Mahatir says Muslims should use oil for influence
Mahatir says Muslims should use oil for influence
ISLAMABAD: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad said on Friday Muslim nations should use their control of oil supplies as a weapon to give them more influence on the world stage.
"They have in oil, the production of oil, a weapon that can be very effective if they combine with each other," he told a news conference while on a visit to Pakistan.
"I am not saying that we should deprive the world of oil, but we should maybe be selective sometimes in the sale of oil of the Muslim nations -- but the actual strategy can be worked out," he said.
"We should be able to use petroleum to shape opinions in the world," he said, flanked by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
Producers have not used the concerted suspension of oil exports as a political weapon since the Arab oil embargo against the West in the 1970s. -- Reuters
Fed cites the need to focus on recovery
WASHINGTON: The U.S economy remains in a fragile state, with consumer spending showing signs of weakness, Cathy Minehan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said Friday.
"The consumer, if not the economy, may be starting to wobble," Minehan said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Newburyport, Rhode Island Rotary Club.
She cited continued declines in recent consumer confidence surveys, and expectations of slowing consumer spending in the fourth quarter. The recent boom in auto sales is likely to have brought some purchases forward, making a drop in auto sales probable, she said.
While uncertainty about the geopolitical situation is a risk, Minehan said that "even without further blows the economy remains fragile."
This fragility explains the continued low interest rates maintained by the Federal Open Market Committee, she noted. -- AFP
Investment scare in Vietnam over motorbike dispute
HANOI: A bitter dispute over import quotas that has forced two Japanese motorcycle manufacturers to suspend operations in Vietnam will have minimal effect on their bottom line but could deter other investors, analysts say.
Assembly lines at Honda's base in Vinh Phuc province, northwest of Hanoi, ground to a halt on Sept. 18, while Yamaha stopped production at its plant on the outskirts of the capital on Thursday after running out of parts.
Suzuki has also warned it will follow suit by the end of this month unless the government grants a reprieve on the import allowances.
"This dispute will affect the attitude of other Japanese investors," said Carl Thayer, political analyst at the Australian Defense Force Academy.
"In addition it will raise questions in foreign investors' minds about the unreliability and inconsistency of the Vietnamese government in trade and investment matters." -- AFP
Saudis warned over heavy reliance on oil
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's finance minister fired a warning shot Saturday over the kingdom's heavy reliance on oil revenues, as a high-level symposium kicked off to draw up guidelines for the Saudi economy in the next two decades.
"Dependence on oil revenues and consequently public spending as the main driving force for economic activity has made our economy vulnerable to changes in the international oil markets," Ibrahim al-Assaf said.
"Heavy dependence on a main source of revenue linked to developments in the world economy and conditions on the oil markets constitutes a major challenge to fiscal policy planners in the kingdom," he told the opening session of the symposium.
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz launched the five- day symposium on a "Future Vision for the Saudi Economy" which is being held to help Saudi planners work out the kingdom's long- term development strategy until 2020.
Prince Abdullah called on the symposium to assist in "providing a clear vision for the Saudi economy" and to contribute to "developing monetary policies in the kingdom." -- AFP
African ministers to discuss African revival
JOHANNESBURG: Finance ministers from across Africa met Saturday to discuss ways to out into practice a sweeping plan to bring prosperity to the world's poorest continent.
"It is up to us to take over control of the future of our continent," said Amara Essy, chair of the African Union.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development calls for increased western development in Africa in return for government and economic reforms.
It has been touted around the world by a group of the continent's most respected leaders, including South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The three-day conference was called to discuss concrete ways of getting the program off the ground. The ministers planned to discuss debt relief, development assistance and the setting up of a good governance peer review system. -- AP