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Middle East Edition
6th December 2021
 
THE HOT STORY
Pandemic boosts public faith in researchers and science
An international Gallup poll suggests that trust in science and scientists has increased since the pandemic.  Results published by the Wellcome Trust, a London-headquartered foundation focused on health research, show that about 80% of people from 113 countries said they trusted science either “a lot” or “some.” About three-quarters of the 119,000 surveyed said they trusted scientists, either “a lot” or “some.” Fatima Tokhmafshan, a geneticist and science communicator who was not associated with the survey, said she was “not surprised by the results,” and suggested the interdisciplinary response to the pandemic among scientists in fields including public health, immunology, zoology and epidemiology helped people to understand the connections between science and their own well-being.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Abu Dhabi University leads the way in LinkedIn learning
Abu Dhabi University (ADU) is partnering with LinkedIn to provide ADU employees with access to the LinkedIn Learning platform. Now in its second year, the initiative is part of ADU's continuous investment in a culture of learning through virtual professional development programs.  Professor Waqar Ahmad, Chancellor of Abu Dhabi University, said: "Our current partnership with LinkedIn Learning is an extension of the culture of lifelong learning and development at Abu Dhabi University. As a higher education trailblazer in the region, ADU turned the challenges of the pandemic into an opportunity to reach the community within and beyond the University. We will continue to grow our community of knowledge seekers, wherever they are in the world, by investing in the future generation of students and professionals through innovative and accessible programs and initiatives."
WORKFORCE
Salaries increase in Jordan amid increased hiring
Mercer's 2021 Jordan Total Remuneration Survey (TRS) examined 139 local companies and showed that the majority of employers intend to increase their headcount in 2022, with particularly strong demand for talent in the areas of e-commerce, marketing and sales. Salaries in these sectors are also outpacing the market. Mohammad AlQattan, Consultant at Mercer, said: “Jordan has a rich talent pool, which is attracting more and more regional entities to establish support function and back-office requirements in the country. The increased intention to hire is bolstered by positive signs for a post-pandemic rebound across the region, particularly in key sectors that proved resilient during the pandemic such as Technology/ e-commerce, Life Sciences & Consumer Goods . Looking towards 2022, we see continued signs of optimism with positive salary markers and companies reporting the intention to continue to increase headcount.”
STRATEGY
Banks risk becoming ‘dumb pipes’
Writing for Bloomberg, Ben Ashby says big financial institutions “have the wrong strategy, the wrong structure and usually too much legacy baggage” to develop the new technology that would benefit their businesses, and are instead spending huge sums of money on their core infrastructure. He says the world’s banks risk becoming so-called “dumb pipes” and more nimble entrants to the sector are poised to take advantage of this strategic wrongheadedness. He wonders whether a good alternative is to almost start over and build a new core banking platform within the organisation and then migrate the bank onto it. The author cites Lloyds Banking Group’s partnership with Thought Machine as a good example of such a strategy, but cautions that this still only addresses issues with core infrastructure and the final integration carries its own risks.
HIRING
Temporary staffing start-up valued at $2.4bn
Madrid-headquartered temporary staffing start-up Jobandtalent has raised $500m to expand its workforce marketplace that matches individuals with temporary roles. The company helps more than 1,300 organisations including FedEx and eBay find temporary staff at a time when demand for such workers is growing amid tightening labour markets worldwide. “We are in a situation where we can see a shortage of supply for workers in all of the countries where we operate,” said Juan Urdiales, Jobandtalent chief executive officer and co-founder.  “In that context the demand from the companies for products like the one that we're offering has heavily increased.” The latest financing round gives the company a $2.35bn valuation, according to a statement shared with Bloomberg.
Hedge funds wage pandemic battle for talent
Multi-manager funds are driving traders’ compensation sky-high after thriving during the coronavirus crisis, unleashing a fierce battle for talent. Some funds are guaranteeing millions of dollars in payments to persuade traders.
LEGAL
Hundreds of Saudi government staff arrested on charges of corruption
Saudi Arabia's Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has arrested 250 government officials and employees of the ministries of defense, interior, health, justice, education, and municipal, rural affairs and housing, on charges of bribery, abuse of power, and forgery. The arrests follow citizens being urged to report any suspicious activity involving financial or administrative corruption through contacting the authority's communication outlets.
Qatar and Egypt ministers discuss cooperation in legal matters
Qatar’s Minister of Justice Masoud bin Mohammed Al Ameri has met with Egyptian Minister of Justice Omar Marwan to review areas of bilateral legal cooperation and prospects for its development in various fields, especially digital transformation, developing legal professions, qualification and training programmes, and exchanging experiences. Ways of enhancing legal cooperation and relations between the two countries were also discussed, reports The Peninsula.
INTERNATIONAL
Banks fined over 'Sterling Lads' forex cartel
Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC and NatWest have been fined a total of €344m ($390m) by EU antitrust regulators for foreign exchange market rigging. UBS swerved a €94m fine by alerting the European Commission to the cartel, which was set up via a chatroom known as "Sterling Lads." HSBC was fined €174.3m, Credit Suisse’s fine was set at €83.3m, Barclays at €54.3m and RBS at €32.5m. NatWest said the misconduct took place about a decade ago in a single chatroom and involved a former employee, and since then its culture and controls had fundamentally changed. “Our cartel decisions . . . send a clear message that the Commission remains committed to ensure a sound and competitive financial sector that is essential for investment and growth,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said, adding "The collusive behaviour of the five banks undermined the integrity of the financial sector at the expense of the European economy and consumers.” The information exchanges enabled the traders "to make informed market decisions on whether and when to sell or buy the currencies they had in their portfolios, as opposed to a situation where traders acting independently from each other take an inherent risk in taking these decisions," the Commission said.
Challenge to Jacob Zuma tax ruling
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) plans to appeal a North Gauteng High Court ruling that granted the Financial Mail and investigative journalism organisation amaBhungane access to the tax records of former president Jacob Zuma. The High Court ruled in November that Sars must supply the two publications with Mr Zuma’s tax records for the years from 2010 to 2018 within 10 days.  Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter said “The judgment as it stands, if left unchallenged, would undermine the sacrosanct principle of the confidentiality of taxpayer information, which is the bedrock upon which the work of Sars and other international revenue authorities is based,” adding “The public can be assured Sars will defend the principle of confidentiality on behalf of every taxpayer. Every taxpayer is equal before the law, and we will apply the laws relevant to Sars without fear, favour or prejudice.”
H1-B visas for US drop the most in a decade
A Bloomberg News analysis of data from the US Department of Labor indicates that the number of immigrants to the U.S. under the H1-B visa program holding high-tech jobs fell the most in at least a decade this year amid travel and visa restrictions. The decline comes as job openings in the industry reached record highs. “Since March 2020, the processing of any new visas has been dramatically slowed and almost halted by travel restrictions,” said Giovanni Peri, a professor of economics at the University of California, Davis, who added that some jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, may be lost for good as remote work options could permanently offshore the roles outside of the US.
OTHER
ELLE magazine bans fur in all its titles
Fashion magazine ELLE is banning editorial content promoting animal fur from the pages of all its 45 global editions and its online and social media sites to support animal welfare and reflect changing tastes. ELLE senior vice president and international director Valeria Bessolo LLopiz told Reuters: "It's a really great opportunity to increase awareness for animal welfare, bolster the demand for sustainable and innovative alternatives and foster a more humane fashion industry." ELLE owner Lagardère Group partnered with the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International and Creatives4Change to draft the charter that details the ban.

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