Economy and trade

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik pose during a meeting with business leaders in Paris on June 29, 2026.

Oman's sultan meets Macron in first France visit since 1989: What to know

French President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing against any form of toll for the Strait of Hormuz.

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

Oil falls below $74 as Hormuz traffic recovers after Iran war

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Explainer

Lebanon advances controversial $500K golden visa law: What to know

A picture shows the four seasons hotel in Beirut with the snow covered mountain of Sannine in the background on March 8, 2019.

Explainer

Qatar blast underscores challenges in race to restart Gulf energy flows

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

Interview

US-Egypt fund makes case for economic statecraft in hard power era

A worker counts banknotes after filling up the tank of a vehicle at a petrol station in Giza on March 10, 2026.

Cornelius Queen

Cornelius Queen

Senior Vice President of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund

Turkish and Syrian students prepare food in a kitchen,. as part of the "Mutfakta Umut Var - Hope in the Kitchen" project attended by Turkish and Syrian youths, Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 8, 2020.

EU looks to boost Syrian businesses in Turkey

Many Syrian refugees are working in Turkey without work permits, and the European Union is trying to support their small businesses.

A man retrieves newly circulating Tunisian bank notes from an ATM, Tunis, Tunisia, March 27, 2020.

Tunisia’s political crisis forewarns economic collapse

Economists are sounding the alarm about a possible economic collapse in Tunisia, urging for reforms to revive the economy that had been suffering since 2011 amid political instability.

Beirut protest

US to give $67 million to Lebanon’s military as violence erupts in Beirut

The Lebanese army deployed in the streets of the capital after at least six people were shot dead during violent protests.

Ankara looks other way as money flows to tax havens

A Turkish law passed in 2006 to tackle money transfers to tax havens remains inapplicable on the ground due to Ankara’s failure to name the countries it considers as tax havens.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, New York, Sept. 21, 2021.

Egypt seeks Brazil’s support in Nile dam dispute

After Brazil was elected a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council, Brazilian support for Egypt in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis gained momentum.

Iran Lebanon

Iran offers big promises to help rebuild Lebanese economy

Meeting one Lebanese official after another, Iran's top diplomat announced substantial pledges for Lebanon's energy crisis, as foreign players are jostling each other for influence in the Arab country.

Knesset

Fragile Israeli government braces for chill as Knesset winter term begins

The Knesset’s winter session, which opened yesterday, is expected to test the precarious coalition of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Ahmad Vahidi (interior ministry), Esmail Khatib (intelligence ministry), and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (foreign ministry) attend a parliament session in the capital Tehran on Aug. 21, 2021.

Iran's foreign minister says economy won’t be tied to nuclear talks

Iran’s new foreign minister said the country is serious about the nuclear talks but wants seriousness from the other side as well.

A woman walks past a SoftBank sign, Tokyo, Japan, May 12, 2021.

Saudi-linked SoftBank invests heavily in Israel

The investment of SoftBank in Israel and the appointment of former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen as its representative in the country might signal Saudi interests in Israeli technology.

People stand in front of a exchange office at Laleli in Istanbul, on March 22, 2021.

Turkish lira drops to near record lows after Central Bank trims policy rate

The move came following pressure from the Turkish president.

Tankers carrying Iranian fuel arrive from Syria at al-Ain in Hermel in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Sept. 16, 2021.

Lebanon raises fuel prices again

The Lebanese government previously subsidized fuel prices amid the country's worsening economic crisis.

A picture shows daily newspapers on sale at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021. Conservative and reformist newspapers showed rare unity in welcoming results of a conference yesterday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation endorsed Iran's future membership in the bloc.

Iran’s membership in Asian security body won’t solve sanctions problem

While the news that Iran will gain full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a psychological victory for the sanctions-hit country, it will take much more to achieve lasting economic impact.