08/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | SEPT 8, 2025

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Uncertainty builds as Opec+ holds crucial talks

LONDON: Uncertainty loomed over what Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the Opec+ alliance would decide on crude output in their meeting yesterday, with analysts saying a production boost was also being considered. The meeting by the group of eight oil producing countries known as the “Voluntary Eight” (V8) comes as oil prices extended losses in anticipation of excess supply in the coming months. In a bid to prop up prices, the wider Opec+ group – comprising the 12-nation Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies – had agreed in recent years to several output cuts that amounted to almost six million barrels per day (bpd) in total. Since April, the V8 group – namely Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman – has made a marked policy shift, placing increased focus on regaining market share and agreeing on a series of output hikes. A week ago, analysts said the V8 nations were likely to maintain their current output levels in October. Oil prices have hovered around a low US$65 70 per barrel, tumbling 12% this year as global producers outside Opec+ ramp up supply and tariffs curb demand. According to Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad Energy, demand for oil is expected to fall in the fourth quarter, with “seasonal demand tending to be lower” than during the northern hemisphere’s summer months. Even if the group does not boost production, excess supply will gradually lead to lower prices, he told AFP. But since Wednesday, “some market chatter suggested the group may opt for another quota adjustment for October”, said Ole Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank. Such a decision “would mean that (the group is) really serious about regaining market share”, said Leon, even if it means seeing prices fall below US$60 a barrel. Moreover, “Opec’s own analysis actually indicates that there is room for more oil in the

market in the coming quarters”, said analyst Arne Lohmann Rasmussen of Global Risk Management. “That fact alone may have encouraged the cartel to consider (reintroducing into the market) a second layer of voluntary production cuts,” he said, referring to reductions of 1.66 million bpd that were agreed in spring 2023. So far, crude prices have held up better than most analysts had predicted since the production increases began, due in particular to looming geopolitical risks that have supported prices. Meanwhile, oil specialists are keeping a close eye on Moscow’s war in Ukraine as well as developments regarding US-Russia relations. US President Donald Trump, whose efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine have failed to produce a breakthrough, has recently targeted Russian oil and those who buy it. In August, he imposed higher tariffs on India as punishment for its purchases of Russian oil. In a meeting with allies of Ukraine who o Saudi Arabia, Russia and other key producers weigh output moves as oil prices slide on fears of excess supply

Opec+ faces pressure on output quotas as crude prices hover near US$70. - PEXELS PIX

Russia’s war effort, as Beijing is the largest importer of Russian oil. Curbing Russian exports could free up market space for Opec+ nations. But Russia, the second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, would probably find it difficult to take advantage of a further increase in quotas due to its interest in maintaining “high oil prices to finance its war in Ukraine”, Lohmann Rasmussen said.

gathered in Paris on Thursday, Trump told leaders via a video conference that he was frustrated with EU purchases of Russian oil, particularly by Hungary and Slovakia. A senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Trump had insisted “Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war”. He also called on European countries to put economic pressure on China for its support of

AI-powered meet-up apps fight loneliness SAN FRANCISCO: On a summer evening in San Francisco, JT Mason went to dinner with five complete strangers, confident he would have a good time thanks to careful guest selection by a new type of app for meeting people. obsession of Keyan Kazemian and his co-founders at 222, which now operates in several major cities from London to Los Angeles. the pandemic and remote work. When Isabella Epstein moved to New York in 2021 to work at an investment bank, she “tried everything” to build connections.

