Australian luxury retailer makes debut in Gulf

Australian luxury accessories and lifestyle brand Oroton has added another milestone to its 75-year history with the official launch of its first boutique in the Middle East in Dubai.

Located at the new extension of Al Ghurair Centre, in the heart of Deira, it follows the opening of international stores in Asian markets such as Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia.

Oroton CEO and managing director Mark Newman said he expected the store to be one of many in the UAE.

“We are delighted to have had the opportunity to partner with BAIS fashion in the opening of our first store in the UAE in Dubai at the Al Ghurair Centre,” he said.

Reflecting the elegant sophistication of the brand, the new store at Al Ghurair Center resembles a glass jewel box, with a façade comprising golden monogrammed “O” tiles.

The name “Oroton” stems from “Oro”, meaning gold, and “Ton” implying tonnes of gold.

Grant Parnell, general manager, BAIS Fashion, said: “We are very happy and proud to partner the Oroton Group in the Middle East, and we strongly believe that this iconic Australian brand will perform exceptionally well in our market, as it has done in Australia and other markets where it is available.”

He added: “During the last five years, the Middle East has risen to the forefront as a rapidly emerging market in terms of fashion. Dubai specifically is the standard bearer in this regard.

“Research also tells us that there are only a handful of brands which fall into the ‘Affordable Luxury’ category. We believe there are a large number of consumers who would benefit from the introduction of this wonderful brand into our market.”

As part of the launch and to celebrate its 75-year milestone, Oroton showcased its Winter 2013/14 Collection in Dubai.

In a nod to its origins, the brand has chosen pieces from its signature mesh and gold.

The collection takes inspiration from Australia’s fauna, sun-drenched skies, and vivid landscape, depicting the country’s unique environment.

Also, the use of materials like stone, brushed metals, and natural wood, has been influenced by 1970s Australian architecture.

Founded in 1938 in Sydney, Australia, Oroton says it combined “chic simplicity with playful design essence” to produce a wide range of products for men and women, including handbags, small leather accessories, sunglasses, jewellry, apparel and shoes.

Every collection is designed in Sydney at the hand of GM & Creative Director Ana Maria Escobar. “We are very excited to see Oroton expand into another new market, especially one where the customer is fashion savvy and appreciates unique and distinctive designs,” Escobar said.

Oroton now has 58 stores in Australia, as well as nine in Asia and two in New Zealand.

EPPCO set to expand Dubai self-service fuel stations

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An additional 15 service stations in the Emirates Petroleum Product Company (EPPCO) network will introduce fuel self-service from midnight to 6am from December 12, the company has announced.

The move follows the introduction of self-service during late hours at 10 EPPCO sites earlier this year.

The introduction of self-service will result in no staff redundancies as affected staff members will be deployed in other service stations within the network, EPPCO said.

The 15 service stations, where the self-service system is being introduced, have also been identified for their relatively low footfall during night hours, EPPCO said in a statement.

Announcements to inform motorists about the new service have been made at all sites, it added.

The sites are located along Sheikh Zayed Road; Nadd Al Hamar; Lahbab Road in Jebel Ali Industrial Area; Dubai-Al Ain Road; Port Rashid Road; Al Mankhool Road; Al Ghusais; Hatta-Dubai Road; Al Aweer Road; Mirdif; and Jumeirah Beach Road.

The fuel self-service initiative is part of EPPCO's strategy to introduce advanced and automated refuelling facilities across its network.

A spokesperson of EPPCO said: "The response to our fuel self-service initiative introduced in July at 10 of our service stations has been encouraging. With our service staff offering support, where needed, motorists are more confident of using the system on their own.

"By adding the number of service stations offering the facility, and introducing it during night hours, we are ensuring there is minimal inconvenience to motorists."

Saudi Arabia says not worried by US shale revolution

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Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia remains unconcerned by a rising tide of US shale output which threatens to eat into OPEC's market share, its deputy oil minister said on Wednesday.

"The world economy over the long term will need every contribution of every source of energy available," Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz said. "The kingdom welcomes new resources of energy supplies, as they are needed."

"We need to make sure that the world economy comes out decisively on a growth pattern and if that can be established I think that the world economic growth will be sufficient to handle growth from all sorts - shale oil, shale gas, tight oil and including renewable."

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries expects global demand for its crude to fall in the next five years because of increasing supplies outside the 12-member group from the boom in shale energy and other sources, according to its annual World Oil Outlook.

Abdulaziz was repeating the Saudi Arabian view expressed by Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi's last year.

"It's a very stable market, it is well supplied. The future holds that the market will continue to be well supplied," Abdulaziz said.

US shale oil is much more costly to produce than Middle East crude, but a surge in global oil prices over the last four years has made it economic to produce and reduced demand for other crudes.

As long as the world economy continues to grow, there will be enough demand for both major production regions to keep pumping.

The North American shale oil surge, combined with record Saudi crude output, has helped arrest the rise in crude prices over the last year, with Benchmark Brent crude oil trading between $100 and $120 for most of the last 12 months.

Several oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have said over the last few weeks that they see the market as well supplied and stable and that they do not expect the group to change its output ceiling of 30 million barrels per day (bdp) when they meet in Vienna on Dec. 4.

US overtakes Saudi Arabia as world's biggest oil producer

The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become the world's biggest oil producer as the jump in output from shale has led to the second biggest oil boom in history, according to leading US energy consultancy PIRA.

US output, which includes natural gas liquids and biofuels, has swelled 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd) since 2009, the fastest expansion in production over a four-year period since a surge in Saudi Arabia's output from 1970-1974, PIRA said in a release on Tuesday.

