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Economy & Business

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

A tourist boat passes near crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and other vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, June 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why the Hormuz oil shock never became an energy catastrophe

The US-Israel-Iran war produced a historic oil supply shock but not a severe global economic crisis, due to ample prewar supplies, China's energy pivot and strategic reserve releases.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

Several Gulf states are working to recover their images as global havens of stability in the wake of the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

Iraq is seeking a higher production quota as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has slashed oil revenues and plunged the country into a fiscal crisis.

Latest News

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Oil falls below $74 as Hormuz traffic recovers after Iran war

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Explainer

Hormuz tolls, frozen funds pose early tests for US-Iran peace progress

AMIRHOSSEIN KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

usaid

Feature

How Trump's USAID cuts threw Lebanon's education system into tailspin

Students benefitting from USAID programs in Lebanon have been left in limbo after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze of international aid.

Mayah Hamadeh

By Mayah Hamadeh

An employee checks eggs at Aytekin chicken farm on on May 06, 2022 in Bandirma, Turkey.

How Turkey's egg tax complicates US soaring prices amid bird flu crisis

The US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it will have to import between 70 and 100 million eggs in the next month or two as the outbreak derails the country’s domestic egg production.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers offices are pictured on Oct. 2, 2018, in London, England.

Saudi Arabia's PIF bans PwC advisory, consulting services: What to know

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will stop granting consulting projects to PwC until February 2026, Bloomberg reported.

UAE Sheikh Khaled

UAE, Pakistan expand cooperation during crown prince's first visit: What we know

Pakistan is looking to the UAE for economic help, with recent agreements focused on mining, ports and railways.

United Arab Emirates

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, look on as Iran's new Shahed 136-B drone is displayed during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1980–88 war with Iraq, Tehran, Sept. 21, 2024.

US sanctions 6 China firms for helping Iran procure drones: What to know

The latest decision follows the United States sanctioning more than 30 entities involved in Iran's shadow fleet.

Delegates arrive for the opening session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD COP16, in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 2, 2024. Saudi Arabia is hosting the COP16 UN conference on land degradation and desertification as the top oil exporter pitches itself as an environmental defender despite criticism of its role at climate talks. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia markets Middle East's first euro green bond: What to know

The kingdom, currently the world’s top oil exporter, looks to have half of its electricity powered by renewable energy by 2030.

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas holds a press conference during the EU's foreign affairs council at the EU headquarters in Brussels on February 24, 2025. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

EU suspends key energy, banking sanctions on Syria: What we know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s interim government has been trying to court the international community to encourage investment and ease sanctions to allow Syria’s economy to recover.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Jordanian King Abdullah II as he departs the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Analysis

As Trump’s aid freeze tests Jordan’s economic stability, can Gulf and China offer lifeline?

The tensions created by the American president pressing Jordan to accept forcibly displaced Palestinians could lead Amman to boost ties with US rival China, Europe and others.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A member of the Syrian security forces stands guard outside the central bank in Damascus, on Dec. 31, 2024.

Analysis

Syria's new rulers set ambitious economic goals: Are they achievable?

Syria’s financial woes run deep, prompting the new government to radically change its economic policy.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 9: Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcoming ceremony November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Trump is on a 10-day trip to Asia. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Iran's oil exports to China are surging despite Trump's 'maximum pressure'

Data from shipping analytics firm Kpler suggests Iran is offloading more crude from its floating storage off the coast of Malaysia and Singapore.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

JPMorgan

JPMorgan to reclassify Qatar, Kuwait as developed markets: What it means

JPMorgan’s Global Index Research team said that Qatar and Kuwait will be removed from the Emerging Markets Bond Index starting from March 31.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) host the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Tehran, Feb. 19, 2025.

Why is Iran urging Qatar to release $6B in frozen oil payments?

The payments, by South Korea for Iranian oil, were initially frozen in Seoul bank accounts in 2019, after the Trump administration increased sanctions on Iran, before transfer to Qatar.