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DOHA — Months after hundreds of thousands of football fans packed into its hotels and stadiums, Qatar is seeking to remedy a bout of the post-World Cup blues by hosting more international events.

Along with the departed football crowds, thousands of foreign workers left the Gulf state after Lionel Messi lifted the coveted trophy on December 18. Many of those who stayed on are counting the cost.

Luxury hotels built for the tournament have laid off hundreds of staff as rooms costing thousands of dollars a night during the tournament can no longer be filled.

In a country normally hungry for labour, a shopping mall on the edge of Doha recently advertised 100 jobs and saw more than 1,000 people jostling outside for interviews.

Qatar estimates that the World Cup, which residents once dreaded, brought 1.4 million people to the state.

Akhtar Patel, who runs a jewellery store in Doha's Souq Waqif market, said business in comparison is "quiet".

"We really miss those fans now," he said.

The Eid Al Fitr Muslim holiday brought back some shoppers, but the decline has been such that Sandeev Kumar, who runs a print workshop, sent two of his four staff back to India because he could no longer afford to pay them.

"We miss the vibe, but we miss the business even more," he said.

On Doha's seafront promenade, host to a World Cup fanzone, some jobless workers have been reduced to asking for cash handouts, leading the interior ministry to issue a public warning against "uncivilised" begging.

But Qatar's economy remains healthy. After recording a trade surplus of nearly $100 billion in 2022, growth in 2023 — bolstered by its natural gas riches — is predicted by the World Bank to hit 3.4 per cent, among the highest in the Middle East.

And a wave of newcomers has added nearly 100,000 to the population since the World Cup final, taking it to over three million, according to official figures.

Akbar Al Baker, head of Qatar's tourism agency and Qatar Airways, said hotel occupancy in the months after a World Cup is "always low".

The tiny country has made investments in tourism and hosting more major events a focus, Baker added, predicting Qatar will welcome more than five million visitors this year — more than twice the number in pre-pandemic 2019.

Mechanical diggers are laying the ground for a six-month horticultural expo from October, which Qatar hopes will draw one million foreign visitors. 

Concrete is also being poured at a new race track to host the second Qatar Formula One grand prix on October 8.

On Friday, Qatar was revealed as the host of the 24-nation basketball World Cup in 2027, despite having no tradition in the sport.

Culture Minister Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani said that when Qatar first launched its Years of Culture series with other countries a decade ago it was a struggle to find candidates.

"Countries are now queuing to be part of the Years of Culture," he told an event for this year's partner, Indonesia.

New Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani took office in March and is expected to soon announce new economic initiatives, in part a response to growing competition from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which has embarked on many reforms.

Business executives say they expect measures to attract the skilled expatriates and investment needed to wean Qatar's economy off its reliance on gas and oil.

Bassam Hajhamad, head of the PricewaterhouseCoopers consultancy's Qatar branch, said he is "definitely sure" the government will make changes.

He said businesses are showing a "push for transformation" into digital and other new areas.

Foreign workers currently have to leave once their contract finishes and few have the right to buy property.

Companies want "more resources, more talent", Hajhamd said, adding reforms to "labour and visa" regulations will make Qatar more attractive.

"Qatar has a lot of unique propositions compared to other countries. But we need to develop a more structured approach to attract talent."

SEOUL — Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported its worst quarterly profits in 14 years, blaming slowing consumer spending on electronics and a global microchip glut that hit its core memory business.

The South Korean company — one of the world's largest makers of memory chips and smartphones — said in a statement that operating profit fell to 640 billion won ($478.6 million) — down 95 per cent from a year earlier.

Its first-quarter net income fell 86.1 per cent to 1.57 trillion won, and sales dropped 18 per cent to 63.75 trillion won.

The company said that "overall consumer spending slowed amid the uncertain global macroeconomic environment".

Samsung also blamed weakening demand for memory chips — which usually generate about half of its profits — and falling chip prices.

The firm's chip division reported 4.58 trillion won in losses, its first operating loss since 2009 — when the world was emerging from the 2008 financial crisis.

It said this was due to "continued price declines and an increased valuation loss... amid weakening sentiment and continued impacts of inventory adjustments by customers caused by prolonged external uncertainties".

Demand for memory was "expected to gradually recover" in the second half of 2023, it added, "amid projections that customer inventory levels will have declined".

The firm is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The first-quarter drop is the third consecutive margin squeeze for Samsung, which saw a 70 per cent fall in operating profits in the fourth quarter on-year.

