UAE creates foreign trade ministry, prime minister says
DUBAI, June 20 (Reuters) - UAE created a new ministry of foreign trade, and appointed Thani al Zeyoudi as its minister, the United Arab Emirates prime minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a post on X on Friday.
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Scotsman
28 minutes ago
- Scotsman
WhatsApp removed from Scottish Government phones after Nicola Sturgeon deleted messages in Covid backlash
Ministers and officials were previously criticised for deleting messages during the Covid pandemic Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... WhatsApp and other mobile messaging apps are being removed from Scottish Government phones as a new policy comes into effect. It follows a fierce backlash over the mass deletion of messages by ministers and officials during the Covid pandemic. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Kate Forbes, the deputy first minister, previously said a ban would come into force by the spring. The WhatsApp app icon on a smartphone | PA This came in response to an external review led by former Channel Islands data protection commissioner Emma Martins. The policy applies to all Scottish Government employees including contractors, senior civil servants, special advisers and ministers. The stance states mobile messaging apps and 'non-corporate communication channels' will not be permitted on government devices. The Scottish Government said a small number of business areas will take part 'in a time-bound and limited transition period' until the end of 2025. This includes areas responding to emergencies such as wildfires or for matters of safety and security. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Forbes said: 'We are setting out a clear approach to ending government use of mobile messaging apps, and this will support wider work to deliver on our commitment to openness and transparency. PA 'The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of such apps. 'This follows on from actions to implement other recommendations from Ms Martins' externally-led review including updating our hybrid working policy. 'I want to reassure the public that it is a priority of this government to maintain secure and searchable data, ensuring compliance with all records management rules. We will continue to act to ensure our data policies are robust, especially considering technological advances.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In late 2023, lead counsel to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Jamie Dawson KC, said most of the messages sent within the Scottish Government had been deleted. It later transpired a number of senior members of the Government, including John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon, had deleted messages, though both stressed they did not relate to government business. Former First Minister, and titan in Scottish politics, will be speaking at this year's Edinburgh Book Festival celebrating the launch of her new book, Frankly. | Getty Images Former national clinical director Jason Leitch was also criticised for describing deleting WhatsApp messages as a 'pre-bed ritual', while another senior clinician warned colleagues that messages could be published under Freedom of Information legislation. Figures in the UK government also came under fire. Alister Jack, the former Scottish secretary, told the Covid inquiry he deleted his WhatsApps to free up storage capacity on his phone. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "If I could turn the clock back knowing what I know now, I would have sought a different solution for my lack of storage capacity,' he said. Former first minister Humza Yousaf announced an external review into the use of WhatsApp and other messaging services last year. Some of his own WhatsApp messages with Mr Leitch have caused embarrassment after being released. The Scotsman previously revealed Mr Yousaf called a senior lawyer a 'Tory f**kwit' in a private chat.
Reuters
37 minutes ago
- Reuters
Wall St Week Ahead Stocks take a breather as investors assess geopolitics, economic data
NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - Investors will focus on the Israel-Iran conflict and U.S. economic data releases next week to assess the near-term outlook for stocks, as the S&P 500 hovers just below its February highs. The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab has rebounded sharply from its early-April selloff, as tariff-related tensions have eased. However, the U.S. benchmark index appears to be taking a breather at some 2.7% below its February closing high. The index has gone 27 trading sessions since coming within 5% of its February high but has not yet set a new record. With Israel and Iran trading missiles, escalating threats of a sweeping conflict in the Middle East sent oil prices sharply higher and led to caution in markets. "We're all waiting on pins and needles to see what happens with the Israel-Iran situation," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. So far, the oil market has absorbed most of the impact from geopolitical turmoil, with equities relatively stable. Yet stock investors remain concerned that higher oil prices could stoke inflation and upset plans for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. On Wednesday, the Fed held rates steady and policymakers signaled borrowing costs are still likely to fall this year. But they estimated the overall pace of expected future rate cuts would be slower than they saw at their March meeting. They cited expectations that higher inflation would flow from President Donald Trump's tariff plans. "The question is oil prices and what that does to inflation – which has implications for monetary policy and how long the Fed keeps rates "meaningfully restrictive"," said Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at Carson Group. The big near-term risk for equities, investors said, was if the U.S. were to join Israel's bombing campaign against arch-enemy Iran. Trump is keeping the world guessing whether the U.S. would join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear and missile sites, as residents of Iran's capital Tehran streamed out of the city on the sixth day of the air assault. The White House said on Thursday that Trump would decide on U.S. action in the next two weeks. "If we were to see the U.S. enter the war or further escalation in the attacks between the two countries, that would give the S&P 500 and equity markets more reasons to react negatively," said Damian McIntyre, head of multi-asset solutions at Federated Hermes in Pittsburgh. On the other hand, a de-escalation in Middle East tensions could prompt a relief rally for stocks. "If both sides can kind of just slowly de-escalate, that would be positive for equity markets, positive for risk markets," McIntyre said. "Markets are taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach here," he said. Still, any stock market pullbacks due to rising geopolitical tensions are likely to be fleeting, investors said. "History says that usually military shocks are shallow and short-lived, and so until further notice, I think that's how Wall Street will react to this one," Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, said. Investors will also parse a slew of incoming data releases, including U.S. business activity and housing sales on Monday, consumer confidence numbers on Tuesday and the PCE Price Index on Friday. U.S. consumer confidence plunged in the past few months, with households fearing tariffs could prompt a recession and higher inflation. However, with inflation in check and the U.S. reaching a truce in its trade fight with China, investors expect to see a pickup in sentiment. "Remember, the survey-based data all got crushed in the March, April, May time frame ... my expectation is we're still going to see an improvement," Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide said.
Rhyl Journal
38 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Bank of England boss not ‘convinced' of need for digital pound
Andrew Bailey, speaking at a conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, said central banks have to be alert to the growing 'non-money system'. Mr Bailey said he remains 'to be convinced that we need to create new forms of money – such as central bank retail digital currency – to achieve' benefits such as smarter payments and fighting fraud. The Bank of England and the Government are exploring the launch of a digital pound which could be used by households and businesses in the UK alongside cash and bank deposits. Mr Bailey's remarks revealed doubts over the creation of a digital pound aimed at everyday consumers, which is being designed but with no certainty it will be officially launched. He also stressed that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin were a 'risky asset class and should be seen as such'. The UK's financial watchdog recently said it planned to lift a ban on some crypto-linked investments for customers, despite warning that people could 'lose all their money' from buying it. Meanwhile, Mr Bailey said it was hard to say whether banks had faced 'excessive' post-financial crisis regulation. He said a challenging question was 'whether we have over-protected the banking system via excessive regulation, and in so doing pushed more risk into non-banks which would be more safely housed in banks'. 'Put another way, have we increased overall financial stability risk by raising the bar too high in banks? It's a fair enough question, but intrinsically hard to answer,' he said. He insisted that 'we have rightly raised regulatory standards for banks in the light of a financial crisis, the effects of which continue to be felt almost 15 years on'.
