Banking and Finance

A picture taken from a station of Dubai's Palm Monorail, shows traffic on a road in Palm Jumeirah on August 28, 2025.

World Bank ups Middle East 2025 economic outlook as oil, tourism rebound

The lender expects gross domestic product growth in the region to average 2.8% this year, up from its April forecast of 2.6%.

People walk past a branch of Turkish bank HalkBank on Dec. 1, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Supreme Court clears path for Turkey’s Halkbank trial over Iran sanctions

The Turkish president personally raised the Halkbank case with US President Donald Trump at the White House, as Ankara pushes for a settlement to avoid a drawn-out legal battle.

Installation view of CONVERGE in Seven Contours, One Collection at MACAAL © Ayoub El Bardii.

Marrakech's African Contemporary Art Museum reinvents itself two years after quake

Marking the two-year anniversary of the 2023 earthquake, Marrakech’s Museum of African Contemporary Art highlights the city’s recovery and its growing role as a hub for African art.

PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Blackstone, Abu Dhabi's Lunate set up $5B GCC logistics investment platform

The new platform will capitalize on the growing logistics sector in the Gulf.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

PayPal, UAE's DP World sign MoU to speed digital payments

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

UAE wealth fund ADIA scoops into $18B Haagen-Dazs owner Froneri

United Arab Emirates

What’s next for Saudi Arabia’s budget balancing act as deficit doubles?

A Riyadh Metro train makes its way along a track in the middle of a road in Riyadh on December 3, 2024.

Iran rial hits record low 1.13M to dollar as UN snapback sanctions resume: What to know

Iranians drive next to a billboard displaying pictures of nuclear scientists, centrifuges and a sentence reading in Farsi, "Science is the power," at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on Aug. 29, 2025.

Dubai crypto authority suspends BitOasis

The cryptocurrency platform BitOasis' license was suspended by Dubai's VARA due to noncompliance of licensing requirements.

United Arab Emirates

exterior of the headquarters of the Bank of Israel, the country's central bank, in Kiryat Ben-Gurion in Jerusalem.

Israel pauses interest rate hikes, first time in a year

The Bank of Israel signaled it could raise rates in the future, as inflation remains above the target range.

This picture taken from the sea of Dubai on March 3, 2021 shows the skyline of the Gulf emirate with Burj Khalifa in the centre.

UAE breaks foreign direct investment record as Saudi Arabia sees 59% dip

Israel and the United Arab Emirates led the Middle East and North Africa for the highest FDI inflow — the purchasing of assets in another country — and globally placed 15th and 16th, respectively, according to a UNCTAD report released Wednesday.

United Arab Emirates

The exterior of the headquarters of the Bank of Israel is seen in Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem, Aug. 23, 2022.

Analysis

Israeli government postpones interest rates bill for checking accounts

The postponement of the bill was decided after an unusually harsh letter by Bank of Israel Gov. Amir Yaron, warning such a move would harm the bank's independence.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Men hold a sign showing the face of Ahmed Mutawasilian, a fighter in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was kidnapped and killed in Lebanon in 1981, as they stand upon a podium showing a picture of a burning Israeli flag defaced with footprints during a rally marking Al-Quds Day (Jerusalem), a commemorative day held annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan by an initiative started by late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran on April

Israel: seizure of millions of dollars in crypto linked to Iran IRGC, Hezbollah

The news follows Hamas announcing it will not use Bitcoin anymore and more government scrutiny of cryptocurrency transactions, including by the United States.

Libya cryptomining

Libyan police detain 50 Chinese nationals in crypto farm bust

Media from the Tripoli Attorney General Office’s Facebook page show a dingy-looking, windowless room full of hardware, wires and servers being raided by authorities.

Boats are anchored in the Dubai Creek surrounded by high-rise buildings in the Gult emirate, on February 18, 2023. - Home to towering skyscrapers and ultra-luxury villas, Dubai saw record real estate transactions in 2022, largely due to an influx of wealthy investors, especially from Russia. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Dubai leaps to world’s 7th most expensive city for luxury living, overtaking Paris, Zurich

The UAE finance hub made the top 10 list for the first time in Julius Baer’s global wealth index published Tuesday.

United Arab Emirates

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 16, 2023. (Photo by Ilya PITALEV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by ILYA PITALEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin, MBZ meet in St. Petersburg, vow to boost Russia-UAE ties

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan called for de-escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war and a political resolution.

United Arab Emirates

Dubai free trade zone

Dubai free zone reports 24% increase in Chinese companies

The Dubai Multi Commodities Center has more than 770 Chinese companies in its free trade zone.

United Arab Emirates

Cars drive along a street in front of high-rise buildings in Dubai on Feb. 18, 2023.

UAE ranked first globally in attracting new millionaires in 2022

The UAE had the highest net inflow of millionaires in the world in 2022, while China had the highest net outflow, followed by India and the United Kingdom.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on September 15, 2019 shows the entrance of an Aramco oil facility near al-Khurj area, just south of the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Saudi Arabia raced today to restart operations at oil plants hit by drone attacks which slashed its production by half, as Iran dismissed US claims it was behind the assault. The Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, have claimed thi weekend's strikes on two plants owned by state giant Aramc

Saudi Aramco tops Middle East companies for 2023: Forbes

The Saudi oil giant continues to perform well on the back of oil prices. The list also revealed strong performances by several Moroccan banks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on November 24, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Turkey-UAE honeymoon on horizon after Erdogan's win, economic deals

The UAE-Turkey $40 billion trade agreement ratified in May is an expression of the friendship between the two countries’ leaders, according to experts.

By Salim A. Essaid