Samsung Electronics shares closed 0.78 per cent higher on Thursday.

Korean chipmakers — led by Samsung — enjoyed record profits in recent years as prices for their products soared, but the global economic slowdown has dealt a blow to memory sales.

Demand swelled during the pandemic as consumers bought new computers and smartphones during lockdowns, prompting chip makers to ramp up production.

But demand quickly diminished as lockdowns lifted and weakened further in the face of soaring inflation and rising interest rates.

Samsung said this month it will scale back memory chip production to a "meaningful" level to address the oversupply, an unusual move by the firm, which previously said it would make only small adjustments.

South Korean chip maker SK Hynix and Micron Technology of the United States have also reduced production.

Samsung's "active" efforts to get out of the inventory rut were "positively evaluated" considering its effect on market sentiment and demand for memory chips, said a report released by Eugene Investment & Futures.

"Even if the pace of recovery for demand remains slow, the semiconductor industry is highly likely to recover in the second half if cooperation among the chip makers on production cuts goes well," it added.

While solid sales of its new flagship Galaxy 23 smartphones helped offset deficits in the chip sector in the first quarter, analysts expect conditions in the April to July period to worsen and even lead to Samsung's first profit loss since 2008.

The recent drop in profits has not deterred Samsung from making bold investments — in March, it unveiled plans to contribute $227 billion over the next two decades to building the world's largest chip centre in Yongin, south of Seoul.

LONDON — Wall Street stocks bounced higher Wednesday thanks to blockbuster tech earnings, while fears of global recession this year weighed on other markets.

The main US indices fell sharply on Tuesday ahead of results by Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft, but the first quarter performance of the tech giants topped expectations.

At the opening bell, the Dow added 0.2 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1 per cent.

Shares in Microsoft jumped 7.2 per cent, despite UK regulators blocking the firm's $69 billion takeover of US video game giant Activision Blizzard. Although Microsoft will appeal, the ruling could signal the deal is on the rocks as EU and US regulators have yet to sign off. 

Alphabet shares shed 1 per cent on profit-taking.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said "the overall body of earnings reporting work for the March quarter since yesterday's close has been quite good, yet the overall reaction has been quite subdued."

Chipotle, Texas Instruments, Visa and PacWest Bancorp were among the other firms reporting.

"Take Microsoft out of the equation and the equity futures for the major indices would look quite anemic," O'Hare added.

European markets were lower in afternoon trading, while Asian markets turned in a mixed performance, following Wall Street losses on Tuesday with lacklustre US consumer data raising concerns about economic outlook. 

"Realisation is dawning that more ominous clouds are gathering over the US economy, causing fresh nervousness for investors," noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Those concerns were top of mind for traders after US-based First Republic Bank disclosed it lost more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, intensifying concerns about its long-term prospects after the failures of other mid-sized banks.

Shares of First Republic plunged 49 per cent on Tuesday, pressuring other regional banks that have been seen as vulnerable. They fell nearly 20 per cent at the start of trading on Wednesday.

Also weighing on sentiment was the question of interest rates, with Sweden's Riksbank on Wednesday hiking its guiding rate by a half-point to 3.5 per cent as it tried to rein in double-digit inflation.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is also mulling further inflation-fighting hikes.

Oanda senior market analyst Edward Moya said the overall outlook suggested "the Fed can stay on their tightening course with the risks of a June hike still remaining on the table".

Despite the prospect of higher US interest rates, the dollar fell against rival currencies. Oil prices fell.

TORONTO — Hundreds of thousands of people stream in each month to the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto, its chief executive says, as galloping inflation continues to squeeze Canadians' grocery budgets.

"We are absolutely in a food crisis in this country and certainly in the city of Toronto," Neil Hetherington said in a recent AFP interview.

His organisation saw the number of people using its services double during the COVID-19 pandemic to an average of 120,000 per month, which continued to rise to a record 270,000 in March.

Of the newcomers to the 128 food banks across the Toronto area affiliated with Daily Bread, many have full-time jobs but still can't seem to make ends meet, Hetherington said as volunteers sorted through donations at its depot in a suburb of Toronto.

Although overall inflation has cooled to 4.3 per cent in March from a peak of 8.1 per cent last June, food inflation remains stubbornly high at around 10 per cent year over year.

Hetherington noted that accommodations — both rentals and homes for sales — are also out of reach of many Canadians after a jump in real estate prices last year, compounding cost-of-living woes.

