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Economy & Business

Fuel prices are displayed at a petrol station in Rabat

Explainer

Russian diesel heads to Morocco as supply crunch grips global markets

Gulf countries and Russia together accounted for almost 45% of global seaborne diesel and gasoil trade before the Iran war.

An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

Syria will rejoin the Arab constituency at the International Monetary Fund beginning Nov. 1 and has applied for membership in the EBRD.

Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their WTA Finals tennis tournament in Riyadh on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

From Six Kings Slam to FIFAe finals, Saudi Arabia's events derailed by war

Some of Saudi Arabia’s flagship events — across sectors including culture, entertainment and sports — have been canceled or postponed following deadly Houthi attacks over the weekend.

Flames burn at a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco south of Riyadh

Explainer

Aramco HQ attack exposes Saudi defense gaps, infrastructure vulnerabilities

The Iran-linked Yemeni militants struck at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry this week amid an expanding campaign against key infrastructure.

Latest News

Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan, Saudi national charged in bugging OpenAI meetings?

Abdulrahman Alfozan in an undated photo

Explainer

IMF projects Gulf rebound in 2027. Can energy production keep pace?

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on March 14, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf's petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran's Kharg Island. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

Jeddah airport flights disrupted as Houthis escalate threats

Men walk at a terminal at Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on December 12, 2019. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Manchester City fallout tests Gulf’s global investment model

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Manchester City's Emirati owner and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

A boy looks at the coins displayed at the exhibition Coins through the Ages at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, on Aug. 10, 2010.

Downward spiral causes crash in Egypt’s gold prices

Gold prices sharply dropped in Egypt amid a drop of global prices after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates.

An Israeli army tank deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip creates a wall of smoke (R) to protect Israeli farmers harvesting their wheat crop on April 30, 2008 in the fields near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel. Getty

The Middle East food security crisis and its implications

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt, China expand climate cooperation ahead of COP27

As Egypt prepares to host the COP27 conference, it's getting help from China to transform Sharm el-Sheikh into a green city.

A Palestinian police officer searches a truck's fabrics cargo slated for export at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Rafah, Gaza Strip, June 21, 2021.

Russia-Ukraine war leaves Hamas in financial crisis

The fragile Palestinian economy in the Gaza Strip has been largely affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has caused price hikes and an increase in taxes.

An Egyptian farmer takes part in the wheat harvest in Bamha village near al-Ayyat town, Giza province, Egypt, May 17, 2022.

Egypt pins hopes on Russia-Ukraine grain agreement

Egypt, especially hit hard by the global food crisis resulting form the Russia-Ukraine war, is hoping for relief via the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Rashid Hassan teaches visitors how to harvest lavender correctly.

Lavender ecotourism throws lifeline to rural Lebanese villages

As Lebanon experiences a tourism hike this summer, rural villages and attractions hope to draw tourists away from the capital with the help of ecotourism companies. A day spent discovering lavender in the south is one example.

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Presidency on August 14, 2018.

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project to bring huge investments to Egypt

Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country will invest in Sharm el-Sheikh as part of $500 billion NEOM project.

Pet trader Mahmud Safwat feeds birds outside his shop, Giza, Egypt, July 2022.

Pets suffer amid Egypt's economic crisis

The Russian war on Ukraine has affected Egypt's economy in many ways and is now affecting Egyptians' ability to keep their pets at home.

A picture shows the damaged grain silos at the port of Beirut.

World Bank blames Lebanon for 'deliberate' economic crisis

The World Bank accused Lebanon’s elites of conducting “Ponzi finance” and deliberately pursuing harmful fiscal policies. Meanwhile, the Beirut port has caught fire again.

Sierra Leone-flagged cargo vessel Razoni sails along the Bosporus past Istanbul on Aug. 3, 2022, after being officially inspected.

First Ukrainian grain shipment en route to Lebanon amidst food crisis

Ukraine claims a Syrian ship docked in Lebanon is carrying Ukrainian wheat and barley that was stolen by Russia and is being offering at a discount.

People shop in a busy market ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramadan on April 1, 2022, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey’s inflation hits almost 80% as Erdogan insists on low-rate policy

Despite a relative slowdown in July, Turkey’s consumer inflation appears on course to overshoot the central bank’s newly revised year-end forecast of 60.4%.

Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud addresses the 29th annual Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference.

OPEC+ agrees to small oil production increase

US President Joe Biden may have been hoping for a larger boost in production.