Tag: Saudi Arabia

Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Iran reflects an aggressive but unclear strategy, with shifting demands around nuclear concessions and military pressure that lack a coherent endgame…

While Syria’s conflict differs from Libya’s in origins and structure, it faces similar risks of fragmentation, weak governance, and competing armed factions if international engagement fades…

Traditional model — grand pledging conferences followed by sluggish bilateral transfers — is obsolete and must be left behind…

Gulf stock markets rallied in September, following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut and renewed optimism that further rate cuts were to come. Behind the cheer lies a more complicated reality: debt issuance across the Middle East — sovereign, corporate and family-owned — is being delayed, restructured or burdened by high U.S.-imported borrowing costs…

Islamic finance has made much progress over the past two decades across banking, asset management and capital markets. There are now some $5tn of Islamic finance assets in an industry grounded in faith-based principles, according to estimates from the LSEG’s Islamic Finance Development Indicator. But Islamic finance — and in particular equity investing — needs further conversation about how to balance ethical integrity with the financial complexity of today’s world…

As Israel escalates its confrontation with Iran, Donald Trump faces a defining foreign policy test. The choice before him is not between diplomacy and war. Diplomacy has largely been exhausted; war, in some form, is already underway. The real question is more consequential and more concrete: should the United States supply Israel with its most formidable non-nuclear weapon, the 30,000-pound bunker buster, which only America has the air power capability to deliver…

The global sukuk market for Islamic finance faces a pivotal moment. A new framework from the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) threatens to destabilise a $1tn market that has become a vital funding source for sovereigns and corporates across the Middle East, Asia and beyond. The spiritual imperative behind proposed changes to AAOIFI’s Shariah Standard 62 is deeply respected. They seek to make sukuk debt appear less like debt with charged interest, something that is prohibited under Islamic law. However, the real-world effects could fracture a market that has flourished precisely because of its consistency and investor confidence. The stakes for global Islamic finance could not be higher…

If America wants to stay competitive, it must rethink its approach to Africa, and fast…

The United States spends trillions of dollars annually on military and foreign aid. Yet, it lacks the financial tools necessary to secure its economic future. While the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act provide welcome investments in clean energy and semiconductors, they fail to address the more significant, long-term need for sustained and strategic industrial policy. The United States needs a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) — a national investment vehicle capable of turning tax dollars into high-yield returns that can reshape the economy for decades to come…