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Economy & Business

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

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

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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

The Dubai metro track is seen along Dubai's Shiekh Zayed road on September 09, 2009, as the UAE opens its new metro network in a bid to cut dependency on cars and ease congestion. Dubai is the first city in the oil-rich Gulf to introduce rail as a commuting option. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

New rail network on track to bring billions into UAE economy

The railway will serve the UAE’s sustainability goals by reducing carbon emissions in the road transportation sector.

Russia's Rosoboronexport displayed more than 200 combat-tested weapons at an isolated pavilion.

UAE's IDEX weapons fair brings in Russia, China, and billion-dollar deals

The United Arab Emirates’ defense expenditure amounted to $22.5 billion last year and is expected to reach $28.6 billion by 2027.

People walk past a pedlar selling tangerines along a street in the Azhar district of Egypt's capital Cairo on January 16, 2023. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt’s inflation to remain above central bank target in 2023

Inflation in Egypt will most likely continue to rise in the coming months to peak above 30% by mid-year, well above the government’s target.

Marc Español

Men look at currency exchange rates at an exchange shop in Tehran on Feb. 21, 2023. Iran's currency plunged to new lows on Jan. 20 amid fresh European Union sanctions, crossing the psychologically important rate of 500,000 rials to a dollar in foreign exchange markets.

Iran's currency dips to all-time low, basic prices skyrocket

Recently launched government plans to restore stability to the troubled foreign exchange market proved no remedy, as ordinary Iranians continue to see their pockets shrink.

KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

In shift away from US dollar, Iraq to allow trade with China in yuan

Some countries in the region are increasingly looking away from the dollar.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a screen set at Red Square as he addresses a rally and a concert marking the annexation of four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy - Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, in central Moscow on September 30, 2022. (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Al-Monitor/Premise poll: Russia's role seen as negative in Turkey, Yemen, Iraq

The Russian invasion of Ukraine hurt the region economically, as supply chain disruptions and food shortages topped respondents concerns in Turkey, Egypt, Yemen and Iraq

SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Central Bank slashes interest rates after devastating earthquakes

The move is likely aimed at weathering the fallout from the devastating earthquakes in accordance with the Turkish government's economy policy to prioritize economic growth at the expense of inflation.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shares a light moment with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 11, 2016. The crown prince is on a three-day state visit to India until February 12. AFP PHOTO / Money SHARMA / AFP / MONEY SHARMA (Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)

US, India, UAE, Israel convene I2U2 forum in Abu Dhabi

The meeting builds on the food security initiative spearheaded by President Joe Biden in 2021 in preparation for global climate change.

A man sits atop a rolled-up tent in the garden of Yenimahalle Cemevi.

Turkey bans layoffs, introduces benefits, amid mounting earthquake failures

The Turkish government’s new decisions come amid mounting criticism over its failure to provide a timely and organized response to the killer earthquakes.

Backers of the the Southern Transitional Council (STC) which seeks independence for south Yemen, stand guard outside a bank in the Crater district in the centre of Yemen's second city of Aden on August 12, 2019. - (Photo credit should read NABIL HASAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Reports: Saudi Arabia to deposit $1 billion in Yemen’s central bank

The European Union also announced additional funding for Yemen, while a famine watchdog said that economic warfare is increasingly causing hardship for Yemenis.

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the northern coastal beach of Nasholim, Israel, Aug. 29, 2022.

Israel's NewMed gas group to build facility in East Med

The move comes as Israel is seeking to export more gas to Europe.

Neptune

Ukraine war at year 1: Europe seeks secure energy ties with Middle East

As the war in Ukraine drags on, Western sanctions on Russia, the world’s largest natural gas and second-largest oil exporter, have sent Europe hunting for alternatives in the Middle East and North Africa.