Air Canada flight attendants reject wage agreement

MONTREAL: Air Canada flight attendants overwhelmingly rejected a wage agreement on Saturday, with a bitter wage dispute now expected to be worked out through mediation as workers cannot take further legal strike action. Flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge voted 99.1% against ratifying the company’s wage offer, the union said. Negotiators struck a tentative deal on Aug 19 to end a four-day strike that stranded half a million passengers, after flight attendants defied Canadian government efforts to end the strike and the country’s largest carrier was forced back to the bargaining table. Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees agreed that no labour disruption could be initiated and therefore there will be no strike or lockout, so flights will continue to operate, the airline said. The wage portion of the deal will be referred to mediation and, if no agreement is reached at that stage, to arbitration, the airline said. The strike cast a spotlight on demands by North American flight attendants to be paid for hours from the time they check in to when they clock out. Flight attendants at Air Canada and at multiple US carriers such as United Airlines have been challenging a compensation structure that mostly pays cabin crew when an aircraft is in motion. Air Canada said the agreement

had included compensation for work performed on the ground and broad improvements to wages, pensions and benefits. Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), told Reuters that public support for the Air Canada strike also helps her US members. The AFA represents United’s flight attendants, who recently rejected a tentative agreement partly over demands for ground pay. “The inspirational fight of the Air Canada flight attendants is helpful and creates momentum,“ Nelson said. While the flight attendants managed to secure some critical gains in Air Canada’s proposed contract, several told Reuters that the overall deal fell short on the issue of unpaid labour. The proposed four-year deal would have added up to roughly a 20% wage hike for entry-level attendants and 16% for more experienced cabin crew. Crew would also have received 60 minutes of pre-flight pay on narrow-body planes and 70 minutes on wide-body jets, with pay starting at 50% of flight attendants’ hourly rate in year one, rising to 70% by year four. Flight attendants told Reuters that the raises did not cover their increased cost of living, particularly in high-cost cities such as Toronto, with many doing two or three jobs to get by. – Reuters

The 26-year-old entrepreneur hopes to “help people not only form initial connections and get to the next interaction, but help people who already know each other form long, lasting relationships.” After working at Match Group – the parent company of Tinder and Hinge – he concluded that traditional dating apps “only seek one thing: are you going to swipe right on the next person?” Most new technologies are “actually placing people not with other humans, but with virtual entities,“ he added, referring to social media and AI assistants. The growing difficulties individuals face in forming meaningful connections have alarmed health professionals. In 2017, then US surgeon general Vivek Murthy described a “loneliness epidemic.” In a 2023 report, he warned that “the mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.” He cited increased risks of cardiovascular disease, dementia and depression. The causes, according to various studies, include the gradual disappearance of traditional socializing institutions, addictive digital platforms and, more recently,

Fresh out of a small university in rural Vermont and accustomed to close-knit communities, she experimented with apps and joined clubs – all in vain. “It was an emotionally challenging period for me,“ Epstein recalled. “I ended up approaching strangers on the street, at coffee shops. I would say to a woman, ‘I love your outfit,‘ or stop someone and ask, ‘What are you reading?’ People were very positively receptive.” Over time, the young woman accumulated hundreds of contacts. She began organising impromptu events – inviting some to happy hours, others to pickleball games – and gradually created her own circle of friends. Passionate about solving this widespread problem, she quit her job and launched “Kndrd.” The app targets New York women under 40, allowing its roughly 10,000 users to suggest activities and find partners for them. Other services similar to 222 and Kndrd have emerged in recent years, including Timeleft, Plots and Realroots. “The positive side of these apps is that their business model doesn’t rely on time spent online,“ noted Felix Olivier Ngangue, an investor at Convivialite Ventures. “It’s in their interest for people to meet in real life.” – AFP

The platform, called 222, promises something different than your typical dating app. “I’m not getting the image that they want people to see. I’m getting the actual human being,“ said the 25-year old paramedic. Before the evening, Mason completed a lengthy questionnaire covering his values, interests, drug tolerance, character traits, and other personal criteria. After dinner, he joined other app users at a private art deco bar, all hoping to meet potential friends or perhaps find something more. Once connections are made, everyone has the opportunity to tell the app which people they’d like to see again – or not – and explain why. According to 222, the app’s artificial intelligence becomes particularly effective at matching users after they participate in several events, from dinners to yoga sessions to improv classes. “As far as AI getting to the point of understanding human chemistry, I think they’re pretty far off,“ Mason observed, but said he thinks it can serve as “the first step in getting us to the table to try to create that connection.” Predicting compatibility between strangers using AI has become the