You Think Kuwait Pays Well? This New Report Might Change Your Mind!
Kuwait ranks 36th globally, with an average net salary of $1,961 per month, placing it fourth in the Gulf region behind the UAE ($3,770), Qatar ($3,275), and Saudi Arabia ($1,995). The rankings reflect significant disparities in wages worldwide, offering fresh insight for professionals seeking lucrative career opportunities amid uncertain economic conditions.
The top ten highest-paying countries also include Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Singapore. This report arrives as economists caution about an increasingly challenging global economy, with the risk of recession looming large.
Key factors shaping the economic outlook include soaring inflation rates that have eroded purchasing power, ongoing disruptions to supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and escalating geopolitical tensions — from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to instability in the Middle East and power struggles among major nations.
Highest salaries tend to be concentrated in sectors such as finance and insurance, electricity and mining, information technology, retail, and education. Conversely, industries like administrative support, hospitality, and construction remain among the lowest-paying.
CEO World magazine stresses the importance of factoring in inflation when comparing salaries, noting that rising costs can significantly diminish the real value of wages despite nominal increases.
Tope 100 countries
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Kuwait Times
11 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
India faces tough choices under US tariff pressure
NEW DELHI: India faces an ultimatum from the United States with major political and economic ramifications both at home and abroad: end purchases of Russian oil or face painful tariffs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the world's most populous nation and its fifth-biggest economy, must make some difficult decisions. US President Donald Trump has given longstanding ally India, one of the world's largest crude oil importers, three weeks to find alternative suppliers. Levies of 25 percent already in place will double to 50 percent if India doesn't strike a deal. For Trump, the August 27 deadline is a bid to strip Moscow of a key source of revenue for its military offensive in Ukraine. 'It is a geopolitical ambush with a 21-day fuse,' said Syed Akbaruddin, a former Indian diplomat to the United Nations, writing in the Times of India newspaper. New Delhi called Washington's move 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable'. Modi has appeared defiant. He has not spoken directly about Trump but said on Thursday 'India will never compromise' on the interests of its farmers. Agriculture employs vast numbers of people in India and has been a key sticking point in trade negotiations. It all seems a far cry from India's early hopes for special tariff treatment after Trump said in February he had found a 'special bond' with Modi. 'The resilience of US-India relations... is now being tested more than at any other time over the last 20 years,' said Michael Kugelman, from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Russia accounted for nearly 36 percent of India's total crude oil imports in 2024, snapping up approximately 1.8 million barrels of cut-price Russian crude per day. Buying Russian oil saved India billions of dollars on import costs, keeping domestic fuel prices relatively stable. Switching suppliers will likely threaten price rises, but not doing so will hit India's exports. The Federation of Indian Export Organizations warned that the cost of additional US tariffs risked making many businesses 'not viable'. Urjit Patel, a former central bank governor, said Trump's threats were India's 'worst fears'. Without a deal, 'a needless trade war' would likely ensue and 'welfare loss is certain', he said in a post on social media. Modi has sought to bolster ties with other allies. That includes calling Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who said they had agreed on the need 'to defend multilateralism'. Ashok Malik, of business consultancy The Asia Group, told AFP: 'There is a signal there, no question.' India's national security adviser Ajit Doval met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, saying the dates of a visit to India by the Russian president were 'almost finalized'. Modi, according to Indian media, might also visit China in late August. It would be Modi's first visit since 2018, although it has not been confirmed officially. Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in response to an AFP question on Friday that 'China welcomes Prime Minister Modi' for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. India and neighboring China have long competed for strategic influence across South Asia. Successive US administrations have seen India as a key partner with like-minded interests when it comes to China. 'All those investments, all that painstaking work done by many US presidents and Indian prime ministers, is being put at risk,' Malik said. 'I have not seen the relationship so troubled since the early 1990s, to be honest. I'm not saying it's all over, not in the least, but it is at risk.' Modi faces a potential domestic backlash if he is seen to bow to Washington. 'India must stand firm, put its national interest first,' the Indian Express newspaper wrote in an editorial. Opposition politicians are watching keenly. Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the key opposition Congress party, warned the government was 'disastrously dithering'. He also pointed to India's longstanding policy of 'non-alignment'. 'Any nation that arbitrarily penalizes India for our time-tested policy of strategic autonomy... doesn't understand the steel frame India is made of,' Kharge said in a statement. However, retired diplomat Akbaruddin said there is still hope. New Delhi can be 'smartly flexible', Akbaruddin said, suggesting that could mean 'buying more US oil if it's priced competitively, or engaging Russia on the ceasefire issue'. — AFP
