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The health of the US consumer and the retail sector will be in focus in the coming week on Wall Street, as Black Friday kicks off a holiday shopping season that could shed light on how buyers are grappling with higher prices.The benchmark S&P 500 rose 1.7% in the past week and approached all-time highs as investors digested the end of a solid third-quarter corporate reporting season. Earnings are on pace to have climbed about 9% from a year earlier.But recent earnings from two high-profile retailers yielded sharply different prospects: Walmart on Tuesday raised its annual sales and profit forecast for the third consecutive time, while Target shares tumbled after it forecast holiday-quarter comparable sales and profit below estimates on Wednesday.The holiday shopping season could give further insight on consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity. Even though inflation rates have moderated from 40-year peaks hit two years ago, higher prices are still challenging consumers, said Abby Roach, portfolio analyst at Allspring Global Investments."It's easy to be excited about inflation coming down year over year, but...consumers are really still under pressure, and I think that's the biggest pain point," Roach said. "Consumers are continuing to feel like their dollars don't go as far as they did." Robust spending into year end could bolster a recent run of data that has shown a stronger-than-expected economy. While investors have welcomed signs of economic health, worries remain over a potential inflationary rebound, crimping expectations for how deeply the Federal Reserve will be able to cut interest rates in coming months.As it stands, Americans have a more upbeat outlook for holiday shopping than in the prior two years, according to a Morgan Stanley survey of about 2,000 consumers published earlier this month, with about 35% saying they expect to spend more this season than a year ago."Companies could see a little more holiday cheer this year but spending isn't likely to increase across all categories as consumers remain selective," the Morgan Stanley analysts said in the report.The holiday shopping season will also be a test for shares of retailers, which have diverged in 2024.Among the industry's largest players by market value, Walmart is up over 70%, warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale has jumped 46%, while online giant Amazon, which has a diversified business that includes cloud computing, has climbed 30%.Other stocks have struggled. Discounters Dollar General and Dollar Tree are down over 40% and 50%, respectively, in 2024, as analysts point to inflation particularly hitting the companies' lower-income consumer base. Shares of Target, whose weak forecast came as value-conscious consumers shopped for low-priced essentials at rival retailers, are down 12% on the year."Target is really struggling to find a unique identity in retail right now," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services.The two S&P 500 sectors that include most retailers, the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors, are up 23% and 16%, respectively, in 2024, against a 25% rise for the overall index.Another batch of retail earnings are due in the coming week, including reports from Best Buy, Macy's, Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters.Investors will also get a fresh view of inflation, with the Nov 27 release of the monthly Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which is closely followed by the Fed. The inflation gauge is expected to have climbed 2.3% in October on an annual basis, according to Reuters data."The economy is in a good spot. It's just more about trying to process several years of high inflation," said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. "From a retailer perspective, a lot of it's about making sure they're protecting their margins while trying to provide that value that's going to attract the consumer."

