{"id":115263,"date":"2026-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/?p=115263"},"modified":"2026-05-20T07:31:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:31:57","slug":"the-accidental-oman-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/20\/the-accidental-oman-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"The accidental Oman issue?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oman doesn\u2019t usually make a lot of noise, but this morning it\u2019s very much leading our <\/strong>coverage<\/strong> with the biggest two stories of the day, as we unpack the Oman Investment Authority\u2019s 2025 blockbuster performance and the country\u2019s narrowed 1Q budget deficit. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be keeping an eye out for progress on the GCC-UK trade agreement, which could<\/strong> be finalized today<\/strong> as representatives from both sides meet in London, Bloomberg<\/a> reports, citing comments made by GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi. From the UK side, officials said talks were ongoing but steered clear of specifying whether the agreement would come today.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in the tech world: <\/strong>Google is further integrating AI in its search function while introducing what it calls Gemini Spark<\/a>, an AI \u201cagent\u201d that is designed to function independently and act on a user\u2019s behalf. The tech giant is also rolling out smart glasses that will include a camera and speaker in a bid to challenge moves made by its rival Meta.<\/p>\n

We still think human labor isn\u2019t going away anytime soon, <\/strong>but the robots<\/strong> are coming for<\/strong> some jobs<\/strong> \u2014 at least 8k of them at Standard Chartered, which is looking<\/a> to rely more heavily instead on AI. The cuts will primarily affect its human resources and risk and compliance functions, which the company\u2019s CEO describes as a shift away from \u201clower-value human capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO: <\/strong>Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX has reportedly tapped<\/a> Goldman Sachs to lead its highly anticipated IPO, with the bank set to assume the most prominent spot among the underwriters involved. Goldman and Morgan Stanley will reportedly be serving as lead bankers. \u2013Salma <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GCC-UK trade agreement could be finalized today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2604],"tags":[2538,2603,2552],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-115263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opening-note","tag-enterpriseam","tag-opening-note","tag-trade","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"329042f1-7e1e-4043-9388-e69d04d2d175","order":"1","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/5\/1220.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"The accidental Oman issue?","related_issue":[115261],"teaser":"GCC-UK trade agreement could be finalized today"},"yoast_head":"\nThe accidental Oman issue? 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