Business

NEW YORK — Elon Musk's verbal assault on advertisers who have shunned X (formerly Twitter) threatens to sink the social network further, with the tycoon warning of the platform's demise, just one year after taking control.

Musk was lashing out at the advertisers who had abandoned his platform after Media Matters, a left-wing media watchdog group, warned big companies that their ads were running aside posts by neo-Nazis.

Walmart on Friday was the latest to join the exodus, following the footsteps of IBM, Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate and others.

"Most advertiser boycotts on social media companies, including X, have been short lived. There's a potential for this one to be longer," she added.

Musk said the survival of X could be at stake.

"What this advertising boycott is going to do is kill the company," Musk said.

"Everybody will know" that advertisers were those responsible, he angrily added.

Bankruptcy looms? 

Even before the latest bust up, Insider Intelligence was forecasting a 54 per cent contraction in ad sales, to $1.9 billion this year.

"The advertising exodus at X could accelerate with Musk not playing nice in the sandbox," said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

According to data provided to AFP by market data analysis company SensorTower, as many as half of the social network's top 100 US advertisers in October 2022 have already stopped spending altogether.

But by dropping X, "you are opening yourself up for competitors to step into your territory," warned Kellis Landrum, co-founder of digital marketing agency

True North Social

Advertisers may also choose to stay for lack of an equivalent alternative.

Meta's new Threads platform and other upstarts have yet to prove worthy adversaries for the time being, Landrum argued.

Analyst Enberg insisted that "X is not an essential platform for many advertisers, so withdrawing temporarily tends to be a pretty painless decision".

Privately held, X does not release official figures, but all estimates point to a significant drop in the number of users.

SensorTower puts the annual fall at 45 per cent for monthly users at the start of the fourth quarter, compared with the same period last year.

Added to this is the disengagement of dozens of highly followed accounts, including major brands such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, JPMorgan Bank and Starbucks as well as many celebrities and media personalities that have stopped or reduced usage.

The corporate big names haven't posted any content for weeks, when they used to be an everyday presence.

None of the dozen or so companies contacted by AFP responded to requests for comments.

In normal conditions, Twitter or X "was always much larger than its ad dollars", said Enberg.

It was "an important place for brands and companies to connect with consumers and customers", she said.

Even after Musk gutted the staff by two-thirds, X still has around 2,000 employees, and incurs substantial fixed costs like data servers and real estate.

Another threat is the colossal debt contracted by Musk for his acquisition, but now carried by X, which must meet a payment of over a billion dollars each year.

In his tense interview on Wednesday, Musk hinted that he would not come to the rescue if the coffers run dry, even if he has ample means to do so.

"If the company fails... it will fail because of an advertiser boycott and that will bankrupt the company," Musk said.

SHENZHEN, CHINA — On a rainy afternoon in Shenzhen, damp passengers jostle their way onto the megacity's buses, the quiet foot soldiers of an electric revolution for coal-guzzling China's public transport network.

Shenzhen ditched diesel buses and went fully electric in 2017 — a world first — with its taxi fleet not far behind. 

Other Chinese cities have since followed suit, with many aiming to fully switch their systems before 2025. 

"Electrification is one of the most important strategies" for reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with bus decarbonisation representing around 5 per cent of cumulative emissions reductions in transport. 

But so far China is an outlier, accounting for over 90 per cent of the world's electric buses and trucks in 2021, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). 

"It didn't happen in a night," EV specialist Elliot Richards told AFP. 

"It was many years of planning and huge amounts of infrastructure work. But it's made such a huge difference in terms of global awareness."

Wrangling over the path to a net-zero future will be at the heart of the United Nations' upcoming COP28 climate summit in oil-producer Dubai, which begins in late November.

So far though, budget and planning constraints, a lack of knowledge and the difficulty of rejigging infrastructure in older cities have prevented others from replicating China's experience, Richards said. 

Step-by-step 

At a Shenzhen bus depot, driver Ou Zhenjian told AFP he had been ferrying passengers around the city for 18 years and saw a "big difference" with the shift to electric.