Kuwait Times
15 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Trump's trade gambit triggers tariff tensions across world
Rising jobless claims fuel Fed rate cut bets as BoE eases rates KUWAIT: Markets reacted to a wave of economic developments this week, led by President Trump nominating Fed critic Stephen Miran to a vacant board seat, boosting expectations for a September rate cut amid soft US data, including weaker services PMI and rising jobless claims. Trade tensions escalated with a 25 percent tariff hike on Indian imports over Russian oil purchases and threats of 100 percent semiconductor tariffs, while Apple pledged $100 billion in new US investments. Moreover, US jobless claims rose above forecasts, with continued claims hitting a near four year high, adding to pressure for a Fed rate cut in September. Meanwhile, in the UK the Bank of England cut rates to 4.00 percent in a narrow vote, balancing high inflation and weak growth, while Switzerland saw core inflation rise despite muted headline CPI. In Asia-Pacific, China's services PMI hit a 14-month high on stronger demand, and New Zealand's unemployment rose as participation fell, reinforcing a dovish policy outlook. Trump's announcements President Donald Trump announced that he will nominate Stephen Miran, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, a close ally and key architect of his tariff policies who disputes Fed chair Jay Powell's view that tariffs are inflationary, to temporarily fill the Federal Reserve board seat vacated by Adriana Kugler until January, a move that would give a vocal critic of Powell a vote on the Federal Open Market Committee and is expected to reinforce Trump's push for interest rate cuts of up to three percentage points. Miran, who holds a Harvard PhD in economics, previously served at the Treasury Department and is likely to align with Trump appointees Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, both of whom opposed the Fed's recent decision to keep rates steady, and his nomination comes as JPMorgan and other economists anticipate a September rate cut following signs of a sharp summer hiring slowdown, while Trump simultaneously ordered an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian imports raising total duties to 50 percent in response to India's purchases of Russian oil, prompting condemnation from New Delhi as unfair and unjustified and widening a rift between the two countries just weeks after they were nearing a trade deal. The tariff announcement followed a meeting in Moscow between senior US envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin, after which Trump said he was open to meeting both Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Additionally, Trump threatened a 100 percent tariff on semiconductor imports with exemptions for firms expanding US manufacturing. The carve-out supports AI chip designer Nvidia and TSMC, which have pledged multi-billion-dollar US capacity expansions. In the Oval Office, Apple CEO Tim Cook pledged an additional $100 billion in US investment over four years, raising the total to $600 billion; initial partners include Corning, TSMC and Samsung. This came ahead of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners from the EU to Japan taking effect last Thursday. After the announcement, TSMC shares rose by over 4 percent, Samsung gained 2 percent, and Apple advanced 3 percent in after-hours trading. Apple estimates that under 5 percent of iPhone components are US-sourced and expects $1.1 billion in Q3 tariff-related costs. Currently markets are pricing in 91 percent probability of 25 bps of a rate cut for the Fed upcoming meeting. US ISM Services PMI In the US, the ISM Services PMI dropped to 50.1 in July 2025 from 50.8 in June, missing expectations of 51.5 and indicating near stagnation in the US services sector. Seasonal and weather factors contributed to the slowdown, with declines in business activity, new orders, and inventories. Price pressures surged to their highest level since October 2022, driven by tariff-related issues, especially in commodities. Employment contracted further, while backlogs continued to shrink. Supplier deliveries slowed slightly, and both exports and imports shifted into contraction, reflecting the negative impact of ongoing tariff tensions on global trade. US unemployment claims The number of new weekly unemployment claims—a key indicator of the US labor market—rose sharply last week to 226,000, up by 7,000 from the previous week and exceeding Dow Jones' forecast of 221,000, as announced by the US Department of Labor on August 7, with the prior week's figure also revised upward from 218,000 to 219,000; and although the four-week moving average declined slightly to 220,750, the more troubling development is that continued unemployment claims—reflecting individuals receiving benefits for more than two weeks—climbed by 38,000 to 1.974 million (the highest level in nearly four years since November 2021), signaling increasing difficulty for job seekers in securing new employment, which, when combined with last week's weak July jobs report, is fueling expectations that the Federal Reserve may respond with an interest rate cut in September amid rising concerns over deteriorating labor market conditions. The Greenback was last seen trading at 98.180 BoE monetary policy report The Bank of England, in a closely split 5–4 vote by its nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), decided on Thursday to cut its key interest rates from 4.25 percent to 4 percent, marking its fifth rate cut since