UAE Non-Oil Business Activity Surges to Nine-Month High in December

Image
 The United Arab Emirates' non-oil private sector recorded its fastest expansion in nine months in December 2024, buoyed by strong domestic demand and increased business activity, according to the latest S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report. PMI Highlights Robust Growth The seasonally adjusted UAE PMI climbed to 55.4 in December from 54.2 in November, signaling robust growth well above the 50.0 threshold that separates expansion from contraction. This marked the third consecutive monthly increase, underscoring sustained recovery in the non-oil sector. Key drivers of growth included a notable rise in new business activity. The new orders subindex rose sharply to 59.3 in December from 58.0 in the previous month, reflecting strong domestic demand. Challenges Amid the Growth While domestic demand flourished, export growth slowed, with the export orders subindex dropping to a seven-month low. Additionally, businesses faced mounting backlogs due to capacity constraints,...

Elon Musk's Tesla Sells Most Of Its Bitcoin Holdings

 

Elon Musk

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla has sold 75 per cent of its Bitcoins, which was worth about $2bn (£1.7bn) at the end of 2021. Tesla added $936 million in cash to its balance sheet in the second quarter (Q2) this year.

Tesla was in limelight last year when it revealed a major investment in Bitcoin. However, it dealt with an economic meltdown this year amid cryptocurrencies falling off the cliff.

Tesla said in a shareholder letter on Wednesday, “As of the end of Q2, we have converted approximately 75 per cent of our Bitcoin purchases into fiat currency.” In the balance sheet report, Tesla said that it owns net digital assets worth $218 million, which is down from the $1.26 billion in the previous quarter. Tesla’s first investment in Bitcoin was for $1.5 billion last February. The price of Bitcoin dropped about 2% on the news of Tesla’s fire sale.

Tesla’s sale of Bitcoin comes at a time when the cryptocurrency market has plunged to its months-low. Over the past few months, 1 Bitcoin is hovering around $17,000 to $22,000.

No Dogecoin Sold by Tesla

Musk said in the earnings conference call that Tesla did not sell Dogecoin. Tesla has not to date mentioned anything about its Dogecoin holdings, but it began accepting DOGE payments for some merchandise in January this year.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk was in the limelight recently due to the Twitter vs Musk row. Twitter has sued Musk for violating the deal to buy the social media platform. Twitter reportedly requested the Delaware court to order Musk to complete the merger at the agreed price of $54.20 per share. Earlier, Musk made a hostile bid to take over Twitter for a $44 billion deal, $54.20 per share.

Musk's lawyers argued the dispute over false and spam accounts on Twitter was important to Musk to complete the deal. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Enhancing Relationships: Sheikh Khaled’s Trip to India Signals a New Phase of UAE-India Relations.

UAE's Enduring Legacy of Generosity: New Initiatives Highlight Global Humanitarian Efforts.

The UAE's AI Ambitions Get a Boost with Nvidia Chip Approval: A Game-Changer for the Gulf Region.