The arms race in large language artificial intelligence (AI) is heating up. Can the Gulf countries play a leading role in the sector, given the high savings, cheap energy and good political ties with the US?The tech billionaire Elon Musk has alarmed competitors, and intrigued customers and observers, by rapidly building a supercomputer, appropriately known as Colossus, in just 120 days, in Memphis Tennessee in a new data centre. Its purpose is to power his xAI technology, and it will be of an unprecedented scale: Some 100,000 graphics processing units supplied by Nvidia.Competitors are nervous. There is no guarantee that this formidable scaling up of computer power will give his xAI a superior edge, but no certainty that it won’t. Industry experts reckon that the tools at the rival OpenAI are currently superior, but the sheer computing muscle of Colossus may help xAI close the gap or overtake.What does this mean for the economic world, including the Gulf? The impact of AI is already being felt, will continue and likely intensify. You could say that there has been much hype around AI, accidents such as ‘hallucinations’ in large language models and technical glitches. But you could have made similar criticisms about the aviation sector in the early 20th century – there were crashes and failed models, but it still proceeded to transform long-distance travel around the globe.AI is at a similar stage 100 years on. And just as you need a skilled pilot for an aircraft, similar principles apply with AI. Harvard Business Review in its September-October edition refers to the development of ‘fusion skills’ – the most intelligent applications of AI in which human and artificial intelligence is most effectively combined. For example, breaking a complex problem down into sequential parts, and priming the large language model to address each challenge sequentially, beginning with the simplest, is more effective than asking it to solve a complex problem in one go. Researchers at Google DeepMind have found that this ‘least-to-most’ approach improves the accuracy of AI output from 16% to 99%.Research by the Boston Consulting Group has found that only a minority of firms gain substantial value from AI, and that the most successful companies ensure that the people, skills and processes are optimal. This is the 70-20-10 principle: 70% of the investment is in people and processes; 20% is in technology and data, and just 10% in the algorithms. The most effective companies used AI for growth and revenue generation, not just process efficiencies.In this rapidly developing technology, how should the Gulf countries invest and position themselves? It is likely that China and the US will remain the primary providers of AI, given the scale of the technological investment required, as illustrated by the examples of Elon Musk and his rivals.The response of the Gulf sovereign wealth funds and other key players has been promising. Rather than trying to compete with the US and China in a direct way, they are developing strategic support roles within the existing industry, while identifying niche opportunities for growth.Arabic language models constitute a promising industry. AI specialist companies within the region report that it costs around one third more to train an English large language model and then translate into Arabic, than to train one using Arabic inputs. Doing so can eliminate some of the western biases of English-language models.For Gulf economies, cheap energy offers another competitive advantage in developing AI hubs. Saudi Aramco has calculated that the cost of power locally is around 13% cheaper than the cost per kilowatt hour in the US. Given the considerable computing power needed for large language models, this is significant.Geopolitical considerations are of paramount importance. The Gulf states are political allies of the US, which does not want technological know-how falling into the hands of Iran or China. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF has announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to develop a specialist hub, which will be a research and education centre, including for Arabic language models, and a base for global enterprises and startups. It will be based near Dammam. This year the United Arab Emirates launched the fund MGX, totalling $100bn, with investors including BlackRock and Microsoft, dedicated to investing in AI companies.The AI revolution is well underway, and there will be significant returns for both providers and users. So far, the key players in the Gulf have made some smart strategic calls.The author is a Qatari banker, with many years of experience in the banking sector in senior positions.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Sunday a drone strike overnight seriously injured a hospital chief in an attack on the healthcare facility, and 11 people were killed in Israeli raids on the Palestinian territory.Hossam Abu Safiya heads the Kamal Adwan hospital, one of just two partly operating in northern Gaza, as the war-ravaged territory is in the grip of a dire humanitarian crisis.Abu Safiya suffered an injury to his back and left thigh by metal fragments after an attack on the hospital complex, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.After losing a lot of blood, the doctor was in a "stable" condition, Bassal said, adding an Israeli drone bombed the hospital in Beit Lahia, north Gaza.Hospital staff have reported several strikes on the facility, while the World Health Organisation chief said he was "deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of 80 patients, including eight in the intensive care unit" at Kamal Adwan hospital.Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been hit multiple times since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.Gaza's civil defence agency on Sunday morning also said 11 people, "including children", after two Israeli air strikes on Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi refugee camps in central Gaza and artillery fire in Beit Lahia.Witnesses also described artillery fire in Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza."I am afraid," said 30-year-old Rania Abu Jazar, after she was forced to leave her makeshift shelter, a tent, in the early hours of the morning after intense fire."My children are hungry and my (one-year-old) daughter Amal's milk is in the tent. I do not know what to do. If we return, they might shell us again, the tanks are blind and they do not care about killing children and women," she added.

The Ministry of Social Development and Family (MSDF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Sunday with Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) to enhance cooperation on sharing expertise and holding joint events.The MoU was inked in the presence of MSDF's Assistant Undersecretary for Social Development Affairs, Fahd Mohammed Al Khayarin, and HE Secretary-General of QRCS, Faisal Mohamed Al Emadi.The MoU was co-signed by MSDF's Social Security Administration Director, Abdullah Mohammed Al Hajri, and Director of the Volunteering and Local Development Sector at QRCS, Hussein Aman Al Ali, for MSDF and QRCS respectively.Abdullah Al Hajri emphasised that the signing of this MoU with QRCS came as part of the diligent efforts to enforce national strategies and plans related to family care, in recognition of the importance of raising the community's awareness of family protection and bolstering tight-knit families.He pointed out that the MoU aims to boost cooperation between the two parties in alignment with the MSDF's strategic and executive plan, as well as carry out qualitative projects and initiatives that contribute to achieving comprehensive development and renaissance, in commensurate with the Qatar National Vision 2030, in the area of human development, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim to build the capacities of community members and raise their awareness.MSDF believes that forging partnership with QRCS, by virtue of a wide expertise QRCS possesses in humanitarian and social fields, will surely contribute to sharing expertise and holding events and conferences, in addition to capitalising on the two parties' potential to further bolster constructive collaboration in social development areas, particularly family affairs and social services, highlighted Al Hajri.Fir his part, Hussein Al Ali said the MoU primarily aims to broaden the scope of programmes that achieve social development as one of the foremost pillars, highlighting that it covers numerous fields, such as sharing expertise and holding relevant events through engagement in activities and conferences that are bilaterally organized to bolster the two parties collaborative bonds.Most importantly, the two parties will exchange invitations to attend scientific, cultural and educational events which fall within the interests of each party, in addition to fostering the utilization of their available capabilities, he added.Al Ali underlined that such cooperation is a vital step to unify efforts in the quest for achieving the shared objectives, highlighting that QRCS will tirelessly strive to implement the initiatives emanating from this MoU in a way that serves the community's interests and enhances solidarity and interdependence values.

