The impact of oil and global markets on Saudi stock market predictability: A machine learning approach

Data availability: Data available on request from the authors.JEL classification: C45; D53; G15.This study investigates the predictability power of oil prices and six international stock markets namely, China, France, UK, Germany, Japan, and the USA, on the Saudi stock market using five Machine Learning (ML) techniques and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Our analysis reveals that prior to the 2006 collapse, oil exerted the least influence on the Saudi market, while the UK and Japan were the most influential stock markets. However, after the collapse, oil became the most influential factor, highlighting the strong dependence of Saudi Arabia's economic structure on oil production. This finding is particularly noteworthy given Saudi Arabia's efforts to reduce its reliance on oil through Vision 2030. We further demonstrate that China's influence on the Saudi market increased significantly after the 2006 collapse, surpassing that of the UK. This is attributable to the substantial trade between China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the rise in Saudi foreign direct investment in China, and the decline in such investment in the UK post-collapse. Our results carry important implications for stock market investors and policymakers alike. We suggest that policymakers in Saudi Arabia should continue to diversify their economy away from oil and strengthen economic ties with emerging markets, particularly China, to reduce their vulnerability to oil price fluctuations and ensure sustainable economic growth.The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article

GaSbBi alloys and heterostructures: fabrication and properties

International audienceDilute bismuth (Bi) III-V alloys have recently attracted great attention, due to their properties of band-gap reduction and spin-orbit splitting. The incorporation of Bi into antimonide based III-V semiconductors is very attractive for the development of new optoelectronic devices working in the mid-infrared range (2-5 µm). However, due to its large size, Bi does not readily incorporate into III-V alloys and the epitaxy of III-V dilute bismides is thus very challenging. This book chapter presents the most recent developments in the epitaxy and characterization of GaSbBi alloys and heterostructures