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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

An employee works at the Tunisian Sergaz company, that controls the Tunisian segment of the Trans-Mediterranean (Transmed) pipeline, through which natural gas flows from Algeria to Italy, in El-Haouaria, some 100km east of the capital Tunis, on April 14, 2022.

Is Italy pursuing a 'rebalancing' in North Africa?

Algeria is set to double liquified natural gas exports to Europe as Algeria finesses ties with Italy.

A woman walks out of a currency exchange shop displaying a giant US dollar banknote.

Egypt's economy takes another hit with rating downgrade

Moody’s also said Egypt’s ability to generate domestic funding will help its economic outlook.

LEAP technology conference, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 6, 2023.

China, US deals and robots headline Saudi Arabia's LEAP tech event

China's Huawei, Hectar, Lenovo were among major deals reached at Saudi's flagship technology event.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq lowers dollar-dinar exchange rate

The Iraqi dinar has been depreciating against the dollar amid restrictions from the US Federal Reserve and other issues.

A picture taken on September 24, 2020 shows the Brega oil port in Marsa Brega, some 270kms west of Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. - Libyas state oil firm lifted force majeure on what it deemed secure oil ports and facilities on September 20, a day after strongman Khalifa Haftar said he was lifting a blockade on oilfields and ports. The blockade, which has resulted in more than $9.8 billion in lost revenue according to the state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC), has exacerbated electricity and fuel shor

Libya’s oil production unlikely to reach 2 million barrels per day ever again

Pro: Libya hopes to increase oil production to over 2 million barrels per day in the medium term. Here's why that is unlikely to happen. (subscriber only, access with free trial)

Gerald Kepes

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends

Collapsed buildings are seen in Hatay, following the two earthquakes that hit on Monday, Turkey, Feb. 7, 2023.

In Turkey, questions about country's preparedness after massive earthquake

Only 0.5% of spending from the central government budget last year went to programs related to urban improvements and disaster management in quake-prone Turkey.

A man counts Egyptian pounds at a currency exchange shop in downtown Cairo on Nov. 3, 2016.

Egypt’s non-oil sector suffering under high inflation: Report

Egypt is experiencing rising inflation and the depreciation of its currency, but the country’s stock exchange is doing well and the IMF recently agreed to a massive aid package.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

HSBC warns Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul will harm Israel's economy

The leading European bank echoed last week's warnings by JPMorgan over the negative effects the judicial reforms pushed by the current Israel government could have on the country’s economy.

NASER JAFARI/TASNIM NEWS/AFP via Getty Images

Iran stops taxing foreign currency imports amid liquidity crunch

The Central Bank of Iran has a shortage of foreign currency and the United States is seeking to stop the flow of dollars into the country.

JPMorgan warns about investment risk in Israel

The major US investment firm is concerned about the government’s judicial reform efforts contributing to domestic volatility.

A peddler sells roasted corn cobs by the medieval Sultan al-Ghuri Complex in the Azhar district of Cairo.

Egypt keeps interest rates unchanged to start 2023

Inflation in Egypt was on the rise at the end of 2022, with food prices being of particular concern.

Employees stand at the Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi, during a visit by the French economy minister on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE and Saudi Arabia to compete for top global ranking in green energy

Here's how the UAE and Saudi Arabia can become the world's top green energy providers.

Afshin Molavi