Economy and trade

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik pose during a meeting with business leaders in Paris on June 29, 2026.

Oman's sultan meets Macron in first France visit since 1989: What to know

French President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing against any form of toll for the Strait of Hormuz.

AFP via Getty Images

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had recovered somewhat before renewed fighting between Iran and the United States saw traffic drop sharply over the weekend.

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

Latest News

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

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Explainer

Lebanon advances controversial $500K golden visa law: What to know

A picture shows the four seasons hotel in Beirut with the snow covered mountain of Sannine in the background on March 8, 2019.

Explainer

Qatar blast underscores challenges in race to restart Gulf energy flows

Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi speaks during a press conference in Doha on June 22, 2026.

Interview

US-Egypt fund makes case for economic statecraft in hard power era

A worker counts banknotes after filling up the tank of a vehicle at a petrol station in Giza on March 10, 2026.

Cornelius Queen

Cornelius Queen

Senior Vice President of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund

A man wears a face mask and a protective face shield as he checks a woman's temperature, to let her go inside the mall, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), after shopping malls and bazaars reopened in Tehran, Iran, April 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY? - RC2F8G9RTNFI

Iran says it is exporting coronavirus diagnostic kits

Iran announced the export of its first batch of domestically produced coronavirus diagnostic tests to Germany, saying it is receiving similar orders from other nations plagued by the pandemic.

A Saudi money exchanger wears a protective face mask and gloves as he counts Saudi riyal currency at a currency exchange shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2ZGF9MUSEW

Saudi Arabia braces for economic impact

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council states must make dramatic cuts in spending, and not just on megaprojects, as unsustainably large annual deficits have arrived.

A Saudi man stands in front of a screen of stock prices at ANB Bank in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2AKF95RT3F

Report: Private sectors in UAE, Egyptian, Saudi economies suffer dramatic losses

IHS Markit, a global information provider, shows how the private sector has suffered major blows in the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Waiters fix chairs at a restaurant overlooking the Pigeons Rock, as Lebanon begins to ease nationwide lockdown due to spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beirut, Lebanon May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC2PHG9CXB7K

Some Lebanese restaurants reopen with restrictions in place

Not all Lebanese restaurants could afford to reopen after the government allowed them to operate at a limited capacity today.

A man wearing a face mask walks past a damaged facade of a bank, after overnight protests fuelled by worsening economic conditions, in the southern city of Sidon, Lebanon April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RC2ZEG9LTAWF

Lebanon to seek IMF assistance to help with economic crisis

The prime minister said Lebanon would seek $10 billion in loans from the international financial institution after passing a reform bill.

Palestinian policemen loyal to Hamas stand guard in a street amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the southern Gaza Strip April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC2AAG9OPDHM

Despite cafes opening, Gazans still reluctant to go out

Gaza restaurants are reopening their doors weeks after the lockdown, amid a low turnout of citizens who are still afraid of the coronavirus.

Lebanese demonstrators wear face masks during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese pound currency outside Lebanon's Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC2IAG903BZB

Lebanese protest dire economic conditions as coronavirus lockdown eases

Protests have resumed in Lebanon, with many people lamenting hunger and economic strife as the country's financial crisis continues during the coronavirus lockdown.

Israelis take part in a demonstration on April 25, 2020, in Rabin Square in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, to protest what they consider threats to Israeli democracy, against the backdrop of negotiations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ex-rival Benny Gantz. - The protesters stood two meters apart from each other, thereby respecting the social distancing measures in force to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel under coronavirus: Economic straits revive social protests

In the spirit of the wave of social justice demonstrations in 2011, Israelis in desperate economic situations due to the coronavirus outbreak are taking to the streets of Tel Aviv.

Gaza farmers destroyed flowers amid lockdown

The state of emergency imposed on the Gaza Strip due to the coronavirus pandemic has not spared the flower cultivation sector.

A farmer is seen in a green of cannabis plants in a field overlooking a lake in Yammouneh in West of Baalbek, Lebanon August 13, 2018. Picture taken August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC1701D184F0

Lebanon becomes first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming

Despite pushback from Hezbollah, the Lebanese parliament passed legislation Tuesday legalizing cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes.

A man wears a protective face mask as he sits in a bus, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), after shopping malls and bazaars reopened in Tehran, Iran, April 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2F8G9K61IV

Rouhani hits out at skeptics of Iran pandemic statistics

The Iranian president said skeptics of the official coronavirus narrative in his country are serving as enemy mouthpieces.

A board showing the currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and the Euro against Turkish lira is seen outside a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, May 23, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1A6073F020

Larger than expected rate cut raises pressure on Turkish lira

Turkey’s central bank surprised market watchers Wednesday with a significant interest rate cut to bolster the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, though analysts say the move poses inflationary risks.