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

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 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 considers charging Twitter users $20 a month for verified accounts

Elon Musk

After purchasing the social media giant, the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, has planned to revamp Twitter. He is also considering charging Twitter users $20 (£17.30) a month or $240 a year for a blue tick on their Twitter account.

He has planned changes to Twitter’s Blue subscription service, according to tech newsletter Platformer. Twitter users verified by the platform would have 90 days to sign up to Blue tick or lose their check mark.

Musk reportedly wrote on Twitter, “the whole verification process is being revamped right now.” However, he did not reveal his plan on Twitter. Tesla CEO also flagged a Twitter poll on Monday morning, asking Twitter users how much they would pay a month for a blue tick. He also gave them three options: $5; $10; $15; or “wouldn’t pay.”

Musk also launched a poll on Monday, asking users if he should bring back Vine, the video-sharing app, shut down by Twitter in 2016.

Musk bought Twitter on Thursday after months of uncertainty and speculation. He also went through internal communications sent by staff in the run-up to the Twitter takeover.

After acquiring Twitter, he fired top Twitter executives, including the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Parag Agrawal, the company’s legal head and policy maker Vijaya Gadde, and CFO Nel Segal.

He made a bid to buy the social media company for $44 billion in April. Later on, he backed away from the deal, alleging that the social media giant gave him wrong information about bot and spam accounts on the platform. Consequently, Twitter sued Musk to force him to complete his deal. After a months-long saga full of twists and turns, he finally agreed to buy the platform in October.

On Friday, the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, said, "I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands.”

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