Good morning, ladies and gents. Riyadh is bustling today with hundreds of execs, investors and government officials attending the flagship FII9 conference and day two of the Global Health Exhibition. The latter brought bns in investments in Saudi’s healthcare sector on its first day, with total investments throughout its run expected to exceed SAR 120 bn. Meanwhile, FII9 seems to be all about tech this year, with its day zero dominated by announcements from PIF-backed Humain. Let’s dive in.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The US Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the second time after its September cut at its Federal Open Market Committee today. Softer US inflation figures that came out last week put the Fed on course to make another small 25 basis point cut, analysts say.

Speaking of the Fed, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Fed’s next heir will likely be named by the end of the year, after whittling down the shortlist of candidates to just five, CNBC reports. The names potentially replacing current Fed chair Jerome Powell are: Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder.

WEATHER– The skies will be clear over most of the Kingdom, except for parts of Makkah, Madinah, and the Eastern Province where dusty winds are still stirring. Meanwhile, the southern parts of the Eastern Province and the Red Sea coast will probably get foggy during the night and early hours of the day.

  • Riyadh: 32°C high / 21°C low,
  • Jeddah: 33°C high / 27°C low
  • Makkah: 36°C high / 27°C low
  • Dammam: 33°C high / 22°C low.

PSAs-

The first phase of Saudization for 44 accounting professions in the private sector took effect yesterday, the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry said on LinkedIn. Under the new directive, private firms are required to ensure at least 40% of their accounting roles are held by Saudi nationals, granting new hires a minimum monthly salary of SAR 6k for bachelor’s degree holders and SAR 4.5k for diploma holders.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Syrian-Saudi investment ties are advancing from MoUs to implementation, with some USD 6.4 bn in agreements activated during a joint investment roundtable held yesterday in Damascus, Asharq Business reported. The roundtable focused on exploring new potential investments in priority sectors, including energy, communications, banking, real estate development, mining, and digital transformation.

REMEMBER- The Saudi-Syrian Investment Forum held in July in Damascus put forth 47 agreements worth over SAR 24 bn. The Kingdom also granted Syria 1.65 mn barrels of crude oil earlier last month to back the operational and financial stability of Syrian refineries.

High-level support: Syrian President Ahmad Al Sharaa is expected to land in Riyadh today and address the FII9 forum in Riyadh, as well as meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss investment in Syria’s infrastructure, housing, energy, health, technology, and sustainability sectors.

OIL WATCH-

IEA’s head sees oil prices easing on surplus supply: The oil market is heading for a soft patch as output growth outstrips demand, International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol told Bloomberg. Rising production from the Americas, Opec+ signaling higher supply, and slower consumption growth will be key drivers behind what he expects will be “moderate” prices over the coming days and weeks. Any US-China trade agreement this week would give oil prices only a “slight” lift unless a major geopolitical event intervenes, he added.

REMEMBER- The IEA is signaling a growing supply glut, with global output in September already up by 5.6 mn bbl / d from a year ago — 3.1 mn bbl / d of which came from Opec+. Global supply is estimated to exceed demand by some 4 mn bbl / d next year, compared to around 3.3 mn bbl / d last month, if current trends hold.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a mixed bag in the international business press this morning, though mostly quiet as we await the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision tomorrow and Big Tech’s earnings later this week.

One story getting attention is Amazon’s plans to cut some 30k corporate jobs, its largest cut yet, slashing around 10% of its corporate workforce. The move comes as the firm looks to cut expenses and trim back its team after an overhiring wave during peak demand in the pandemic. Another reason could potentially be productivity gains from the use of AI which have removed the need for some corporate jobs, and a need for less bureaucracy. (Reuters | Wall Street Journal | CNBC)

Also from the world of Big Tech: Qualcomm will start producing semiconductor chips, entering a market that’s already dominated by US chipmaker Nvidia, which also includes players like Advanced Micro Devices. It previously produced chips for wireless connectivity and mobile devices. Its shares jumped 11% on the news. (CNBC | WSJ | Financial Times)

Over in Russia, its second-largest oil producer Lukoil is selling its international assets following the sanctions introduced against it by the US last week. (Reuters | FT | Bloomberg)

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