"It is really comfortable to drive... easy to operate, and environmentally friendly. It's soundless too — it's great to drive like this."

"At the beginning of the service, we had to step-by-step solve problems," Ethan Ma, deputy general manager of the Shenzhen Bus Group (SZBG), told AFP.

"Now we can say we almost have the same technical performance of our e-buses compared to diesel buses in the past."

There have been other, more obvious benefits. 

For a huge metropolis crisscrossed by four-to-five lane avenues, traffic noise is noticeably subdued. 

"[Diesel buses] emitted a lot of exhaust... Especially when walking on the road, the smell made me very uncomfortable, but now it's gone," a young male passenger told AFP as the bus purred through the city. 

'Political will' 

A World Bank case study on SZBG, the city's largest public transport operator, found emissions from an e-bus over its service time were 52 per cent that of a diesel bus. 

The analysis takes into account the fact that the local grid generates about half its electricity from coal, and found the switch had saved 194,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. 

Pollution in Chinese cities was a major factor pushing the central government to prioritise the switch in public transport, said Tu Le, managing director of Sino Auto Insights.

And that top-down directive was key, with the World Bank noting transition "not only depends on technology but also political will". 

"They were thinking about this way before any other country was even considering it," said Le. 

Strong government financial support and close collaboration with automaker BYD — then a fledgling, now a giant in the global EV field — greatly contributed to success in Shenzhen. 

By 2021 China supplied more than 90 per cent of the world's e-buses, according to the ICCT. 

The changes are already having a measurable effect. 

In September, the IEA chief said the growth of electric vehicles globally — especially in China — meant oil demand was on course to peak before 2030, and coal "in the next few years".

Coal-sourced electricity 

However, China remains the world's largest emitter, with the IEA predicting it will account for 45 per cent of the global total from now until 2050, and the country relies on coal for nearly 60 per cent of its electricity. 

Last year, Beijing approved the largest expansion of coal-fired power plants since 2015, despite President Xi Jinping pledging to peak CO2 emissions between 2026 and 2030.

China is investing heavily in renewable energy, but "they need the coal to cover the gaps in the grid for the time being", said Richards. 

"Even 100 per cent coal-fired power [for EV charging] wins over gasoline though" in terms of emissions", said David Fishman, energy consultant at The Lantau Group. 

For SZBG's Ma, the switch to electric has given the company a new outlook. 

"We don't consider ourselves anymore as a pure bus operator, but a new energy service operator or provider," he said.

Bus systems in 10 other cities in Guangdong province are now fully electric, as is the eastern city of Hangzhou's. 

And over 90 per cent of the bus systems in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai have made the switch.

Less developed power grids and charging infrastructure, as well as maintenance issues, have slowed progress in smaller cities, said Sino Auto Insights' Le.

Still, he predicts seeing "a high per centage — in the 70s — of the whole country's networks electrified by 2030, no problem". 

PARIS — The world economy is likely headed for a soft landing next year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday as it pared back its growth forecast, but warned the Hamas-Israel conflict could throw a spanner in the works. 

In its latest economic outlook, the OECD trimmed its forecast for global growth this year to 2.9 per cent, down from the 3 per cent it forecast in September. 

The grouping of developed industrialised countries said it sees global growth slowing to 2.7 per cent next year, unchanged from its previous forecast, which the OECD noted would be the lowest annual rate since the global financial crisis, aside from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A rebound to 3 per cent growth in 2025 is contingent on inflation slowing further and Asian economies maintaining their fast pace of growth.

"The broad picture for the world economy over the next two years is one of a moderate slowdown followed by eventual normalisation, with growth returning to near-trend rates, and inflation converging back to central bank targets by 2025," said the OECD.

The OECD's chief economist, Clare Lombardelli, said in her introduction to the report that they "are projecting a soft landing for advanced economies, but this is far from guaranteed".

The OECD still sees near-term risks to its forecast tilted to the downside. 

