You’re then taking the chance of changing into a erased spam file.

If your home business may be a local one, such as on a daily basis care or accounting service, promote in your native newspapers and trade magazines. Coupons forever catch a consumers eye, so including them in your ad would be a key tool in promoting your home business. Providing a ten percent discount is always a plus.

Conjointly, holding contests with prizes would catch they eye of a news paper or magazine browser. Think about making the prize per week of at no cost service or a sales item.

Lastly, get some business cards together as half of promoting your home business. You can style and print them employing a home laptop or pay a professional printer who might have further style ideas that would capture client’s concentration. Disperse your business cards to people and companies, and post them in each store that provides a gratis publicity billboard.

Further Resources
Working From Home On Your Online Business Epic Traffic Systems Bonus Working From Home For Your Online Business

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Economic growth was slightly better toward the end of 2010 than officials had previously estimated, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Friday.

In its third estimate of the nation’s gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of 2010, the BEA said the economy grew by 3.1 percent from the end of Q3 to the end of Q4.

GDP is a measure of the output of all goods and services produced by labor and property located in the nation.

BEA’s third estimate is based on more complete data than was available when the BEA issued its second estimate of 2.8 percent growth.

“The fourth-quarter acceleration in real GDP primarily reflected a sharp downturn in imports, an

acceleration in PCE, an upturn in residential fixed investment, and an acceleration in exports that were

partly offset by downturns in private inventory investment, in federal government spending, and in state

and local government spending, and a deceleration in nonresidential fixed investment,” BEA officials said in a statement.

“Final sales of computers added 0.35 percentage point to the fourth-quarter change in real GDP

after adding 0.29 percentage point to the third-quarter change. Motor vehicle output subtracted 0.27

percentage point from the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.49 percentage point to the

third-quarter change,” the agency concluded.

View full post on All Stories

With the need for increased security in organizations that are vulnerable to terrorist attacks or sabotage it is vitally important that the most secure systems of entry to departments and employee identity cards are used. There are many advances now in the ID card that make it as secure as possible with magnetic strips, watermarks and other devices used to prevent duplication and forgery. It is paramount for an organizations security department to be assisted as far as possible by infallible devices that ensure all round protection from any threats.

Buying a plastic card printer is a good investment for such an organization as cards can be customized to the company’s specification and people outside that organization do not have details of the security measures implanted in such cards. The magnetic strips and watermarking designed to make cards more difficult to copy could be augmented by the inclusion of the company’s own security measures. It would also mean that visitors to the site could have a personal ID card prepared for them prior to the visit thus eliminating the easy “Visitor” ID used by so many companies. In a large organization it is a small investment to lay out producing extra safeguards for the protection of employees, visitors, and management.

A Proximity card is supposed to be a secure measure for passing from one department to another. It has a small electric field that is picked up by a reader from about 1″ to 18″ from the reader. The reason for this type of card is more for speed and convenience than any security measure but attached to a retractable badge reel it can be useful. The main problem with these cards is that each company is given a facility number and cards are then numbered upwards to the number required but as there is no official control on the system two companies could share the same facility number thus meaning duplicate cards exist. Again if the organization invested in its own technology to produce these cards it would ensure that the security was the best.

The Photo ID card is a system much used all over the world with passports being the obvious example. There are obviously security questions relating to these and on the internet there are unscrupulous companies offering to alter photographs and retouch photographs on ID cards making a mockery of the system. It also means that the person checking the card needs to be alert at all times to ensure that the person presenting the card is accurately depicted in the photograph. Unfortunately human error is one of the main failings in this system as, if there are a huge number of people presenting these cards the holders are often given a cursory glance and if they slightly resemble the photo then they are passed thru. Such a card could only be used in conjunction with other security measures to ensure correct identification. It is amazing that this system has survived for so long at passport control as it is a very flawed system when used on its own.

Israel David Rosenberg – Bahrain and Yemen aside, the turmoil in the Middle East has turned into a boon for Saudi Arabia, as the country’s coffers swell with the proceeds of climbing oil prices and production. And, a series of subsidies and other measures worth as much as $133 billion will help ensure the bounty reaches ordinary Saudis.

