A massive $27 billion four-part deal was inked recently between French company TotalEnergies and the Iraqi Federal Government, and will go into effect in the next four weeks. The massive deal is crucial to enable Iraq to increase its oil output from 4.5 million bpd to 13 million bpd in the span of five years. It'll also free Iraq from relying on Iranian gas and electricity imports. As for the west, the deal is important, as it'll ensure the discovery of new oil and gas reserves in Iraq, which could compensate for missing Russian supplies. It'll also reaffirm western influence in the region in the face of increasing Chinese and Russian influence. This four-part deal from TotalEnergies is a huge deal indeed.

The deal was delayed long enough from 2021 until now, and Iraq's role in this delay wasn't a part of a geopolitical strategy from any side that wants to dominate the world or anything like that, but rather it was simply a dispute on payments to certain Iraqi officials, especially as Iraqi was still rebranding its Iraqi National Oil Company, which is considered one of the most corrupt companies worldwide, with TotalEnergies refusing to take part in  many of the shenanigans taking place in this organization, and thankfully, the organization was outright abolished by a count order in Iraq last October. 

The current deal states the Iraqi government will take 30% of the major contract, with Total Energies gaining 45%, while Qatar Energy gains 25%. 

According to OilPrice.com sources, Iraq was encouraged to  do the deal by Chinese and Russian elements, especially after Iranian-Saudi relations were tentatively resumed again with Chinese patronage. 

China indeed will benefit greatly from the deal, as it seeks a reliable and cheap source of energy to fuel its massive expansion and overtake the US and the world's top economic and political super power by 2030.

A major part of the new deal is extending and completing the project of processing sea water from the Persian gulf and transferring it through pipelines to oil production facilities to maintain pressure in oil pockets and improve the longevity and productivity of oil fields. 

Another major aspect of the deal is collecting and refining natural gas accompanying the process, which is currently burned in five major oil fiends in southern Iraq, and such efforts will help Iraq cut down its Iranian gas imports.

TotalEnergies already has extended experience working all over Iraq, and own major stakes in oil fields in the country, and TotalEnergies is expected to improve the productivity of several fields by two to three times, in addition to building anew solar station with power estimated at 1000 megawatts. 

Most US stock indices rose on Tuesday as markets await more corporate results and economic data.

Earlier US data showed industrial output fell 0.5% in June. 

US retail sales rose 0.25% last month, while analysts expected a 0.5% increase, while core sales, excluding food and energy, rose just 0.2%, below estimates of 0.4%. 

On trading, Dow Jones rose 0.9%, or 318 points as of 15:55 GMT to 34,903, while S&P 500 rose 0.3%, or 12 points to 4,535, as NASDAQ shed 0.2%, or 32 points to 14,215. 

Palladium prices rose on Tuesday as dollar steadied against most major rivals while markets digest latest weak Chinese data.

Recent data showed Chinese GDP grew 0.8% only in the second quarter of the year, heaping pressure on policymakers to launch more stimulus measures. 

Earlier US data showed industrial output fell 0.5% in June. 

US retail sales rose 0.25% last month, while analysts expected a 0.5% increase, while core sales, excluding food and energy, rose just 0.2%, below estimates of 0.4%. 

Demand on palladium is gaining momentum and companies and countries execute plans to protect the climate and cut pollution, with palladium used heavily to reduce exhausts in cars.

Otherwise, the dollar index stabilized at 99.8 as of 15:38 GMT, with a session-high at 100.03, and a low at 99.5. 

Palladium futures due in September rose 2.6% to $1313 an ounce as of 15:40 GMT. 

Just ten days after the launch of the new Threads app, its user base jumped to over 150 million users, a huge accomplishment that will no doubt please Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Despite the excellent numbers, it didn't go quite well as Zuckerberg wanted, as the app witnessed a decline in participation and global momentum, in a blow to the Meta company, which wanted the new app to compete against Twitter.

Threads was founded as a new communication app to enhance social interactions and facilitate them through an excellent platform that allows users to exchange ideas in an enjoyable manner.

The app has many attractive features, to enable the discussion of different topics and joining interest conversations. 

Record Growth

According to Business Insider, the Threads app was downloaded over 150 million times in just 10 days, while maintaining nearly 100 million weekly users according to the Data.ai company.

Meta has this become the owner of the fastest growing app ever, five times faster than Pokemon Go, the previous record holder.

Global Momentum

However, such rapid grows was beset with challenges, as active users and their time on the app continued to trend lower.

Data showed the number of active users fell by 20% on Tuesday and Wednesday alone compared to the previous Saturday, while time spent in the app fell by 50%.

Dealing with the Challenges

Despite such setbacks, the app remains a resounding success and is expected to continue attracting new users and achieving continued growth.

The company will have to provide even better user experience and new features to attract and maintain more active users and guarantee the app's success.