It pointed to the heightened geopolitical tensions due to the Hamas-Israel conflict as "a key source of near-term uncertainty" for the global economy.

"If the conflict were to intensify and broaden within the wider region, there are much stronger risks that could slow growth and push up inflation," said the OECD, which advises its 38 member countries on economic policy.

While the OECD had already projected a temporary but pronounced slowdown for Israel, it said the broader direct effects from the conflict for the world economy have so far been "relatively limited".

The slowdown in global growth is being driven by higher interest rates brought in by central banks to slow inflation, but growth should rebound as rates begin to come down along with inflation beginning next year.

The OECD raised its growth forecasts for the US economy by two tenths of a percentage point for this year and 2024, to 2.4 and 1.5 per cent respectively. It sees a modest pick up to 1.7 per cent growth in 2025.

Despite growth nearly stalling in the eurozone last quarter, the OECD held onto its estimate of 0.6 per cent growth this year, but trimmed the 2024 forecast to 0.9 per cent.

It sees Britain's economy slowly gathering steam with growth rising to 0.5 per cent this year, 0.7 per cent in 2024 and 1.2 per cent in 2025 as the country gradually recovers from a cost-of-living crisis. 

Japan is also expected to experience a slowdown next year, with growth slowing from 1.7 to 1 per cent before edging up to 1.2 per cent in 2025. 

The OECD marginally increased its forecast for growth in China to 5.2 per cent this year.

But the world's second largest economy is still expected to see growth slow to 4.7 per cent in 2024 and 4.2 per cent in 2025 as gloomy consumers save rather than spend amid weak job creation and financial stress brought on by a real estate crisis.

AMMAN — The index of wholesale trade prices edged up by 1.68 per cent during the first three quarters of 2023, reaching 105.71 points, compared to 103.96 points for the same period in 2022, according to the Department of Statistics (DoS).

Machinery prices increased by 3.64 per cent, motor vehicles and motorcycles by 3.04 per cent, while fuel, minerals, and construction material decreased by 0.18 per cent during the same comparison timeframe, said the DoS's quarterly report issued on Tuesday.

Additionally, the index rose by 0.98 per cent in Q3 2023, reaching 105.77 points, up from 104.74 points in Q3 2022.

The index rose due to an increase in machinery prices by 2.74 per cent, agricultural raw materials, grains, food, beverages, and tobacco by 2.34 per cent, motor vehicles and motorcycles by 2.02 per cent, and textiles, clothing, and personal and household goods by 0.51 per cent. However, fuel, minerals, and construction material prices decreased by 3.01 per cent, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The new forecasted capital expenditure for the fiscal year 2024 stands at JD73.317 million, according to the 2024 public budget draft law.

The government allocated JD1.729 billion as capital expenses for next year’s budget, in comparison with JD1.547 billion in the current year's budget, as reported by Al Mamlaka TV. 

Approximately all estimated expenditure items in the draft law government were labeled "ongoing" and were allocated JD843.446 million, while the remaining "in progress" expenses were allocated JD812.566 million. 

Governmental units’ expenses for the year 2024 as forecasted reached JD564.638 million, while foreign loans to finance capital projects allocated JD39.610 million from the World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Saudi Fund for Development and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. The allocation rose by JD1.65 million compared with JD37.963 million in the 2023 budget. 

As for the new projects, the government allocated JD3.5 million to increase the capacity of grain warehouses in Ghabawi by 100,000 tonnes. 

Moreover, JD7 million has been allocated to the General Population and Housing Census to be implemented in 2024. The local administration ministry budget will receive JD6.035 million for new capital projects including JD80,000 for pavement maintenance in the capital city of Amman.

The budget also allocated JD1.5 million for an environmental waste management project for the year 2024 to be implemented by the Public Works and Housing Ministry. Additionally, the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture will receive JD1.2 million for integrating modern technology in irrigation systems and another JD500,000 for establishing a new agricultural marketing company. 

