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Economy & Business

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shake hands

France, Saudi Arabia announce more than $10B in deals on MBS visit

Among the deals included a 6 billion euro ($7 billion) pledge from the Public Investment Fund in three manga-themed amusement parks on the outskirts of Paris.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Traders are awaiting details about new US measures sure to further disrupt Iranian oil flows.

Khor Fakkan Container Terminal

Analysis

UAE-Iran trade relationship becomes key test of Trump’s wartime strategy

The Gulf state suspended trade with Iran after new attacks in August. Experts point to risks for both sides as the Trump administration seeks to squeeze Tehran economically.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian holds a press conference on Aug. 19, 2026.

China slams Trump over economic war on Iran: What to know

China’s once significant oil imports from Iran have been impacted by the war in the region and increasing US sanctions.

Latest News

Trump’s Iran ‘economic D-Day’ threat sends oil prices above $94

Iranians drive past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Aug. 3, 2026.

Explainer

Iraq seeks special Hormuz access from Iran in scramble to keep oil flowing

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey looks to expand Syria energy footprint into oil, gas

President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar at the People’s Palace in Damascus, Syria, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

China nuclear

Analysis

UAE-China nuclear deals signal evolving energy relationship

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, which is developing the UAE’s nuclear energy sector, signed the three agreements with Chinese nuclear energy organizations on Sunday.

By Salim A. Essaid

Chinese investors pose for a picture in the land where an industrial city, including an oil refinery, is due to be built following an economic agreement, in the port town of Duqm on May 24, 2016 . Chinese investors signed a deal with Oman's government to establish an industrial city, including an oil refinery, in the port town of Duqm, both sides said in a joint statement. The agreement signed during the ceremony in Muscat would open way for investments worth $10.7 billion by 2022 to finance industrial proj

China to support Oman's economic rebound in 2024

Oman is expected to go from one of the Middle East’s lowest growth rates this year to the region’s highest in 2024. Here's how China will help it get there.

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Xi Jinping Vladimir Putin BRICS

Iran increases trade with BRICS including China as it looks to join bloc

Iran has seen a 14% year-on-year increase in non-oil trade with members of the five-state alliance, which includes Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa.

Two pairs of US hundred dollar and Egyptian hundred pound notes are held before a window showing the skyline of Egypt's capital Cairo and the Nile river on January 16, 2023. - With Egypt's economy in crisis, the currency in freefall and inflation skyrocketing, the poor have been hit hard but the middle class is also teetering on the brink. The Egyptian pound has lost half its value against the dollar since March, following a devaluation demanded as part of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan agree

Egypt inflation drops to 31.5%, but food prices still rising

Annual inflation fell slightly in April compared to the previous month as the central bank readies its next decision on interest rates.

A general view shows 09 March 2004 the Shaybah mega-project, the first, and so far sole, oilfield development in Saudi Arabia's vast Al-Rub al-Khali desert, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of the eastern oil center of Dhahran. The Shaybah mega-project, which sits on top of some 15 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, more than a drop in the ocean of Saudi Arabia's estimated total reserves of about 260 billion barrels, has been producing oil to the tune of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) for less

Saudi Aramco profit drops 19% on lower oil prices

Aramco has signed major deals with companies in China, the United States and South Korea recently, and OPEC+ recently announced a supply cut.

Lionel Messi PSG

Lionel Messi move to Saudi Arabia from PSG 'a done deal': Report

Jorge Messi said the decision on a transfer of the 2022 World Cup winner will not be taken until the end of the season.

Retired servicemen clash with soldiers outside Lebanon's central bank during a demonstration demanding inflation adjustments to their pensions, Beirut, Lebanon, March 30, 2023.

Lebanon’s angry depositors demand their money back from banks

Bank depositors staged a sit-in in Beirut to protest the banks' illegal policies imposed on their deposits amid a stifling economic crisis.

An aerial picture shows heavy traffic on two main highways in Kuwait City on March 27, 2023, after heavy rain the previous night caused flooding and road closures. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

How Kuwait’s political gridlock is hampering economic policymaking, competitiveness

Kuwait’s continued political gridlock has obstructed the government's ability to advance an effective economic policymaking and reform agenda.

Robert Mogielnicki

Robert Mogielnicki

Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping after witnessed a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, July 22, 2019. (Photo by Andy Wong-Pool/Getty Images)

In boost to China, UAE and Kuwait become 'dialogue partners' in Shanghai Cooperation Organization

The Gulf states made up half of the new partners at the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in 2023.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on April 29, 2023, shows a Palestinian fish vendor at a market in Gaza City.

Anger at Hamas brews as taxes increase in Gaza

Amid growing poverty in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government imposed in the past year a further series of taxes and custom fees.

Retired servicemen try to remove the barbed wire barricade outside Lebanon's central bank during a demonstration demanding inflation-adjustments to their pensions in Beirut on March 30, 2023. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's finance minister questioned by European investigators

In a first, Lebanese Finance Minster Youssef Khalil was questioned today in the case against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and his brother, who are accused of embezzlement.

Moroccan Prime Minister

Analysis

UK 'obvious choice' as Morocco seeks to diversify trade

In recent months, a flurry of partnerships have been announced between the countries in sectors including transport and renewable energy.

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