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has organised a workshop, intended for preventing non-communicable diseases.Entitled 'The Future of Public Health: Integrative Strategies for the Prevention and Management of Non-Communicable Diseases', the event aimed to address critical issues on non-communicable diseases through innovative, integrated public health strategies.Held in collaboration with a specialised international company, it brought together 123 specialists from various health sectors, including the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Qatar Foundation (QF), the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), Qatar Precision Health Institute (QPHI), Qatar University (QU), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), the Qatar Cancer Society (QCS), QatarEnergy, and Ashghal.The MoPH's Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention Programs Department Sheikh Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad Al-Thani said "Todays convergence of diverse expertise demonstrates the tremendous strength of collective action in the field of public health. Together, we have mapped out actionable strategies that promise significant strides forward in our ongoing fight against non-communicable diseases."The workshop featured fruitful group discussions, engaging presentations, and an innovative interactive session designed to shape comprehensive strategies against non-communicable diseases.A live interactive television interview was also conducted during the workshop, focusing on community engagement and empowerment in public health, as well as on developing effective communication strategies in the health sector.The participants featured an interactive simulation session - a scenario depicting an increase in cardiovascular diseases in a fictional city and examined how the health sector and relevant bodies programs and initiatives to address this surge.

Qatar ranked first in key global governance indicators in the region for 2024 issued by the World Bank.The National Planning Council explained, in a post on its X account, that Qatar came in first place in the political stability indicators with a rate of 84.36 %, and the rule of law with a rate of 80.19 %.The Council attributed improvement in Qatar's position in global governance indicators to the state's efforts to enhance the axes of the global governance index and within the framework of effectively achieving sustainable development.According to the 2023 data issued by the World Bank, Qatar scored 81.13 % in the regulatory quality index, 85.85 % in the government effectiveness index, and 22.55 in the participation and accountability index.The National Planning Council pointed out that these indicators are an important measuring tool that reflects the governments' commitment to achieving the principles of good governance.

St. Petersburg is the second largest industrial, scientific, cultural and business center in Russia. The city is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in the world, and its historical part is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Known as the ‘Northern Capital’ of Russia, St. Petersburg attracts millions of Russian and international tourists each year. In 2023, 9.4 million people visited the city, drawn by its stunning palaces and canals, rich museum collections, and vibrant cultural scene. The list of St. Petersburg attractions is constantly expanding, and objects of the "New Tourist Geography" are being added to it — modern creative spaces that are so popular among residents of the city.In addition to its cultural and educational offerings, St. Petersburg is embracing unique forms of tourism. Visitors can now enjoy unconventional experiences, such as tours of industrial facilities, relaxing weekends at health resorts, or even a romantic wedding getaway in the enchanting atmosphere of the City on the Neva River.St. Petersburg can be an ideal starting point for a trip to Russia. For instance, the project "Two Cities — a Million Impressions" offers tourists to combine visits to St. Petersburg and Moscow in one trip. And as part of the routes of the "Silver Necklace of Russia," guests can get to know the rich history and culture of the Russian North.Much attention is paid to the service in St. Petersburg. There are 1,200 hotels in the city with a huge selection of the star-ratings, comfort levels, and pricing policies. Guests will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of restaurants, many of which are firmly established in the top lists of domestic and international ratings. St. Petersburg also offers a wide range of amenities to cater to the needs of tourists from the Middle East. These include mosques and prayer rooms, English-speaking staff in the tourism and hospitality sector, halal dining options, and concierge services that can arrange personalized leisure experiences.For event organizers, the city offers unique exhibition and congress venues, hotels of various formats and categories, well-developed transport links, and numerous sightseeing programs. Hundreds of business forums of various sizes are held annually in the Northern Capital of Russia. In particular, St. Petersburg has extensive experience in holding international rotating events. The Congress and Exhibition Bureau is engaged in promoting the city on the Neva River in the field of business tourism.Discover the latest tourist offerings in St. Petersburg by visiting their booth at the Qatar Travel Mart 2024, scheduled to take place from November 25 to 27 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.

