RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s 84-year-old ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has been admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh, suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder, state news agency SPA said on Monday. The king, who has ruled the world’s larg... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Famed for snapping up glitzy real estate and stakes in troubled international banks during the global financial crisis, sovereign wealth funds are investing more at home, a trend set to accelerate in the wake of the economic carnage wrought ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) (8306.T) expects countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to be in deep recession this year with overall real GDP contracting 3.7% from a previous growth forecast of 2.9%. Th... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday after major producers finally agreed their biggest-ever output cut, but gains were capped amid concern that it won’t be enough to head off oversupply with the coronavirus pandemic hammering demand. After four day... More »
BAKU/DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – OPEC and allies led by Russia agreed on Sunday to a record cut in output to prop up oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic in an unprecedented deal with fellow oil nations, including the United States, that could curb global oil... More »
CAIRO (Reuters) – Iraq’s oil minister said late on Sunday that the big oil cut deal reached at an OPEC+ meeting would help stabilize the market. Thamer al-Ghadhban said in a statement that the “massive oil cut deal will help lower oil inventories and boost pri... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – United Arab Emirates agriculture technology start-up Pure Harvest Smart Farms has raised $20.6 million in fresh funding and secured commitments for a further $100 million, it said on Monday. Wafra International, an investment firm owned by th... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Deep oil output cuts by OPEC and other producing nations would not be enough to prevent a huge build in global crude inventories in the second quarter as measures to contain the coronavirus lead to “unprecedented” demand loss, the head of th... More »
DUBAI/LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – OPEC and allies are working on a deal for an unprecedented production cut equivalent to around 10% of global supply, an OPEC source said after U.S. President Donald Trump called on oil nations to stop the oil rout caused by the ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) Disney+ content will be available for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa on regional pay television and online streaming service provider OSN from April 9. Dubai-headquartered OSN has signed a “long-te... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would get involved in the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia at the appropriate time, saying low gasoline prices were good for U.S. consumers even as they were hurting the indust... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait’s Health Ministry announced 10 new cases of coronavirus in the country on Monday bringing the total number to 56, a ministry official said. The official, who was speaking during a news conference broadcast on state television, urged ci... More »
BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) – Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew on Monday after sharp rises in new cases reported in Iran, Italy and South Korea but China relaxed restrictions on movements in several places including Beijing as its rates of new infections eased... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait and Bahrain on Monday recorded their first new coronavirus cases, all involving people who had visited Iran, which has reported 43 cases of the disease, state media said. Kuwait detected the virus in three people among 700 who had been... More »
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq has shut its Safwan border crossing with Kuwait to travellers and trade at Kuwait’s request, the local mayor told Reuters on Monday without providing a reason, amid fears over the spread of coronavirus. Kuwait said on Monday three ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait said on Monday three people, including a Saudi national, who returned from Iran were infected by the new coronavirus, state news agency KUNA reported. The three cases, the first in the Gulf state, were among the 700 people evacuated fr... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund estimates that Kuwait’s financing needs will amount to some $180 billion over the next six years given the Gulf state’s “modest” fiscal measures and expectations of lower oil prices. Kuwait said earlier this mo... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Oman’s energy minister Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhy told Reuters on Monday he fully supported Saudi Arabia’s readiness to react to any impact the new coronavirus could have on the oil market. “Oman fully supports the statement (and the spirit)... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco met investors in Dubai on Sunday to market its initial public offering (IPO), after trying to secure demand from Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund for the deal, worth up to $25.6 billion, which relies heavily on local and regional b... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways (JAZK.KW) is unhappy with delivery delays of Airbus (AIR.PA) aircraft and has no plans to place an order at this week’s Dubai Airshow, its chief executive said. Airbus and Boeing (BA.N) are vying for an order of up to... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States was “locked and loaded” for a potential response to the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, after a senior U.S. administration official said Iran was to blame. Trump also ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – An Iranian tanker sailed through the Mediterranean toward Greece on Monday after it was released from detention off Gibraltar, and Tehran said that any at U.S. move to seize the vessel again would have “heavy consequences”. The Grace 1, renam... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – MSCI Inc said on Tuesday it would upgrade Kuwaiti equities to its main emerging markets index in 2020, a move that could trigger billions of dollars of inflows from passive funds. The index compiler will include the MSCI Kuwait index in the e... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia plans to cut its crude oil exports in April to below 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while keeping its output “well below” 10 million bpd, a Saudi official said on Monday, as the kingdom seeks to drain a supply glut and support ... More »
