Kakaku.com Shares Rise as Bain Capital and LY Corp Prepare Higher Takeover Bid Than EQT 
US Dollar Rises as Fed Rate Outlook Stays Hawkish, Euro Slips and Yen Near 40-Year Low 
South Korea Alleges Google Abused Android App Store Dominance, Eyes Major Fine 
Anthropic Brings Claude AI Models to Microsoft Azure Foundry With NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs 
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.-Iran Peace Talks and Strait of Hormuz Risks Keep Markets on Edge 
South32 Sells Major Aluminium Assets to Alcoa in Deal Worth Up to $5.6 Billion 
Oil Prices Rise as U.S.-Iran Talks Keep Geopolitical Risks in Focus 
US Egg Producers Settle Price Manipulation Probe, Agree to Pay $3.3 Million and Donate 53 Million Eggs 
Kawasaki Heavy Shares Slide on Report of ¥200 Billion Capital Raise Plan 
Baige Online Shares Soar 333% in Hong Kong IPO Debut as AI Insurance Demand Lifts Chinese Listings 
SoftBank Shares Slide as OpenAI IPO Delay Concerns Weigh on AI Investment Outlook 
Yen Falls to 40-Year Low as Markets Watch Japan Intervention and U.S. Jobs Report 
Greece’s Bad Loan Crisis Continues to Limit Credit Access Despite Economic Recovery 
Asian Stocks End Strong Quarter as Dollar Surges, Yen Hits 40-Year Low Ahead of US Jobs Data 
Chip Stocks Rally as Samsung and SK Hynix’s $1.3 Trillion Investment Plan Boosts AI Optimism 
TSMC CoWoS Capacity Forecast Raised as Mizuho Sees AI Server CPU Demand Surging Through 2027 
Morgan Stanley Raises Tesla Q2 Delivery Forecast on Strong Europe and China Demand 
Saudi Arabia announced it had created a new national airline, and it was the country’s own Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who formally inaugurated “Riyadh Air” on Sunday, March 12.
According to Reuters, Tony Douglas was appointed as the new airline’s chief executive officer. It was reported that the air passenger carrier was formed as the kingdom made its move to compete with transport and travel hubs.
With the addition of a new airline to options for travelers, it was predicted that passengers may face tougher decisions as Riyadh Air is competing with some of the leading regional carriers such as Emirates, Turkish Airlines, and Qatar Airways.
In any case, Riyadh Air is wholly owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which reportedly possesses more than $600 billion in assets. The PIF also serves as the main driver of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to expand its economy through diversification and slowly lessen its dependence on oil.
Riyadh Air is expected to operate its business by providing transport service to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030. It will take advantage of the kingdom’s location, which strategically sits between Europe, Asia, and Africa, to offer the routes to travelers.
Once in full operation, the new national airline is expected to boost Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP growth by adding $20 billion and creating over 200,000 jobs. Meanwhile, Alarabiya News reported that the kingdom is now home to two national airlines as both Riyadh Air and Saudia Airlines are both serving as its official flag carriers. The former was not created to replace the latter but to work alongside to help boost the economy.
"The establishment of Riyadh Air is part of PIF’s strategy to unlock the capabilities of promising sectors that can help drive the diversification of the local economy.," the airline said in a press release. "It will enable a more financially resilient aviation ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, supporting the industry’s global competitiveness in line with Vision 2030."
