The first day of Donald Trump’s inaugural trip abroad yielded a bonanza of business deals as the president looked to change the focus from the controversies dogging his administration to fulfilling a campaign promise to revitalize the U.S. economy. “Tremendous investments,” Trump said on Saturday as he headed into a meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, interviewed in Riyadh, said “I can’t imagine another business day that’s been as good for the United States or for the kingdom.” And National ... (full story)

All producers agree to extend crude output cuts by nine months to help trim a supply glut, according to Saudi Arabia’s energy minister. The extension through the first quarter of 2018 will help producers reach their goal of trimming global stockpiles to a five-year average, Khalid Al-Falih said. OPEC and other global producers such as Russia had agreed to reduce production in the first six month of this year, and the decision to extend the cuts will be taken when they meet in Vienna at the end of the month, Al-Falih said. “We think we have everybody on board,” Al-Falih said in an interview with Bloomberg television ... (full story)

Saudi Arabia welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump with agreements for deals worth tens of billions of dollars on Saturday as he embarked on his first state visit to the kingdom, which is undertaking unprecedented economic reforms. Oil giant Saudi Aramco said it signed 16 accords with 11 companies valued at about $50 billion. One initial deal -- worth $15 billion -- was signed with General Electric Co. across the power, healthcare, oil, gas and mining industries. The U.S. and Saudi Ministry of Defense also negotiated a package totaling about $110 billion, according to a White House transcript on Friday. “I can’t ... (full story)