It was the latest milestone for the US oil sector caused by the shale revolution, which has upended global oil trade. While still the largest consumer of fuel, the rise of cheap crude available to domestic refiners has turned the United States into a significant exporter of gasoline and distillate fuels.

Last month, China surpassed the United States as the largest importer of crude, according to the US government, as the rise of domestic output cuts the US dependence on overseas oil.

"(The US) growth rate is greater than the sum of the growth of the next nine fastest growing countries combined and has covered most of the world's net demand growth over the past two years," PIRA Energy Group wrote.

"The US position as the largest oil supplier in the world looks to be secure for many years," it added.

Total liquids produced by the United States, which PIRA defined broadly to include supplies such as crude oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and biofuels, should average 12.1 million bpd in 2013, pushing it ahead of last year's No. 1 supplier, Saudi Arabia.

Output from the OPEC state also rose last year, but the gains lagged those from the United States, the consultancy said.

PIRA said the increase in oil from shale, which has been centered in areas such as Eagle Ford in Texas and the Bakken in North Dakota, has seen US supply grow by 1 million bpd in 2012 and again 2013.

The United States still lagged both Saudi Arabia and Russia in production of just crude oil by abut 3 million bpd, PIRA noted. Rounding out the top 10 oil suppliers were China, Canada, UAE, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Mexico.

Saudi economy grows by 3.1% during Q3

Saudi Arabia's economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in the third quarter, only half as fast as it grew a year ago, according to data released on Wednesday.

The annual inflation-adjusted growth rate slowed to 2.1 percent during the first quarter in Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil producer. The growth rate rose to 2.7 percent in the second quarter, according to the Central Statistics Office, and continued to rise as output increased in the third quarter.

"Oil is the one pushing the headline numbers, but there is an evident moderation in the non-oil sector," said John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Masic, a Saudi investment company.

The $711 billion Saudi economy, which has been pegging its currency, the riyal, to the US dollar for decades, grew 5.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2012 and 5.1 percent in all of last year.

Quarter-on-quarter, Saudi real GDP grew 1.1 percent in July-September 2013, reversing the same decline in the previous quarter, according to a Reuters calculation based on the official data.   

Performance of the top Arab economy is closely linked to energy prices, crude oil output and government spending, which has been growing strongly in the past years, partly to address social tensions stemming from unrest in the Middle East.

Growth in the oil sector, which accounts for nearly half of the economy, was 3.1 percent year-on-year in July-September, after a 3.7 percent drop in the second quarter.    

However, growth in the Saudi non-oil private sector eased to 3.3 percent in the third quarter from 4.2 percent in April-June and 4.3 percent a year earlier.

"The figures reflect the high level of spending in 2012. There was also a degree of disruption caused by labour market policies in the third quarter of this year," said Paul Gamble, director, sovereign group at Fitch Ratings in London.

Around a million foreign workers have left Saudi Arabia this year after a crackdown on visa irregularities, which accompanied labour reforms aimed at putting more Saudi nationals into jobs held by expatriates. Today's data showed a slowdown in some sectors that depend on cheap imported labour, Sfakianakis said.

Growth in transport and storage slowed to 3.2 percent from 6.8 percent a year earlier. In the wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants sector, growth slowed to 2.7 percent from 7.1 percent a year ago.

Not all sectors that rely on cheap labour slowed. Construction grew 5.7 percent in the third quarter, well above 4.9 percent a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Reuters in September forecast economic growth in the desert kingdom would slow to 4.2 percent in 2013 from 5.1 percent last year.

Saudi oil output steadies in November at 9.7m bpd

Saudi Arabia produced 9.745 million barrels per day of crude oil in November, little changed from the previous month, when it pumped 9.75 million bpd, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The kingdom supplied the market with 9.448 million bpd in November, the industry source said, down from 9.7 million bpd in October.

"Production is the same ... supply was lower because of lower direct crude oil burning and also lower intake from domestic refineries," said the source.

The world's top oil exporter cut production in October after pumping at record rates of around 10 million bpd for three months running to help offset a plunge in output from fellow OPEC member Libya.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed last week to renew for six months its 30 million barrel-a-day output cap for the first half of 2014.

Both Iraq and Iran, second and third in the OPEC producers' league table after Saudi Arabia, wasted no time in making clear they have no interest in contributing to a collective cut should one be required next year.

That might require Saudi Arabia to cut output further towards 9 million bpd by the middle of next year.

With oil production from the United States rising fast, and a number of OPEC members aiming to restore full output after sanctions and civil strife, a new OPEC deal may be needed as early as the next meeting on June 11.

Etisalat launches new iPhones for UAE customers

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, also known as Etisalat, will launch the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C for customers on Sunday, the telecom operator has said.

Prices for the iPhone 5S are AED2,749 ($748) for the 16GB model, AED3,149 (32GB) and AED3,549 (64GB), the telco said in a statement cited by news agency WAM.

The iPhone 5C, the most colorful iPhone yet, will be available for AED2,349 (16GB) and AED2,749 (32GB), it added. 

"Enabling immediate access to the latest technology and advanced products to our subscribers in the UAE is part of our customer-driven business strategy. Given the huge demand for the latest iPhones, we wanted to offer an early opportunity to users to own the latest devices, combined with attractive packages, at the most competitive prices," said Khaled El Khouly, chief marketing officer, Etisalat.

Last week, Apple Inc's profit and margins slid despite selling 33.8 million iPhones in its September quarter.

The unremarkable quarterly numbers prompted some disappointed investors to cash in recent gains in the stock.

Wall Street had hoped for a stronger beat on quarterly sales after the company predicted in September that its revenue and margins would come in at the high end of its own forecasts.