OECD inflation surges 8.8% in March as rampant energy costs bite


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Inflation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development area surged 8.8 per cent in March 2022, compared to the same month last year, as energy prices continue to rise.

The equivalent rise in the 38-member countries of the organisation was only 2.4 per cent in March 2021.

The latest rise is also a whole percentage point higher than the year-on-year rise of 7.8 per cent recorded in the area in February.

About one fifth of OECD countries recorded double-digit inflation, with the highest rate being in Turkey, at 61.1 per cent.

The jump is the highest in the OECD area since October 1988, a rise which was caused high oil prices and tight monetary policy in countries such as the US, Canada, West Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan.

This time, rising energy prices have been the main driver.

In the OECD they soared 33.7 per cent year-on-year in March ― the highest rate since May 1980 ― up from 26.6 per cent in February.

Excluding food and energy, year-on-year inflation increased to 5.9 per cent in March, after a 5.6 per cent jump in February 2022.

Year-on-year inflation in the G20 area also increased in March 2022, reaching 7.9 per cent compared with 6.8 per cent in February 2022.

In all G7 countries, year-on-year inflation rose to an overall rate of 7.1 per cent in March.

The largest increase in inflation among G7 countries was recorded in Germany (+2.1 percentage points) and the smallest increase was recorded in Japan (+0.3 percentage point).

Energy was the biggest contributor to inflation in France, Germany and Italy, while inflation excluding food and energy was the main driver of overall inflation in Canada, the UK and the US.

In the Euro area, overall inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose to 7.4 per cent in March 2022, compared with 5.9 per cent in February 2022.

Excluding food and energy, inflation in the Euro area increased to 2.9 per cent in March, compared with 2.7 per cent in February.

Eurostat’s flash estimate for the euro area in April 2022 points to an increase in year-on-year inflation and inflation excluding food and energy to 7.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.

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While you're here
Company profile

Company: Eighty6 

Date started: October 2021 

Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh 

Based: Dubai, UAE 

Sector: Hospitality 

Size: 25 employees 

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investment: $1 million 

Investors: Seed funding, angel investors  

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Company Profile

Name: JustClean

Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries

Launch year: 2016

Number of employees: 130

Sector: online laundry service

Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full

1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion

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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Letstango.com

Started: June 2013

Founder: Alex Tchablakian

Based: Dubai

Industry: e-commerce

Initial investment: Dh10 million

Investors: Self-funded

Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month

The specs: Fenyr SuperSport

Price, base: Dh5.1 million

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm

Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO

BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.

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Updated: May 04, 2022, 11:35 AM