the July 2024 general election and signaling a continuation of what it calls a 'gradual and careful' approach to monetary easing, a move that, while widely anticipated by markets, drew significant attention due to the internal division among policymakers, with four members preferring to hold rates, four favoring a 25-basis-point cut, and one advocating a larger 50-basis-point cut ultimately resolved by a second round of voting, this decision came against a backdrop of stubborn inflation, as June's CPI climbed to a hotter-than-expected 3.6 percent, sluggish economic performance including a 0.1 percent GDP contraction in May, and a weakening labor market, all of which the BOE acknowledged in its statement emphasizing the ongoing need to eliminate persistent inflationary pressures to sustainably return inflation to its 2 percent target; while the British pound rose 0.5 percent following the announcement, BOE Governor Andrew Bailey cautioned against cutting rates too aggressively, stating it is essential not to act too quickly or deeply, though he noted that headline inflation likely won't persist, and although economists largely agree that rates will continue trending downward into 2026with forecasts by some leading institutions are expecting a decline to 3.00 percent, below the 3.50 percent priced by markets. Uncertainty remains due to the conflicting signals from inflation, employment, and growth data, which led to the rare two-round voting process and reinforced the BOE's commitment to a cautious pace of easing. The GBP/USD was last seen trading at 1.3449 Switzerland CPI m/m Swiss inflation edged up to 0.2 percent year-on-year in July, slightly above the 0.1 percent forecast, driven by higher prices in restaurants, hotels, and energy, while food and transport costs fell. Core inflation rose to 0.8 percent, a four-month high, signaling underlying price pressures despite overall muted consumer price movement. On a monthly basis, prices remained flat, missing expectations for a 0.2 percent drop. The mixed inflation picture, rising core prices but stagnant headline inflation, reflects ongoing disinflationary trends, supported by external pressures and weak domestic demand. These developments may reinforce expectations that the Swiss National Bank will maintain or deepen its negative interest rate stance. The USD/CHF currency pair was last seen trading at 0.8080 Chinese Services PMI China's services sector showed renewed strength in July, with the Caixin General Services PMI rising to 52.6 from June's nine-month low of 50.6, surpassing expectations of 50.4. This marked the fastest expansion since May 2024, driven by a pickup in foreign demand and a rebound in tourism. Employment saw its sharpest increase since July 2024, while backlogs of work rose modestly. On the price front, rising input costs for materials, fuel, and wages led to the first increase in selling prices in six months. Business sentiment also improved, reaching its highest point since March, amid optimism for improved global trade conditions. The USD/CNY currency pair was last seen trading at 7.1886 New Zealand unemployment change q/q New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 5.2 percent in Q2 from 5.1 percent in Q1, below the 5.3 percent consensus. Employment contracted by 0.1 percent QoQ after a 0.1 percent gain in Q1. The labor force participation rate declined to 70.5 percent from 70.8 percent. Since June 2022, the unemployment rate has risen 1.9 percentage points and the underutilization rate 3.5 points. In the RBNZ's Q3 monetary conditions survey, two-year inflation expectations eased to 2.28 percent from 2.29 percent, and one-year expectations fell to 2.37 percent from 2.41 percent, both within the 1-3 percent policy target. Statistics New Zealand labor market spokesperson Jason Attewell highlighted the marked shift in conditions over the last three years. The NZD/USD currency pair was last seen trading at 0.5957. Kuwait Kuwaiti dinar USD/KWD closed last week at 0.30535
Arab Times
2 days ago
- Arab Times
You Think Kuwait Pays Well? This New Report Might Change Your Mind!
KUWAIT CITY, Aug 9: Switzerland has emerged as the highest-paying country in the world for 2025, with an average monthly net salary of $8,218, according to a recent report by CEO World magazine. Luxembourg and the United States follow closely behind, offering average monthly incomes of $6,740 and $6,562, respectively. Kuwait ranks 36th globally, with an average net salary of $1,961 per month, placing it fourth in the Gulf region behind the UAE ($3,770), Qatar ($3,275), and Saudi Arabia ($1,995). The rankings reflect significant disparities in wages worldwide, offering fresh insight for professionals seeking lucrative career opportunities amid uncertain economic conditions. The top ten highest-paying countries also include Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Singapore. This report arrives as economists caution about an increasingly challenging global economy, with the risk of recession looming large. Key factors shaping the economic outlook include soaring inflation rates that have eroded purchasing power, ongoing disruptions to supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and escalating geopolitical tensions — from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to instability in the Middle East and power struggles among major nations. Highest salaries tend to be concentrated in sectors such as finance and insurance, electricity and mining, information technology, retail, and education. Conversely, industries like administrative support, hospitality, and construction remain among the lowest-paying. CEO World magazine stresses the importance of factoring in inflation when comparing salaries, noting that rising costs can significantly diminish the real value of wages despite nominal increases. Tope 100 countries