(Reuters) – Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has been re-elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for an eighth term despite being embroiled in a forgery case brought by Swiss investigators. The long-serving Kuwaiti, a powerful ally of Internationa... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait will not implement value-added tax before 2021 but will push ahead with introducing excise tax, parliament’s budget committee said in a statement posted on the assembly’s website on Tuesday. “The committee said implementation of value-... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to cut prices for all crude grades it sells to Asia in May to reflect weaker prices for its Middle East benchmark Dubai crude, trade sources said on Monday. The official selling price (OSP) for fl... More »
An employee shows the logo of ride-hailing company Careem on his mobile in his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah July 17, 2017. Picture taken July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman DUBAI (Reuters) – Careem, a Middle East competitor to Uber Technologies... More »
Filipino workers who were repatriated from Kuwait take part in a dialogue with a Department of Labour official at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Erik De Castro MANILA (Reuters) – More than ... More »
A oil pump is seen at sunset outside Scheibenhard, near Strasbourg, France, October 6, 2017 . REUTERS/Christian Hartmann LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Friday, following an agreement by OPEC and other major producers to extend output curbs until the end... More »
FILE PHOTO: Equipment used to process carbon dioxide, crude oil and water is seen at an Occidental Petroleum Corp enhanced oil recovery project in Hobbs, New Mexico, U.S. on May 3, 2017. Picture taken on May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo SINGAPOR... More »
Saudi Arabia embarked on an anti-corruption purge on Sunday involving the arrest of royals, ministers and investors including billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the kingdom's most prominent businessmen. More »
State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines said it will start flying regularly to Iraq on Monday after a 27-year halt, state news agency SPA said. More »
Nearly one million Rohingya refugees who have fled violence in Myanmar are now in Bangladesh, which is an "untenable situation", Bangladesh told a U.N. meeting on Monday. More »
Oil prices came under pressure from a strong dollar, but kept most of their gains from the previous session as major producers meeting in Vienna said the market was well on its way towards rebalancing. More »
British luxury sportscar maker Aston Martin is looking to get more engaged in Formula One, chief executive Andy Palmer said on Sunday amid speculation of a title partnership with Red Bull and future engine involvement. More »
The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expre More »
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would discuss trade and military issues with the emir of Kuwait at the White House on Thursday, as well as tensions over Qatar. More »
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, speaks at an event at Chatham House in London, Britain July 17, 2017. The United Arab Emirates was not responsible for an alleged hack of Qatari websites which helped spark a mo... More »
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Qatar Petroleum is seen at its headquartes in Doha, Qatar, July 8, 2017. Picture taken July 8, 2017. Qatar’s tensions with its neighbors are making world markets edgy about any hint of financial instability among the Gulf economies, who... More »
FILE PHOTO: Hosain Rahman, CEO and co-founder of Jawbone, speaks during the Samsung keynote with Jawbone products displayed in the background at the International Consumer Electronics show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada January 5, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Consum... More »
A traveler walks past a sign for Royal Jordanian airline at JFK International Airport in New York, U.S., March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson Royal Jordanian and Kuwait Airways are the latest Middle East carriers to be exempted from an in-cabin ban on laptops... More »
FILE PHOTO: A man walks on the corniche in Doha, Qatar, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon/File Photo Qatar on Friday dismissed as “baseless” accusations that it was financing terrorism, in its first public response to a statement from four Arab states whic... More »
FILE PHOTO – An illustration picture shows a laptop on the screen of an X-ray security scanner, April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic/Illustration/File Photo A three-month-old ban on taking electronic devices such as laptops onto aircraft cabins on flights f... More »
FILE PHOTO: Emirates aircraft are seen at Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Ashraf Mohammad/File Photo Emirates [EMIRA.UL], the Middle East’s largest airline, said on Wednesday the in-cabin ban on laptops and other large e... More »
FILE PHOTO: Passengers wait for check-in U.S. bound flights at a Turkish Airlines counter at Ataturk International airport in Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer Turkish Airlines (THYAO.IS) expects a ban on carrying electronic devices in cabi... More »
U.S. President Donald Trump waves at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland as he returns back from Bedminster, New Jersey to participate in the Celebrate Freedom Rally in Washington, July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas U.S. President Donald Trump spoke separately to the ... More »
FILE PHOTO: Employees of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) work at the bourse in Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Issei Kato Asian stocks held two-years highs on Monday, starting the new month on a solid footing after two quarters of gains while expectatio... More »
A mosque is seen alone a coastline in Doha, Qatar, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon Four Arab states boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism have sent Doha a list of 13 demands including closing Al Jazeera television and reducing ties to their... More »
Qatar’s Finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi speaks during a briefing on the financial outlook for Qatar, in Doha, Qatar, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon Qatar can easily defend its economy and currency against sanctions by other Arab states, Qatari f... More »