According to a report by the real estate firm Urbanation, the average cost of a studio apartment in Canada's largest city is 2,124 Canadian dollars ($1,568) per month, up about 380 Canadian dollars from last year.

'Can't live without food' 

Ryan Patcheson said he started coming to the food bank 18 months ago. He receives disability benefits but says it's not enough to live on.

"It makes a world of difference when you get a couple of bags of rice at the end of the month and some potatoes" from a food bank, Patcheson, who is in his thirties, told AFP.

Visitors to food banks in Montreal echoed that sense of despair and need, with long queues for handouts observed at the Saint-Gilbert church. Its basement is used by the Association Alerte-Providence to distribute food on Wednesdays.

"Demand has been increasing every week" for its services, says Paula Alerte, who has run the association for over three decades and started the food bank about 10 years ago.

She says that donations are not always enough, so she sometimes buys bulk foods herself to distribute to clients.

"I understand that everything is more expensive but we can't live without food." "The need is there," she said, pausing to hand out bags of food before adding: "Every Wednesday, I worry about not having enough for everyone."

The lineup of mostly young people, retirees and immigrants at the church moves slowly.

"Prices for everything have shot up," lamented shopper Luis Lara, 66. "You can't afford to buy as much as you used to from the supermarket anymore."

"Vegetables are really too expensive for me at grocery stores, so I come here," says Sofiia Slobodianiuk, a 20-year-old Ukrainian national who recently landed in Canada and was making her first visit to a food bank.

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament approved the world's first comprehensive rules to regulate the "Wild West" world of cryptocurrencies on Thursday, hoping to protect investors against abuse and manipulation.

EU member states have already backed the legislation covering cryptoassets, which include cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum and other tradable tokens whose value is secured using blockchain technology, such as NFTs.

The rules, now approved by a large majority of European lawmakers, hope to whip into shape an industry that has been beset by scandals and failures.

One of the most recent cryptocurrency exchange failures came in November when the FTX platform and its sister trading house Alameda Research went bankrupt, dissolving a virtual trading business that at one point had a market value of $32 billion.

The EU commissioner for financial services, Mairead McGuinness, said during a parliamentary debate on Wednesday that the rules would have regulated FTX's activities and perhaps prevented its collapse at great cost to some investors.

Under the regulation known as Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) must protect customers' digital wallets and will be liable if they lose investors' cryptoassets.

"We believe that had FTX, for example, been captured under EU jurisdiction, many of its practices would not have been permissible under MiCA," McGuinness said in Strasbourg.

Large providers will also have to disclose their energy consumption as part of the EU's efforts to reduce cryptocurrencies' high carbon footprint.

A second regulation on fund transfers will lead to greater oversight of cryptoassets trades, bringing it more closely into line with practices traditional finance.

The EU says this will make it harder for criminals to use cryptocurrencies for illegal activity such as money laundering.

The regulations "mark the end of the Wild West era for the unregulated world of cryptoassets", Ernest Urtasun, one of the EU lawmakers spearheading the legislation through parliament, said during the debate.

"For over a decade, the lack of regulation has resulted in massive losses to many first-time investors and provided a safe haven for fraudsters and international criminal networks," he added.

Creating 'safer environment' 

Some have, however, criticised the draft legislation for not going far enough.

"In line with the principle of proportionality, significant CASPs should be subject to both stricter requirements and enhanced supervision: neither of the two is catered for by MiCA," Elizabeth McCaul, European Central Bank supervisory board member, wrote in a blog post this month.

There have also been claims that the regulation would block innovation but McGuinness dismissed the suggestion.

"What we believe is that having a regulatory framework allows the industry to evolve in a more cohesive and safer environment," she said.

She added that she hoped the rules would become a model for other countries.

The rules will progressively come into force from July 2024 after EU member states formally nod them into law. 

The EU is also preparing to introduce proposals for a digital euro later this year.

LONDON — Global stock markets retreated Wednesday as traders digested stubbornly high UK inflation and mulled central bank moves in the fight against rampant consumer prices.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid after official data stoked expectations of another interest-rate hike from the Bank of England (BoE) that could weigh further on the economy.

Britain's annual CPI inflation rate slowed in March but held above 10 per cent on soaring food prices, further fuelling a cost-of-living crisis in Britain.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt and Paris lapsed into negative territory after a largely downbeat session in Asia.

World oil prices shed two per cent on fears the US Federal Reserve (Fed) could also hike rates sharply again, in turn denting demand for crude.