The government allocated JD4 million as capital expense to finance qualitative agricultural projects in the field of waste water treatment. Another JD12 million were allocated for integrating children with disability in education, in addition to dedicating JD1 million to establish a technical university college in Tafilah governorate.   

The government listed JD3.4 million as capital expenses for supplying and installing mechanical water meters and an additional JD650,000 for upgrading sewage networks in the Kingdom. 

Under the National Cyber Security Centre, the government allocated JD1.67 million for an awareness national programme designated for cyber security. 

For the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority draft budget, the government allocated JD1 million to support the transportation sector in addition to allocating JD5 million to develop Al Quweira Industrial Park under the Aqaba Development Company budget.    

The government allocated JD1.5 million to establish a new building for the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna).

The capital expenses allocated for the governorates are capped at JD131.5 million for the fiscal year 2024, in which the largest share of JD18.517 million is allocated for Amman governorate, while Madaba governorate received the lowest allocation of JD8.6 million.

STOCKHOLM — Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk broke his silence recently on a strike against his company in Sweden, saying it was "insane" that it may block new car deliveries.

Swedish postal workers began halting deliveries to Tesla offices and repair shops on Monday, in support of a strike launched by the metal workers' union IF Metall over the electric car maker's refusal to sign a collective wage agreement.

Financial newspaper Dagens Industri later reported that this in effect could block new Tesla's from hitting the road as license plates for new cars issued by the Swedish Transport Agency are only delivered via mail carrier Postnord.

Replying to a user posting about the issue on X, formerly Twitter, Musk, who had not publicly reacted to the strike previously, said simply: "This is insane."

Mikael Andersson, head of press at the Swedish Transport Agency, confirmed in an e-mail to AFP that new number plates are delivered through Postnord.

Andersson explained that the agency was bound to use the carrier under a procurement contract for all government agencies negotiated by the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency.

Some 130 mechanics at 10 Tesla repair shops in seven cities across Sweden first walked off the job on October 27, according to trade union IF Metall.

The strike has since expanded to include other repair shops that service Tesla among other auto brands, and dock workers have stopped unloading Tesla cars at all Swedish ports.

In addition to IF Metall, nine other unions have announced "sympathy measures", including the Swedish Union for Service and Communications Employees — which represents postal workers — and the Swedish Building Workers' Union.

Despite these moves, several Swedish media have reported that their impacts have so far been limited, and IF Metall has accused the electric car maker of systematically using strike breakers to circumvent the labour action.

Tesla has also found other ways to deliver new cars to Sweden, notably by road.

Negotiated sector-by-sector, collective agreements are the basis of the Swedish labour market model, covering almost 90 per cent of all employees and guaranteeing standard wages and working conditions.

According to IF Metall, Tesla had told them it would not sign a collective bargaining agreement because they "don't do that anywhere in the world".

AMMAN — The National Petroleum Company (NPC) in 2022 achieved net profit of JD2.8 million after tax and tax settlements for previous years, marking a profit rate of JD0.191 per share.

Gas sales last year totalled JD15.27 million, compared with JD16.8 million in 2021, marking a decline of JD1.8 million or 10.7 per cent, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The quantities of gas sold in 2022 amounted to 5.382 billion cubic feet (bcf) compared to 6.526bcf for 2021, marking a decrease of 17.5 per cent.

The drop is attributed to the 65-day interruption of gas turbines operating in the Risha field following a decision by the government to transfer the ownership of these turbines from the Central Electricity Generation Company to the Samra Electricity Power Company.

As a result of this interruption, the rate of production sold fell to 14.7 million cubic feet per day compared to 17.8 million cubic feet per day in 2021.

At the end of 2022, production capacity reached about 30 million cubic feet.

The NPC's gas sales revenue during 2022 stood at JD12.021 million compared with JD13.090 million for 2021, down by JD1.068 million or 8.2 per cent compared with the previous year.

The company's property rights increased to JD37.2 million in 2022 compared with JD34.4 million in 2021, up by 8.3 per cent, while assets totaled JD47.2 million compared with JD43 million in 2021, which is 8.9 per cent higher.