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Economy & Business

A ship sails along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia, April 16, 2025.

Maersk resumes Red Sea passage after two-year halt amid easing Houthi threat

A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October has prompted some shipping companies to consider resuming services, but security concerns persist.

Solar panels in a Sinai desert, Egypt.

Egypt lands $572M UAE-backed solar deal, expanding Gulf's clean-energy footprint

Gulf companies have been increasing their investments in North African renewable energy.

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO - AUGUST 20: In this handout image from Populous, digital renderings of the proposed Stade Hassan II stadium in Morocco, projected to be the largest football stadium in the world with 115,000 capacity are depicted on August 20, 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco. The stadium design is by Populous and Oulalou + Choi (Photo by Populous via Handout/Getty Images)

Morocco’s markets rise as World Cup spending fuels largest IPO in decades

Shares in SGTM jumped by 10% on Dec. 16 after the construction firm raised roughly $550 million from its IPO, underscoring demand in a market that has featured few new listings in recent years.

Latest News

India’s Modi eyes closer ties with Jordan, Oman during visits

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jordan, on Dec. 16, 2025.

Egypt secures Qatari investment boost, launches first SCZONE industrial deal

Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib speaking at the Egyptian-Qatari Investment Forum in Cairo, Egypt on Dec. 14, 2025 (State Information Service)

Analysis

Yemen’s oil heartland fuels new conflict as STC seeks new political power

Yemeni employees walk at the Aden oil refinery company in Yemen's port city of Aden on Sept. 29, 2015.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey, US push toward $100B trade goal as Bolat heads to Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has signaled that the U.S. might lift a ban on F-35 sales to Turkey during Erdogan's first visit to the White House since 2019. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/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

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 president, speaks at the Plaza Hotel, New York City, Sept. 19, 2023.

COP28 host UAE, EU and US call for agreement to triple renewables by 2030

Barbados, Chile, Kenya, Micronesia, the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency also support the move.

United Arab Emirates

QatarEnergy

Saudi Aramco, QatarEnergy, UAE’s Emirates among Fortune Arabia top 10

The list of 500 companies from 22 Arab countries posted around $1.6 trillion in revenues in 2022, yielding a net profit of $343 billion.

Riyadh

Saudi Arabia's oil cuts weigh heavy on economy, GDP tanks by 4.5%

The kingdom's economy shrunk by the most since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 due to energy measures.

TABA, EGYPT: Beach resorts close to the Egyptian Taba Hilton (background-R) remain empty 11 October 2004, four days after three attacks targeted this well-known hotel in the Sinai peninsula next to the Israeli border and another two minor resorts, killing at least 32 people and causing the exodus of thousands of Israeli tourists from the area called the Egyptian Riviera. Israel's resort of Eilat, close to the border with Egypt, is set for a boom as thousands of Israelis who regularly holiday in Sinai look e

Tourism tipping point: Middle East travel boom delivering economic boost as Israel-Hamas war threatens recovery

The outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas in October 2023 has undercut a fledgling tourism rebound in the Holy Land after years of struggle.

Fans of Saudi Arabia pose with national flags on the stands ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group C football match between Saudi Arabia and Mexico at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on Nov. 30, 2022.

Saudi Arabia set to host 2034 World Cup after Australia withdraws

The kingdom is heavily investing in soccer, golf, MMA and other sports across the world.

INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images

Gaza war could double oil prices, threaten global food security

Washington-based multilateral lender World Bank compared the situation to the 1973 Arab oil embargo in its latest Commodities Market Outlook.

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the northern coastal beach of Nasholim, Israel, Aug. 29, 2022.

Israel hands out gas concessions to BP, ENI as Gaza war drags on

Israel is determined to project a "business as usual" stance despite the conflict with Hamas claiming the lives of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians.

Saudi women

Saudi Arabia explores women’s buying power with 30% entering work force

To expand its own economy, Saudi Arabia is joining a global structural shift toward multiple-wage households as women move into more and more careers that used to be off-limits.

People sit in front of a currency exchange office on July 19, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey ends unpopular bond scheme in latest fiscal policy change

Turkey’s fiscal policy has reversed since President Erdogan won reelection in May, most notably with regards to interest rates.

A teller holds Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange office, Istanbul, Aug. 13, 2018.

Turkey’s Central Bank hikes interest rates to 35%

The bank cited geopolitical risks for the move along with a larger than expected increase in inflation in the third quarter.

TOPSHOT - A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 25, 2023, shows smoke ascending over the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel-Hamas war poised to inflame Middle East arms race, pressure security partnerships

As the Middle East descends into a new phase of conflict and confrontation, regional states look poised to significantly boost military spending and procurement.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Smotrich

Israel credit outlook lowered, budget to be amended amid Hamas war

Israel’s credit rating was in trouble before the war in Gaza due to the government’s controversial judicial reform plans, and the war is affecting the country's fiscal situation.