Souring the mood 

"Stubbornly high inflation soured the mood," noted Russ Mould, investment director at stockbroker AJ Bell.

"News that UK CPI remains in double-digits will only strengthen the argument for the Bank of England to keep pushing up interest rates."

The BoE has hiked rates 11 times since late 2021 in an unsuccessful bid to keep inflation close to a 2 per cent target.

Higher borrowing costs have exacerbated the UK's cost-of-living crisis, ramped up loans for businesses and consumers alike and dampened activity.

Later on Wednesday, markets will focus on US earnings from electric carmaker Tesla and bank Morgan Stanley.

Wall Street had flatlined on Tuesday, leaving traders to scrutinise mixed earnings from major US lenders.

Analyst Stephen Innes, of SPI Asset Management, said investors were also dwelling on the Fed's outlook.

"Global traders have seemingly moved into defensive mode as the debate goes on whether the Fed is at the top of its hiking cycle," Innes noted.

That debate remained far from settled, with some analysts warning that certain investors' apparent confidence in coming rate cuts was misplaced.

China 

Investors also mulled the health of the Chinese economy, with data Tuesday showing it expanded a forecast-busting 4.5 per cent in January-March.

That was the first quarter it has been unencumbered by growth-sapping zero-COVID restrictions.

The jump was helped by a surge in retail sales in March, but while the readings were healthy, other figures on industrial output and fixed-asset investment came in below par, pointing to an uneven recovery.

AMMAN — Applications are now open in Jordan for the 2023 edition of the HYPERLINK "https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/everywhere-initiative/initiative.html"Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI), a global open innovation competition that sees startups pitch their innovative solutions to solve tomorrow’s payment and commerce challenges. 

In addition to monetary prizes, VEI winners gain access and exposure to Visa’s vast networks of partners in the banking, merchant, VC and government sectors. The winners also benefit from receiving recognition from one of the world’s most trusted and valuable brands, according to a statement from the company. 

The Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) finals will be livestreamed on July 27 on HYPERLINK "https://techcrunch.com/sponsor/visa-everywhere-initiative/startups-compete-in-qatar-for-visa-everywhere-initiative-global-finals-event/" \hTechCrunch – a leading online publisher focused on the tech industry and the startup ecosystem. The startup that wins at the CEMEA Regionals will participate in the global finale, which will be held on September 19 at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. 

This year, Visa's VEI CEMEA is set to introduce for the first time an award in the Risk and Security domain - Fintechs Innovating in Risk Excellence, or “FIIRE”, Award. Through this Special Edition, Visa in partnership with Emirates NBD are scouting for global fintech players across fraud management, cybersecurity and credit risk, among others. Following a joint review by Visa and Emirates NBD representatives, the winning Fintech will receive a $25,000 prize and an opportunity to work with Emirates NBD, a leading bank group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region.

“The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a platform that empowers fintechs and entrepreneurs to showcase the most ground-breaking, impactful solutions in the world of payments and commerce,” said, Mario Makary, Country Manager – Levant, Visa.

“Through their technology-driven, innovative solutions, fintechs have the potential to offer broad social benefits to the markets they operate in – particularly when it comes to providing financial services to those who have traditionally been underserved. At Visa, we believe access to the digital economy drives equitable, inclusive growth, and VEI is an important means of supporting the innovators playing a leading role in this space.” Makary added.

Since its launch in 2015, VEI has helped startups representing more than 100 countries collectively raise more than $16 billion in funding, with a network that includes nearly 12,000 startups from across the globe. Last year, VEI awarded more than $530,000 in prize money over the course of the competition, which saw over 4,000 startups participate from five regions. VEI 2022 saw Nigeria’s ThriveAgric take home the VEI Global grand prize of $100,000. ThriveAgric also won the $20,000 Visa Direct prize. 

VEI is seeking innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs who are uplifting communities by solving payment and commerce challenges faced by businesses of all sizes and sectors, the statement said.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit the company's official website for additional information regarding the competition. The application deadline for VEI is May 14. 

MUMBAI — Apple opened its first retail store in India on Tuesday, underscoring the US tech titan's increasing focus on the South Asian nation as a key sales market and alternative manufacturing hub to China.

Apple CEO Tim Cook personally opened the doors to welcome customers as staff cheered.

Hundreds of admirers of the iPhone giant queued around the store in a swanky shopping mall in the financial capital Mumbai, some of them waiting overnight.

