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 picture taken on January 14, 2017 shows street traffic in the Iranian capital Tehran on the first anniversary of the nuclear agreement.
The first anniversary, of the nuclear deal between Iran and six powers, that lifted a large part of international sanctions on Iran in return for limits on Tehran's nuclear programme, comes four days before the inauguration of Republican president Trump on January 20. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

China set to fill vacuum left by French carmakers exiting Iran

The exit of French automakers from Iran is leaving a vacuum that appears set to be filled by Chinese auto manufacturers.

Egyptian forum dreams up ways to attract expat money

A recent forum for Egyptian expatriates produced various ideas on how to get emigrants to invest in their home country.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC157E042900

US reimposes sanctions as Iran deal crumbles

With the Donald Trump administration set to reimpose Iran sanctions after exiting the nuclear deal, it’s looking less and less likely the rest of the world can salvage the accord.

IMF option looms larger for Turkey amid row with US

Turkey’s economic woes keep growing, exacerbated by central bank inaction and simmering tensions with the United States, in what many see as an inevitable march to the IMF.

Will Riyadh-Tehran rivalry kill Iraqi Kurdistan's investment drive?

A visit to Erbil by a Saudi trade delegation in late July has the potential to bear fruit in advancing economic cooperation and investment in the region, helping ease its current financial crisis, but the Saudis' move has raised eyebrows in Tehran.

TEHRAN, IRAN - FEBRUARY 7, 2018: Eshaq Jahangiri the Iranian vice president sits in one of the presidential palaces rooms during an interview on February 7, 2018 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

Is ‘national reconciliation’ Iran's key weapon to win economic war?

A top pro-reform official in Iran said national unity and reconciliation are in the making to defuse the US-led economic pressure and media war against the country.

Finance Minister Mohamed Maait speaks during a news conference in Cairo, Egypt July 5, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC1C44D9DA80

Egypt goes against IMF advice, boosting public investments

The International Monetary Fund is keen to reduce Egypt's investments in the country in favor of private investment, but the new government has decided to increase the amount it will spend.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani extends his hand to Iran's Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani during a swearing-in ceremony for Rouhani for a further term, at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, August 5, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC15208A0ED0

Iran arrests top state managers as anti-corruption drive forges ahead

Iran's judiciary is intensifying its crackdown on state managers accused of massive fraud amid a currency crisis the country is struggling to overcome.

Will Iranian Kurds be on front lines of US conflict with Iran?

The US administration appears to increasingly be looking at armed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups as part of its campaign to economically and militarily pressure Iran.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

A man buys dollars from a money changer on the black market in the capital Tunis, Tunisia August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC1CA2FB0820

Tunisian economy continues to struggle

The Tunisian government just received another part of its loan from the International Monetary Fund and assures citizens it is taking appropriate measures to solve the country's economic crisis.

How Turkish exporters plan to avoid impact of US trade wars

Turkish businesspeople have outlined an investment plan to duck US tariffs and increase sales to the world’s largest consumer market.

Khalifa Haftar (C), the military commander who dominates eastern Libya, leaves after an international conference on Libya at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer - RC1C86F2EC00

Could Hifter's about-face on control of Libya's oil lead to real progress?

Khalifa Hifter’s decision to return control of the oil ports under his authority to the National Oil Corporation, three weeks after seizing them, could be seen as a goodwill gesture that will prompt genuine progress toward an agreement between the two sides.