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  • Journey of a lifetime
     

    To say that I was excited to be in the presence of such history would be an understatement. I had been looking forward to this trip for months and was absolutely beside myself. My purpose was to travel with my mother to Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah, a mini version of the annual Hajj […]

     
  • Al-Qaida’s wretched utopia and the battle for hearts and minds
     

    Driving east out of Aden, we were just a few hundred metres past the last army checkpoint when we saw the black al-Qaida flag. It flew from the top of a concrete building that had been part-demolished by shelling. From here into the interior, all signs of control by the government of Yemen disappeared. This […]

     
  • Positive Steps: Interview with Saudi Minister of Finance Al Assaf
     

    The industrial sector is the real excitement for us, which is growing at a rate of 15 per­cent, which is not a joke. The other one is service sector, like the financial services or the restaurant and hotels or other services in the economy. A particular sector that we are excited about is the mineral […]

     
  • “Milestone” oil manipulation case unsettles traders
     

    U.S. regulators’ $14 million settlement with high-frequency trading firm Optiver over oil price manipulation in 2007 is a “milestone” victory in their toughening stance on market malfeasance which is being closely watched by traders. In its first major case against an algorithmic trader, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said late on Thursday that a court […]

     
  • Home boom aids Saudi Telecom profit surge
     

    Soaring demand for broadband helped Saudi Telecom Co (STC) post a 60 percent increase in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, with the former monopoly reporting rising revenues in its mobile, fixed line, corporate and wholesale units. The former monopoly, which will pay a quarterly dividend of 0.5 riyals per share, made a profit of 2.52 billion […]

     
  • US and Saudi team up for renewable energy projects
     

    The United States and Saudi Arabia are prepared to sign a number of deals related to the establishment of investment and service projects depending on renewable energy resources, Arab News reported. US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services, Nicole Lamb, said the US would support the Kingdom on its drive to develop clean […]

     
  • The arms spending map of the world
     

    How much do countries spend on their militaries? This data from the Stockholm International Peace research Institute shows the world in arms spending – both in dollars over time and as a percentage of GDP.

     
  • Major Banks Expanding in Saudi Arabia
     

    “We’d be crazy to limit ourselves to a handful of bankers when we can see oil prices are going to sustain the Saudi economy for the foreseeable future,” Rory Gilbert, the head of Middle East and North Africa at London-based Barclays’s wealth management unit, said in an interview this week in Dubai. “In four or […]

     
  • A Nuclear Iran: CNN
     

    What do we really know about the Iranian nuclear threat?  Iran says it wants the right to have its peaceful nuclear program formally recognized.  But from the outside, Iran has long given the impression it has something to hide.  And fear that Iran may soon have the capability to build a nuclear weapon, has spurred […]

     
  • The Menu of Options in the Iranian Nuclear Talks
     

    For the first time in more than a year and a half, negotiators from Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the U.S., Russia, China, France and England, plus Germany – will sit down with their Iranian counterparts this Friday in Istanbul to talk about […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Emerging Markets Navigate Global Interest Rate Volatility

    Global interest rates in recent months have gone on a rollercoaster, especially those on longer-term government bonds. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries are climbing again after pulling back from a 16-year high of 5 percent in October. Interest rate moves in other advanced economies had been equally prodigious. Emerging market economies, however, saw much milder rate moves. We take a longer-term perspective on this in our latest Global Financial Stability Report, demonstrating that the average sensitivity to US interest rates of 10-year sovereign yield of Latin American and Asian emerging markets declined by two-thirds and two-fifths, respectively, during the current monetary policy tightening cycle compared with the taper tantrum in 2013.

  • Starbucks’ CEO says the Israel-Hamas war hurt sales — but keeps his stance vague

    Starbucks has faced criticism for its messaging about the conflict in Gaza. After a New York store was painted with pro-Palestine graffiti, customers accused the company of standing against Israel. More criticism followed when Starbucks’ Workers United, the national union for the company’s baristas, posted a pro-Palestine statement on Instagram, sparking customer boycotts. The company sued the union over the post, saying it received more than 1,000 complaints from customers about the post and suffered “property damage, threats, and calls for a boycott.”

