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Economy & Business

Cars drive past the gates of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sept. 19, 2026.

Riyadh’s skies remain unsettled after deadly Houthi strikes

Saudi authorities confirmed Friday that Thursday’s first attack struck airport facilities and the second hit a Saudia aircraft.

Travelers queue to check in their luggage at the terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, on March 10, 2026.

Riyadh airport issues travel alert as Yemen's Houthis claim fresh attack on Saudi Arabia

Hundreds of flights to and from the Saudi capital were canceled or delayed on Thursday, with passengers being urged to check with airlines before heading to the airport.

A man walks past a closed foreign exchange office in Baghdad on October 7, 2026. Iraq's central bank devalued the dinar currency against the dollar on October 7, with the country facing a deepening crisis brought on by the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq devalues dinar 13% as Hormuz disruption hits oil revenue

The central bank said in a statement that it had revised the official exchange rate to 1,520 Iraqi dinars per dollar from around 1,320.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Pnyx hill, where ancient Athenians held democratic assemblies, with the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis seen in the background, in Athens on October 7, 2026. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Rubio says Iran ‘lost’ Hormuz. Has it?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Iran has “lost complete control” of the waterway, pointing to the recovery in Gulf oil exports in September.

Latest News

Flights continue in Saudi Arabia despite Houthi attacks, airspace threats

Travelers consult the departures screens at the terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, on March 10, 2026.

UAE-Syria move ahead on $20 billion real estate mega-developments

A view of a traffic roundabout in central Latakia, Syria on June 12, 2025. The city's road network converges near the coast, forming one of the busiest urban intersections in the province. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Mideast oil exports surpass prewar levels despite pipeline, ship attacks

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Sept. 7, 2026.

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

Analysis

Gulf oil exports are back, but how durable is recovery?

nyse

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

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - APRIL 05: General view of Starbucks Coffee drive thru 24 hours store on April 5, 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Analysis

Gaza boycotts losing steam as Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC rebound in Middle East

Boycotts against Western brands over US support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza could be easing after more than a year of lost sales in the Middle East.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, accompanied by his son, X Musk, speaks to the press as President Donald Trump looks on in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Elon Musk's Boring Co. to build Dubai Loop network of tunnels

The loop is a network of underground tunnels, similar to one being developed in Las Vegas, that allows passengers to be transported nonstop, in electric vehicles, to 11 stations.

United Arab Emirates

Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov takes part in the opening ceremony of the East-West pipeline.

In first, Turkmenistan to supply Turkey directly with gas: What to know

BOTAS, Turkey’s state-owned pipeline operator, and Turkmenistan’s Turkmengaz will begin the gas flow from Turkmenistan to Turkey on March 1.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

How vulnerable are UAE, Bahrain to Trump's 25% tariff on aluminum?

The United Arab Emirates is the second biggest exporter of aluminum to the United States after Canada, supplying $1.78 billion of the metal to Washington in 2024.

United Arab Emirates

Flames rise from the burning of excess hydrocarbons at the Nahr Bin Omar natural gas field, north of the southern Iraqi port of Basra, Jan. 22, 2018.

Analysis

Can Middle East economies capitalize on Trump’s tariff turmoil?

The US tariffs could provide opportunities in manufacturing, metals and the energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa as countries look for workarounds.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

GETIR delivery scooters in Paris, France, May 17, 2023.

What’s behind the power struggle at Mubadala-backed Turkish firm Getir?

The start-up, once valued at more than $10 billion, has been struggling financially over the past year due to waning consumer demand.

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

This picture shows a construction site for Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in Riyadh, on April 16, 2023.

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector grows at fastest rate in over a decade

Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics said last week that the kingdom's non-oil GDP growth rate was up 4.3% from 2023, while oil activities declined by 4.5%.

Ruwais

Samsung E&A to build UAE's first methanol plant as country shifts to greener fuels

The methanol facility, based in Abu Dhabi’s Al Ruwais Industrial City, is expected to be completed in 2028.

United Arab Emirates

CNN launches new operation in Qatar amid regional rivalry: What we know

CNN's move will fuel Qatar’s growing role as a media hub in the region.

A ship transits the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on Nov. 3, 2024 in Suez, Egypt.

Egypt’s Suez Canal chief optimistic about Red Sea as attacks die down

The Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea have ceased owing to the ceasefire in Gaza, prompting Egypt to encourage shipping companies to resume sailing through the waterway.

Egyptian pound banknotes sit on a table on March 6, 2024, in Cairo, after Egypt's central bank announced it will allow the exchange rate to be set by the market.

Egypt’s economic reboot fuels bond market return with $2B sale

Egypt is making big moves to resuscitate its economy.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni together in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 26, 2025.

Saudi Arabia, Italy sign $10B in deals during Meloni visit: What we know

Italy is a strong trading partner of Saudi Arabia's, and the two countries are eying cooperation on renewable energy.