The California-based firm is betting big on the nation of 1.4 billion people — home to the second-highest number of smartphone users in the world, after China — with a second store to open in the capital Delhi on Thursday.

The world's biggest company in terms of market value is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in India as it seeks to diversify its supply chain away from a heavy dependence on neighbouring China.

Apple called the stores a "major expansion" of its presence in India in a statement on Monday.

"We're excited to build on our longstanding history," Cook said in the statement.

Apple launched its online store in India in 2020, but had not opened an official physical shop until now due to previous investment rules, since relaxed, requiring foreign retailers to source 30 per cent of raw materials locally, and pandemic delays.

Sales and marketing executive Purav Mehta, 30, camped overnight outside the store ahead of the opening, bringing with him his still-unopened 2013 iPod Touch.

"We've been looking forward to it... for a long time we've been waiting for this," he told AFP.

Stationery dealer MadhavMimani, 27, travelled about 900 kilometres from Rajasthan for the event. 

"I think with Apple manufacturing in India, the prices are going to go down because it's local manufacturing, which makes the iPhones affordable," he said. 

"It also increases chances of the Indians buying iPhones made in India because of the sentimental value."

India has more than 600 million smartphone users, with Android devices dominating the price-sensitive market.

Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi, vivo, OPPO and realme had a combined market share of 66 per cent in 2022, according to research firm Canalys, while Samsung held a 19 per cent share.

Apple's iPhones compete in the premium segment of the market and had just a four per cent share last year.

But Canalys analyst SanyamChaurasia told AFP that Apple could benefit from the premiumisation of India's smartphone market and financing schemes for both retailers and consumers.

"Apple is emphasising more on the Indian market because they see more opportunity," he said.

Supply chain 

Cook said in a February earnings call that "India is a hugely exciting market for us and is a major focus".

"We are, in essence, taking what we learned in China years ago and how we scale... and bringing that to bear."

Apple was "putting a significant amount of energy" into India, he added, saying he was "very bullish" on the country.

India is also becoming central to Apple's plans to shift its production of devices and components away from China amid diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing and the supply chain fallout from strict COVID policies.

Just 1 per cent of Apple's iPhones were made in India in 2021, but that jumped to 7 per cent last year, Bloomberg News reported last week, citing sources.

The company began manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 through Taiwanese suppliers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron.

Foxconn said in March that its chairman had visited India but there was no "definitive agreement" for investments in the country after the chief minister of Karnataka in the south said iPhones would be manufactured in his state.

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has put a second 4-per cent chunk of shares of the Aramco energy giant, worth tens of billions of dollars, under the control of the country's sovereign wealth fund, state media said Sunday.

The move underscores Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's campaign to use the Gulf kingdom's vast energy resources to open up the economy under his "Vision 2030" domestic reform agenda.

The official Saudi Press Agency said the shares had been transferred to Sanabil Investments, a firm controlled by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds with more than $620 billion in assets.

Last year, four percent of Aramco shares, estimated at the time to be worth $80 billion, were transferred directly to PIF.

The latest shares are worth nearly $80 billion, based on the current market capitalisation of Aramco, one of the world's most valuable companies. 

Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto ruler, "indicated that the transfer of part of the state's shares in Saudi Aramco is a continuation of Saudi Arabia's long-term initiatives to boost and diversify the national economy and expand investment opportunities", the report said.

"The transfer will also solidify PIF's strong financial position and credit rating," it added, noting Riyadh still owns 90 per cent of Aramco's shares.

Sanabil's investments "include venture, growth capital and small buyouts", according to its website.

Aramco and its assets were once kept under vice-like government control, off-limits to outside investment.

But under Prince Mohammed the kingdom has shown readiness to cede some of that control.

The oil giant sold 1.7 per cent of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019, generating $29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering.

The firm, which reported record profits totalling $161.1 billion last year, has pledged to achieve "operational net-zero" carbon emissions by 2050. 

That applies to emissions that are produced directly by Aramco's industrial sites, but not the CO2 produced when clients burn Saudi oil in their cars, power plants and furnaces.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser and other top Saudi officials have simultaneously called for further investment in fossil fuels to ensure global energy security.

The PIF has made high-profile investments in firms including Uber and Disney, and its so-called giga-projects — centrepieces of Prince Mohammed's reform agenda — include Neom, a $500 billion futuristic megacity under construction in the Saudi desert. 

The crown prince has said he wants the fund to have 1 trillion dollars in assets by the end of 2025.