So far the MBS-Trump summit in Washington has been long on enthusiasm and short on details . Let's see what day 2 brings with the Saudi-US Investment Forum. My wrap on the 1st day of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the US capital www.agbi.com/trade/2025/1...

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s highly anticipated visit to Washington represents both a recognition of Saudi Arabia’s elevated geostrategic role and an opportunity to advance mutual interests in areas from defence to technology - From AGBI www.agbi.com/analysis/eco...

Iraq votes today with its economic outlook uncertain and its electorate disaffected with politicians – yet also with a fragile sense of stability, according to analysts. Via AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/eco...

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund will “exponentially” expand its activity in the US to access advanced technology and support the kingdom’s economic diversification, a senior official said. New in AGBI: www.agbi.com/trade/2025/1...

Saudi Arabia views mining critical minerals and rare earths as central to its Vision 2030 ambitions, but experts say it must move faster and think more creatively to become a global nexus. New in @AGBInsight www.agbi.com/analysis/min...

The Gulf’s AI ambitions inched forward this week after Microsoft came forward as the 1st US company under this Trump administration to win approval to bring Nvidia chips to the UAE. But the breakthrough is short of the sweeping access the region wants www.agbi.com/analysis/ai/...

The BIS rule change does not impact US exports of advanced semiconductors to the Gulf or wider Middle East as those already require Department of Commerce licences under separate technology-based regulations, analysts said. Via AGBI www.agbi.com/trade/2025/1...

AI "is a tsunami hitting the labour market for which I’m not sure we are prepared,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. For AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/ai/...

Some domains, such as advanced technology, have emerged as especially fraught with complexity, as the US in particular works to muscle China out of the Gulf in exchange for its best-in-class offering. From AGBI www.agbi.com/analysis/tra...

Economy and trade minister Amer Bisat said his country’s macroeconomic situation remains “abnormal,” adding “this is not the Lebanon we want”. In AGBI: www.agbi.com/economy/2025...

Syria has launched a global charm offensive to persuade investors it is open for business, reconstruction and development after 13 years of civil war left the country in ruins. For AGBI: www.agbi.com/construction...

“Large, sustained increases in debt, if they do not include productive public investments, are simply a tax that we are imposing on the next generation without actually giving them the tool to repay it,” Al-Jadaan said on Tuesday. For AGBI www.agbi.com/economy/2025...

The IMF sounded an almost optimistic note on growth in MENA, despite the global tariff war. “This largely reflects developments in GCC countries, in particular Saudi Arabia, where the unwinding of oil production cuts was faster than expected, and Egypt." www.agbi.com/economy/2025...

Investors and brands from both Europe and the US, basketball’s traditional home bases, are upping engagement with the region and using it as an experimental ground for how to grow their global footprints. From AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/bus...

An IMF official said that Jordan is “on track” to receive nearly $250 million in financing under two loan programmes as the government presses ahead with needed reforms to its tax system, labor market, utilities sector, and more. From AGBI: www.agbi.com/economy/2025...

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours are emerging as key players in a US push to secure critical and rare earth minerals, according to industry experts. From AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/min...

Unsurprisingly the UAE passed the latest IMF check with flying colors. But there are warnings around a possible bubble in real estate and a runaway virtual assets industry - In AGBI: www.agbi.com/economy/2025...

A love affair is growing between American companies and Abu Dhabi www.agbi.com/trade/2025/1...

The US government shutdown may not have any outsized implications for Gulf investors immediately, but it is not a good look for a country that is seeking to attract hundreds of billions of dollars in FDI from the GCC over the coming years: www.agbi.com/analysis/fin...

Family conglomerates, state-linked companies & Gulf-based multinationals with significant presence in the EU are among the entities within the scope of the bloc's new ESG reporting requirements expected to come into force in 2028. My latest for AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/sus...

Which options may best suit Gulf investors and their families will depend on how Trump’s guidelines are ultimately implemented: www.agbi.com/analysis/lif...

The “best of the best” always had and will continue to have their pick of where they want to live, and a $100,000 fee will not make a difference to them or their large employers. Via AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/emp...

Tom Barrack, the American ambassador to Turkey, told reporters in Washington “the deal is done”, but did not immediately provide additional information. www.agbi.com/aviation/202...

“What we have now, what we have built in the last 30 years, 50 percent of it will come to markets in the next five years,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. From AGBI: www.agbi.com/energy/2025/...

“Dubai’s bubble risk has surged since 2022 amid an economic boom, leaving the market looking increasingly overheated,” the study found. www.agbi.com/real-estate/...

The IMF warned that Kuwait's economy was still “heavily exposed in the short run to upside and downside risks from shifts in oil prices and Opec+ production quotas" arising "from fluctuations in global growth, geopolitical tensions or non-Opec+ supply”. www.agbi.com/economy/2025...

