Banking and Finance

Dr. Stephen Miran, nominee for Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Jeffrey Kessler, nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, William Pulte, nominee for Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Jonathan McKernan, nominee for Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection testify at a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 27, 2025, at the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington.

Who is Bill Pulte, Trump loyalist tapped as intelligence director?

The US president announced he had picked the fed housing chair to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies, at least temporarily, after the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

The symbols of bitcoin and the stablecoin Tether (USDT) are displayed at a cryptocurrency store in Hong Kong on July 29, 2025.

Interview

Saudi Arabia eyes state-backed stablecoin amid digital finance push

Tokenization in Saudi Arabia has rapidly evolved from concept to early-stage execution since the early 2020s.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to attend the second day of the first Syrian-Emirati (United Arab Emirates) Investment Forum, at the People's Palace in Damascus on May 12, 2026. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Ports and infrastructure: UAE embraces new economic order in Syria

UAE-Syrian ties have moved faster than expected, with Abu Dhabi embracing President Ahmad al-Sharaa and relations shifting from normalization to investment opportunities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A Syrian citizen exchanges old banknotes for new notes released and distributed by the central bank, at a bank in the capital, Damascus, on Jan. 3, 2026.

Interview

UK fintech brings foreign currency accounts to Syrians at home

The launch comes as Syria’s new government attempts to stabilize the country’s shattered economy following the January 2025 rise to power of President Ahmed al-Sharaa after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad.

Latest News

Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks in Beirut on Dec. 19, 2025.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Could UAE tap US currency swap line as Iran war strains Gulf economies?

Haruna Furuhashi /Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Why are Wall Street banks posting record profits amid Iran war?

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

The Public Investment Fund, PIF, presence during the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 13, 2024, in Indian Wells, California.

What’s behind Saudi Public Investment Fund’s $17.2B profit?

The sovereign wealth fund’s turnaround following the loss in 2022 is due in large part to the stock market rebounding.

A branch of Barclays in the United Kingdom vandalized by protestors and circulated by Palestine Action on June 10, 2024

Barclays plays down Israel military links as protesters target branches

More than 15 branches of the bank across England and Scotland were found with windows smashed and red paint daubed over the buildings as part of a protest calling on the bank to divest from arms companies that sell to Israel as well as from fossil fuel businesses.

Digital generated image of futuristic cubes connecting computer microchip. Cloud technology, big data or fintech technology. Concept of the new digital currency CBDC.

Saudi Arabia joins China, UAE in digital currency project

The kingdom is joining the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements' central bank digital currency platform.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar National Bank says GCC banks have more liquidity than global rivals

An executive at the Qatari lender said that Gulf countries will have to compete with the rest of the world for billions of dollars in equity to finance infrastructure projects, of which there is a higher demand than supply.

Displaced Syrians walk through a makeshift camp for Syrian refugees only miles from the border with Syria in the Bekaa Valley on Nov. 12, 2013, in Majdal Anjar, Lebanon.

Poverty in Lebanon tripled to 44%, as high as 62% in rural areas: World Bank

In a recent report, the World Bank revealed a three-fold increase in poverty rates in Lebanon, which is hard hit by an economic crisis and financial meltdown, with nine out of every 10 Syrians displaced in the country living under the poverty line.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Dubai beats Singapore, London as top city for 'greenfield' FDI projects

FDI Markets data, compiled by the Financial Times, found the UAE's financial capital ranked top overall in global "greenfield" FDI projects attracted in 2023.

United Arab Emirates

Bahrain's Investcorp, China's CIC launch $1B Sino-Gulf investment platform

The companies the fund will target are expected to have high growth potential in attractive sectors, including consumer, health care, logistics and business services, the Bahrain-based alternative asset manager said.

Abu Ubaida (C), spokesman of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

US unveils sanctions on Hamas spokesperson Abu Ubaida

The US Treasury Department also targeted Hamas members linked to the group’s cyber and drone operations in Lebanon and Gaza.

Mounir

Interview

Incoming legislation to make 'big difference' for Egypt's fintechs, MNT-Halan CEO says

Mounir Nakhla told Al-Monitor that although financial inclusion has increased in Egypt over the past few years, much of the country's population is still unbanked.

Mounir Nakhla

Mounir Nakhla

CEO of MNT-Halan

A miner from Gold Fields South Africa company walks near the exit of the South Deep gold mine in Westonaria, Gauteng, on Oct. 12, 2022.

Saudi Arabia, UAE amp up Africa investments amid growing competition

Africa is seeing a major uptick in investments from the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which presents the possibility of 'greater returns' for the Gulf states.

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Saudi private equity investment peaked at $4B in 2023 amid rising buyouts

The kingdom's deep-pocketed sovereign wealth fund was involved in the top three private equity transactions between 2019 and 2023.

Lebanon's Central Bank governor Riad Salameh gives an interview with AFP at his office in the capital, Beirut, on Dec. 20, 2021.

Switzerland reports violation by Lebanon’s Audi bank in Riad Salameh probe

The action by FINMA concerns connections around disgraced former Lebanese Central Bank governor Riad Salameh.