National Commercial Bank, a Saudi lender, raised its outlook this week to 5.1% from a previous 4%. Barclays Capital is planning to revise its forecasts shortly as is Bank of America. A Reuters poll of economists taken last week before the second of two government spending plans was unveiled showed the Saudi economy growing by 4.5% this year, slightly faster than previous expected.

Where unrest and uncertainty are weighing down on most regional economies, Saudi Arabia is an exception these days to the trend in the Middle East.

As supplies from Libya have fallen and worries that other exporters may cut output as well, oil prices have risen about 20% this year. Benchmark Brent crude for May delivery traded at about $115 for a barrel on Thursday. Economists estimate that for every $10 increase in the price, Saudi Arabia can increase its budget by 6% of gross domestic product.

And, with the world’s biggest reserves and excess capacity, Saudi Arabia is benefitting twice over by raising output to fill the Libyan gap. Official figures aren’t available, but the country is believed to have boosted output by about 700,000 barrels a day to 9.2 million barrels.

“On the oil side, recent events have been unambiguously positive,” Daniel Kaye, senior economist for National Bank of Kuwait, told The Media Line.

Meanwhile, two royal decrees announced over the past month call for $133 billion in new government spending – a figure equal to an eye-popping 30% of the country’s GDP. The money will be spent for everything from pay raises for civil servants to building homes to adding more people to the security forces.

No one doubts that the measures are aimed principally at assuring Saudi Arabia’s 26 million citizens aren’t drawn into the spirit of rebellion that has brought down the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and threatens those in Yemen and Libya. Riyadh has been fearful enough of unrest that, in a rare military action, it dispatched troops to neighboring Bahrain last week to help the king put down protests.

But Kaye of National Bank of Kuwait and other economists said the extra spending will also give another boost to the economy and address some of its structural problems, like a persistent housing shortage and high unemployment.

National Commercial Bank estimates the two initiatives will generate some150,000 jobs directly and indirectly, equal to nearly a third of the estimated number of jobless. Another 60,000 jobs will be creating by hiring more security personnel at the Interior Ministry, a measure that will do double duty by aiding the economy and helping to clamp down on any emergent unrest.

Civil servants will get a pay hike equal top two months’ salary and a minimum wage was set for them at 3,000 riyals ($800). Those seeking jobs – an estimated 10% of the country’s labor force – will be entitled to a monthly allowance of 2,000 riyals.

The $15 billion set aside to build new homes and fund more generous government loans to buyers will go part of the way to easing Saudi Arabia’s housing shortage, economists said. Credit Suisse forecast the country will need some two million more housing units by 2014.

The amounts involved are huge, but economists said it was too early to gauge the impact they will have on the broader economy. UBS on Wednesday affirmed for now its Saudi growth forecast of 4.5% for this year, said Reinhard Cluse, an economist who tracks Saudi Arabia for the Swiss bank.

“We don’t know how big the overlap is between them [the two announced programs], or how quickly the money will be spent, so that makes it difficult to speak about the impact on GDP growth,” Cluse told The Media Line. “In regard to social spending, it will go to investment in housing and into wage spending. As such, the multiplier effect should be quite good.”

Indeed, the largesse is so enormous that it has sparked jealously among the 800,000 or so Saudis employed in the private sector. A Facebook page “We Are Also Saudis” has served as a forum for griping. “We’re treated as if we’re foreigners,” the page’s administrator writes.

In fact, many private sector businesses have decided to match the government bonus, among them Saudi Basic Industries Corp., American Express in Saudi Arabia, Samba Financial Group, Al-Rajhi Bank, Saudi Electricity Co. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudi Telecom Company, Kingdom Holding Company, and Saudi Arabian Mining.

Some analysts have raised the specter of accelerating inflation as all this money percolates through the Saudi economy. Annual inflation slowed to a 10-month low of 4.9% in February, but economists like John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi, have warned that the government’s handouts may reverse the trend.

Cluse said it was premature to talk about their inflationary impact. The government has the resources to increase subsidies to contain the impact of higher global food prices, which is the chief threat to price stability right now, he said. In can also enforce price regulations if needed, said Cluse, who forecasts consumer price rising between 5% and 6% this year. The handouts may even help cool inflation.

“Housing costs were a big driver of inflation in the past, so spending on new housing can bring down inflation in the medium term,” Cluse said. “But we don’t know how quickly money will be spent, so we don’t know how inflationary it will be.”

View full post on All Stories