The US should seize its “fleeting” advantage over China in best-in-class semiconductors and “secure its place as the kingdom’s preferred AI partner” by formalising the Nvidia-Humain deal. For AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/tec...

Lower rates in the Gulf are expected to support corporate lending, mortgage borrowing and the private sector’s role in economic diversification, without some of the downside risks they might have in the US, analysts told AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/eco...

The Jordanian rail link is its “core overland spine” and would “knit” the Gulf to the Mediterranean, said Racha Helwa, a senior economist who has worked for the Egyptian government. For AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/log...

As another deadline for TikTok's divestment in the US comes and goes, Trump’s announcement that a deal with China is within reach leaves many unanswered questions for creators, users & investors in the Gulf and around the world. From AGBI www.agbi.com/analysis/tec...

Chinese companies are well-known for their reach across Africa. But their Turkish competitors are increasingly going toe-to-toe with them as they jump on opportunities quickly and bring a more diverse array of financing options. My latest for AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/tra...

The region is positioned to benefit from lower US rates, from equity markets to corporate lending to mortgage borrowing. For AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/eco...

Hospitality in the GCC is embracing sustainability, but consumers can struggle to tell real ecotourism from corporate greenwashing in a region with heavy energy & water consumption. As you plan that winter vacay, here are some thoughts. From AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/tou...

“There are a lot of synergies and mutual benefits that can happen between the two countries because of the needs of Saudi Arabia and because of the needs of American companies to grow outside the US" - My latest for @AGBInsight www.agbi.com/analysis/foo...

When Saudi Arabia’s PIF upped its Bank of America investments in the first half of this year, the 2026 Fifa World Cup might well have been on its mind. My latest for AGBI on KSA's approach to the soccer (oops, football) World Cup next year. www.agbi.com/analysis/bus...

Guyana went to the polls this week in an election that revolved fully around how the govt should handle massive new oil riches. Gulf states, with their deep expertise on oil-fueled development and sovereign funds, may have a role to play. For @AGBInsight www.agbi.com/analysis/oil...

Real estate and tax advisers in Saudi Arabia are seeing a rush of enquiries from landowners and developers responding to tougher government rules on undeveloped plots www.agbi.com/analysis/rea...

Jewelry, industrial have boosted the lab-grown diamond trade through Dubai, says Ahmed Bin Sulayem, @DMCCAuthority exec chairman/CEO. But the real potential is in semiconductors and quantum computing. Via AGBI www.agbi.com/analysis/man...

There had been questions as to whether the new “America First” administration would back a project so distant from its borders. My latest for AGBI from an @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social event: www.agbi.com/trade/2025/0...

“Every turbine, every solar field is being reassessed,” says Mohammed Soliman of the Middle East Institute. “If the return on powering a data centre is higher than electrolysing water, the market – and governments – will follow.” www.agbi.com/analysis/ene...

As Gulf states await clarity on the licensing regime that will regulate imports of hundreds of thousands of promised US next-gen semiconductors, the White House’s deal with Nvidia and AMD to sell less advanced microchips to China offers some reassurances www.agbi.com/analysis/tec...

Amid a tight market for top-notch office spaces in Dubai and Riyadh, established firms and new entrants are after larger footprints as they expand business while consolidating their real estate portfolios. My latest for AGBI: www.agbi.com/real-estate/...

Dubai wants more tourists just as they wear out their welcome in Barcelona, Amsterdam and Venice for putting pressure on real estate, infrastructure, services. I spoke to overtourism experts for AGBI about what Dubai should do before it's too late. www.agbi.com/analysis/tou...

The lack of a regulatory regime for geothermal limits growth, but Saudi Arabia’s “world-renowned oil production and industry, rising data demand, and sovereign wealth funds create a long-term prospect for diversification.” www.agbi.com/analysis/ren... www.agbi.com/analysis/ren...

Saudi Arabia's search for lithium now extends across Australia, Europe and Latin America, as well as domestically. What's next? My latest for AGBI: www.agbi.com/analysis/min...

An increasingly sophisticated global audience for halal meat is driving a supply rejig. Established players like Brazil are expanding, new entrants in Eastern Europe/Latin America are making fresh plays. All with a focus on health, food security and trust - www.agbi.com/analysis/agr...

Hot off the press: www.agbi.com/energy/2025/...

“A 1 percent tax on US-origin remittances effectively skims off money that would otherwise fill grocery baskets in Amman or pay electricity bills in Tunis." www.agbi.com/analysis/tax...

Copper prices are hovering at record highs as a result of global market dynamics and new US tariff threats, and the effect is being felt across the already heated construction sectors of the GCC: www.agbi.com/analysis/ind...

As part of his aggressive use of tariffs, Trump is targeting the transshipment of goods through third countries that enjoy lower rates on exports to the US. This could turn into a very complex policy for the US to implement, and especially controversial www.agbi.com/analysis/tra...