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Economy & Business

a large billboard featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

What Netanyahu win or loss could mean for Israel’s economy

Economic concerns have taken a back seat to security as voters weigh Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s future — but rising deficits, cost of living and politically charged issues will be a challenge for whoever eventually prevails.

Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi speaks during a press conference in Doha, on June 22, 2026.

Qatar locks in US LNG through 2054 as it looks beyond Hormuz

The Gulf state agreed to buy up to 4 million tons of US liquefied natural gas annually through 2054.

Saudi Arabia football supporters wave flags

China-Saudi consortium wins $306M World Cup stadium deal: What to know

The project is a vote of confidence to Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 agenda to diversify the economy away from oil, despite an uptick in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on the kingdom in recent weeks.

Latest News

Gulf oil exports surpass prewar levels despite escalating tanker attacks

The Chinese-flagged container shipping vessel Hui Fa transits the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the emirate of Sharjah east of the UAE, on Oct. 13, 2026.

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

Macron secures Gulf diesel supplies as France grapples with fuel costs, unrest

Benoit Tessier / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Indonesia first foreign country to own property in Saudi Arabia's Mecca

Vehicles move along a main street in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on Sept. 16, 2026.

Saudi Arabia postpones 'Davos in the Desert' until 2027 amid Houthi attacks

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Why has Saudi Arabia ordered Aramco to halt its plan to raise oil production?

The move may be simply a cost-cutting strategy, or it could be driven by a new, less optimistic outlook from the world's largest crude producer on future oil demand.

A seal on the exterior of the US Department of Treasury building, March 13, 2023.

Who are the Iranians sanctioned by US, UK for murder plots against dissidents?

One of the plots culminated in the 2019 assassination of Iranian government critic Mas’ud Vardanjani in Istanbul, according to a statement by the US Treasury Monday.

Tourists ride in a horse-drawn carriage near the art installation "Temple" by French artist Stephan Breuer and the Pyramid of Menkaure or Menkheres (front) and the Pyramd of Khafre or Chephren (behind) during the third edition of the "Forever is Now" art exhibition by Art d'Egypte at the Giza pyramids necropolis on October 28, 2023. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by

Analysis

Egypt's tourism boom offers respite from foreign currency woes, Gaza war

Egyptian tourism revenues and the number of holidaymakers visiting reached record highs in 2023 but will unlikely be enough to cure Cairo’s financial problems.

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

PORTLAND, OREGON - JANUARY 9: An Alaska Airlines Embraer aircraft is seen taking off at Portland International Airport on January 9, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. NTSB investigators are continuing their inspection on the Alaska Airlines N704AL Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft following a midair fuselage blowout on Friday, January 5. None of the 171 passengers and six crew members were seriously injured. (Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

Boeing crisis opens door for Airbus to win new Middle East deals

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Photo illustration of a selection of front pages from UK daily national newspaper coverage, London, Jan. 18, 2024.

Analysis

UAE-backed fund's planned Telegraph takeover raises press freedom fears

Members of parliament and former state security figures have raised concerns about what it would mean for an entity with close ties to a foreign government to own one of the United Kingdom’s most influential newspapers.

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

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt to give Cairo's historic downtown major facelift

The project is part of a wider plan to develop Cairo’s downtown area to boost tourism and the economy.

Turkey inflation 1

Turkey’s Central Bank raises interest rates to 45%

A pause in hikes will follow, ahead of upcoming local elections in March, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking to regain control of key cities.

GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/AFP via Getty Images

What does Sisi-Putin latest nuclear plant deal mean for Egypt, Russia?

Egypt is hoping nuclear energy will help meet its substantial power needs as Russia eyes a greater nuclear foothold in the region.

Lebanese bartender Hadi Ghassan prepares a drink behind the counter at "Meraki Riyadh", a pop-up bar offering non-alcoholic bellinis and spritzes, served in chilled cocktail glasses, in Riyadh on January 23, 2024. The bar's success highlights widening acceptance of more daring non-alcoholic fare even as booze itself remains strictly off-limits in the Gulf kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

What does Saudi's first-ever alcohol store say about new Gulf culture?

Alcohol-free 'mocktails' are also becoming increasingly popular across the region.

A picture taken on April 14, 2015 shows a view of a plant processing phosphates in the port of the Tunisian southern city of Sfax. / AFP / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s phosphate industry still not ready to help country navigate economic crisis

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A ship transits the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea on Jan. 10, 2024, in Ismailia, Egypt.

Red Sea trade hit can be 'managed' amid weak global demand, says WEF

Maroun Kairouz, director of the World Economic Forum for the Middle East and North Africa, told Al-Monitor that the Israel-Hamas conflict has not had a material impact on global energy markets so far.

Group Chairman & CEO, DP World Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem speaks during the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit at the Sheraton Hotel, New York, Sept. 19, 2023.

EV charging infrastructure needed to accelerate carbon emission cuts, says DP World

The UAE-headquartered company's CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told Al-Monitor that the sector could place more emphasis on equipment providers to allow for cost-competitive electric equipment to drive forward decarbonization goals.

United Arab Emirates