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

Egypt planning slew of IPOs to boost 2018-19 budget

Listing 23 Egyptian state-owned companies on the stock exchange is among several steps that the recently announced state budget will rely on to achieve a 5.8% growth rate in the next fiscal year.

An Iranian woman pays a 20000 rial banknote (around 70 US Cent), bearing a portrait of Iran's late founder of islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to a grocer in Tehran on September 30, 2012. Iran's currency, the rial has lost over 60 percent of its value since the end of last year, as draconian Western economic sanctions take effect that has spurred already high inflation to even greater heights, with food costs soaring more than 50 percent. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read A

What's behind Iran's massive capital flight?

While a large amount of hard currency has left Iran in the years since the implementation of the nuclear deal, the picture is more complex than a simple case of investors rushing to move their capital outside the country.

Iran MPs call on Central Bank governor to resign as rial plummets

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Central Bank Gov. Valiollah Seif have come under heavy fire over the sudden devaluation of the rial.

Turkey to lower price of citizenship for foreign investors

Disappointed by the impact of a citizenship incentive offered to foreign homebuyers last year, Ankara is expected to lower the bar from $1 million to $300,000.

Iran raises minimum wage in concession to workers

Iranian laborers are set to receive an almost 20% increase in the minimum wage in a concession from the authorities.

What's really driving currency depreciation in Iran?

Rather than an indicator of a poor economy, the devaluation of the Iranian currency is the result of investment behavior, and what we are witnessing now looks more like a bubble.

Turkey’s economic woes open cracks in government ranks

Amid failing efforts to halt the slump of the Turkish lira, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and senior Cabinet members appear increasingly at loggerheads over how to keep the economy afloat.

Beirut renames seaside avenue after Saudi benefactor

Will King Salman Avenue bring Lebanon more Saudi tourists, or does it just represent the failures of the Lebanese political system?

Merchants chat in front of a currency exchange office at the historical Grand Bazaar, known as the Covered Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 12, 2017. Picture taken January 12, 2017. To match Insight TURKEY-ECONOMY/LIRA-RETAIL REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC144ADC54F0

Rumors of Turkish deputy PM's departure spook markets

The Turkish lira took a tumble amid reports that Mehmet Simsek, the deputy prime minister in charge of Turkey's economy, had resigned.

Energy, military cooperation dominate Putin’s visit to Turkey

Turkey anticipates even deeper ties with Russia as the two countries embark on massive development projects and a major military contract.

People march and shout slogans during a protest against the lack of jobs and poverty in Jerada, Morocco February 10, 2018. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal - RC13615CF410

Moroccan government lashes out at protest organizers in mining town

The Moroccan government has accused Islamist and leftist movements of being behind the ongoing protests in the city of Jerada.

A board showing the currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and the Euro against Turkish lira is on display at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC111EF016F0

Turkey’s impressive growth rate has dark side

Turkey has posted a spectacular 7.4% growth rate for 2017, but other key economic indicators suggest there is little to celebrate.