Qatar's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) has been awarded Tier III certification in both design and implementation from Uptime Institute.The prestigious international accreditation demonstrates the NCSAs commitment to maintaining the highest standards of quality, efficiency, and operational excellence in data center construction and operation.This achievement also manifests the Agencys ability to establish an advanced operational environment that ensures continuity of operations even during performing essential preventive maintenance and repairs without affecting ongoing services or disrupting essential operations.Director of Information Systems Department, Eng. Sara Hassan Al Abdulmalik said the achievement underscores the NCSAs ongoing efforts to elevate the level and quality of infrastructure management and electronic services, particularly in operational excellence.She added it also strengthens cyber security capabilities to provide reliable cyber security services, which is a priority within the Information Systems Departments operational strategy."This certification is highly regarded in evaluating globally recognized standards for data center reliability of performance at the national level, addressing key operational risks, and implementing best practices to achieve optimal infrastructure performance while reducing downtime and preventing human errors," Al Abdulmalik added.She highlighted that this success is attributed to a clear strategy, an elite executive team with exceptional expertise, and ongoing investment in human resources with a focus on empowering the national workforce to ensure operational sustainability.Expressing pride in this accomplishment, Al Abdulmalik noted that the Agencys data center is one of Qatars significant government facilities to secure Tier III certification for both design and implementation from the first time.Achieving this distinguished international certification is a major step within the NCSAs strategy to foster cyber security readiness and develop robust technical solutions. This milestone is integral to protecting national interests and ensuring business continuity with the highest levels of security and reliability.(

The Ministry of Labor will host a panel discussion tomorrow, Monday, titled "Job Nationalization Plan for the Private Sector for 2025-2026."The session aims to foster continued dialogue with representatives from companies and establishments covered by the nationalization plan across various economic sectors. It also seeks to ensure the achievement of set targets and further strengthen the presence of an effective and highly qualified national workforce within the private sector.It is worth noting that the Job Nationalization Law for the sector aligns with Qatar's Vision 2030 under the Human Development pillar, which focuses on providing high-quality investments and creating employment and training opportunities for all Qatari citizens.

HE Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari met with Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa Region, Ousmane Dione.The meeting discussed aspects of joint cooperation, primarily in the fields of economy, trade and investment, and ways to promote them.

Seven Palestinians, including four children, were martyred and several others were injured Sunday morning in airstrikes carried out by Israeli occupation warplanes on the al-Maghazi and al-Bureij refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip.According to the Palestinian news agency (WAFA), two children were martyred and several others injured when Israeli forces bombed a house in the al-Maghazi camp. Additionally, one man was martyred and three others wounded when an Israeli drone strike hit a tent sheltering displaced families in the camp.In a separate attack, four more Palestinians, including two young sisters, were martyred in a similar Israeli attack on the al-Bureij refugee camp. Their mother and two other children sustained serious injuries, as the airstrike targeted a home in the camp.Meantime, rescue teams also retrieved the bodies of two more victims from the Al-Saftawi area, located in the northwest of Gaza City.In the southern part of the Gaza Strip, several citizens were wounded, some seriously, when Israeli forces targeted a gathering of people north of Rafah.Late last night, Israeli airstrikes renewed their assault on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip. The strikes targeted the hospital's main oxygen station, causing injuries to several medical staff.The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 2023 has so far resulted in the martyrdom of at least 44,176 Palestinians, with over 104,473 others injured.Thousands of victims are trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks.

Storm Bert swept across Britain and Ireland on Saturday, bringing heavy snowfall, rain and strong winds.A man in his 60s died after a tree fell on a car on the A34 highway in southern England, local police said.The runway at the Newcastle airport in northeast England was covered in snow, briefly disrupting flights.Forecasters described the storm as a 'multi-hazard event,' causing widespread floods in Ireland and power outages that affected tens of thousands of residents.The Irish Meteorological Service issued warnings for heavy rainfall in Cork and Galway, as Storm Bert continued to affect the area since Friday.The storm's impact extended to several parts of Europe, causing fallen trees, power outages, and road closures.