  • Saudi Hospitals Top Middle East and Africa According to ‘Brand Finance’ Ranking

    Saudi hospitals maintained their top position in the Middle East and Africa for the second consecutive year in the global ranking of the best 250 hospitals for 2024, according to "Brand Finance." The ranking included seven Saudi hospitals, with five of them ranking among the top 100 globally. Leading the list of Saudi hospitals is King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), which retained its top position in the local and regional healthcare sector. Mayo Clinic, an American hospital, claimed the top spot in the ranking, with the United States dominating 11 positions among the top 25 hospitals. The list also included several European hospitals.

  • PGA Tour lands $3B investment from U.S. group as Saudi talks continue

    The PGA Tour signed a $3 billion investment agreement with a consortium led by Fenway Sports Group, as talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund remain ongoing. Why it matters: This will allow the pro golf group to beef up its commercial business and provide a financial stake to players. Details: The deal will see Strategic Sports Group become a minority investor in the newly-created PGA Tour Enterprises, a for-profit entity that will manage the PGA's commercial business.

  • World Defense Show 2024: Kalashnikov to unveil new UAV in Riyadh

    The new SKAT 350 M reconnaissance UAS will be unveiled at the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia next week. The UAV has been based on the design on the Supercam 350 UAS but features improved aerodynamic properties and ground control system. The platforms have been designed and manufactured by Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern JSC. The SKAT 350 M has been designed for aerial surveillance and detection in optical and infrared ranges with improved payload options.

  • Saudis Resume US Defense Talks After Pause From Israel-Hamas War

    Discussions took place in the town of Alula in northwestern Saudi Arabia between de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and US senators earlier this month, said the people, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. On the agenda was a revival of earlier negotiations about a defense pact that would also have included an historic tie-up between Saudi Arabia and Israel, they said.

  • South Korea beat Saudi Arabia on penalties to reach Asian Cup last eight

    South Korea beat Saudi Arabia 4-2 in a penalty shootout to advance to the Asian Cup quarter-finals after a thrilling last-16 tie ended 1-1 after extra time at Education City Stadium on Tuesday.
    After South Korea's Cho Gue-sung equalised in second-half added time to cancel out Abdullah Radif's opener, Sami Al-Najei and Abdulrahman Ghareeb had their penalties saved by Jo Hyeon-Woo to send South Korea through.

  • Saudi Arabia Eyes Reviving Multibillion Dollar Aramco Share Sale

    The kingdom is working with a group of advisers and is seeking to potentially raise at least 40 billion riyals ($10 billion) from the share sale on the Saudi stock exchange, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. A successful deal would bring in funds for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious push to diversify the economy.

    Plans for the new sale comes four years after Saudi Arabia raised about $30 billion in Aramco’s initial public offering, which was the world’s largest ever stock sale. MBS, as the crown prince is called, has increased his spending ambitions since as he pumps huge amounts of money into the new development Neom, tourism, sports and other projects.

  • Israel pounds Gaza, regional tensions high as Hamas studies ceasefire proposal

    Israeli forces pounded areas in northern and southern Gaza on Wednesday after Hamas said it had received and was studying a new proposal for a ceasefire and release of hostages held in the Palestinian enclave.
    The proposal, presented to the Palestinian militant group by mediators after talks with Israel, appeared to be the most serious peace initiative for months in the Israel-Hamas war.
    World powers hope to prevent a wider conflict, but tensions in the Middle East remained high after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they would keep attacking U.S. and British warships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians.

  • Neom to tender $8bn community housing PPP deal

    Saudi Arabia’s Neom is preparing to issue the request for proposals (RFP) for a contract to develop the second wave of its public-private partnership (PPP) housing deals for worker accommodation. According to a source familiar with the project, the second-wave community village scheme will include up to 20 villages, each comprising about 10,000 accommodation units. MEED understands the budget for each village could be $400m-$450m, which means the overall project could be worth over $8bn. Each village has a built-up area of 240,000 square metres.