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with the leader... More »
Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi speaks during a media conference with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih (not pictured) in Baghdad, Iraq, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said on Thursday that extending t... More »
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said on Thursday he did not expect OPEC oil producers to discuss any deepening of their oil output reduction target at a meeting where extending the length of the deal is on the agenda. More »
OPEC President, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo talk to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017.... More »
A logo of Emaar is seen near the Dubai Mall March 16, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah Emaar Malls will buy a 51 percent stake in e-commerce fashion website Namshi from Global Fashion Group, a firm backed by Rocket Internet, for $151 million, a sign of growing dem... More »
A gas station attendant pumps fuel into a customer’s car at PetroChina’s petrol station in Beijing, China, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Oil prices regained some ground on Thursday after steep losses the previous day, as Kuwait said it expected an OPE... More »
The OPEC flag and the OPEC logo are seen before a news conference in Vienna, Austria, October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger Kuwait’s oil minister Essam al-Marzouq said on Thursday he expected a global pact to cut oil supplies to be extended beyond June, su... More »
FILE PHOTO: A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo Oil prices were little changed in modest volume on Thursday, during a week in which crude benchmarks rec... More »
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei takes a selfie with women at the Islamic Art Museum in Doha, Qatar, April 11, 2017. Picture taken April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tom Finn Chinese artist Ai Weiwei called on wealthy Gulf Arab states to take in more Syrians displaced ... More »
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Equities in world markets edged higher on Thursday, led by gains on Wall Street after an upward revision to U.S. economic growth, whil... More »
Shaybah oilfield complex is seen at night in the Rub’ al-Khali desert, Saudi Arabia, November 14, 2007. REUTERS/ Ali Jarekji/File Photo Saudi Arabia’s crude exports to the United States in March will fall by around 300,000 barrels per day from February, in lin... More »
FILE PHOTO – Pump jacks drill for oil in the Monterey Shale, California, U.S. on April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Oil prices climbed on Thursday after sharp losses the session before, buoyed by strong compliance with touted international produ... More »
Some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds are increasingly striking their own private equity deals rather than relying on external fund managers, in a drive to cut costs and gain more control. More »
FILE PHOTO: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his cou... More »
FILE PHOTO – A drop of diesel is seen at the tip of a nozzle after a fuel station customer fills her car’s tank in Sint Pieters Leeuw December 5, 2014. REUTERS/Yves Herman Oil slipped further below $56 a barrel on Wednesday as an industry report showing a larg... More »
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani presides over a meeting of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, in Tehran, Iran February 7, 2017. President.ir/Handout via REUTERS Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Oman and Kuwait on Wednesday, state media repo... More »
A gas station attendant pumps fuel into a customer’s car at PetroChina’s petrol station in Beijing, China, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Oil prices were stable on Monday on signs that OPEC-led production cuts were reducing global overproduc... More »
Qatar Energy Minister Mohammed Al-Sada said on Sunday that even with an increase in drilling rigs, the oil market is likely to reach a balance as producers implement agreed output cuts. More »
A soldier patrols in front of the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader A committee set up to monitor oil output cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC producers will me... More »
A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader OPEC and non-OPEC countries have made a strong start to loweri... More »
Rigging equipment is pictured in a field outside of Sweetwater, Texas June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Cooper Neill Oil prices fell by one percent on Monday as a higher U.S. rig count unsettled markets amid nagging concern that output cuts, planned as part of concerted a... More »
Prominent Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar said on Sunday he had teamed up with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other private investors to launch a $1 billion Middle Eastern-focused e-commerce platform. More »
The building of Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications Co is seen at the Smart Village in the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, October 27, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat have requested fourth-generation mobile phone service licenses in Egypt, an o... More »
A person touches the south reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 11, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly The Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on... More »
By Mary Milliken | RIO DE JANEIRO RIO DE JANEIRO As Italian rifle shooter Niccolo Campriani reveled in his second gold medal in the Olympic Games on Sunday, he paused to express some sadness. For him, the “greatest shooter of the century,” Matt Emmons, had not... More »
DUBAI Authorities in the Gulf Arab states of Kuwait and United Arab Emirates on Friday warned of security dangers to playing the wildly successful new smartphone app Pokemon GO. Users must resist the urge to point camera phones at Pikachu popping out in front ... More »
DOHA A deal to freeze oil output by OPEC and non-OPEC producers fell apart on Sunday after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices. The development will revive oil industry fears that ... More »
LONDON Iran has managed to sell only modest volumes of oil to Europe since the lifting of sanctions seven weeks ago and several former buyers are staying away, citing legal complications and Tehran’s reluctance to sweeten terms to win back customers. Tehran ha... More »
DUBAI Iran took steps on Monday to try to limit the diplomatic damage from an attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran by an angry mob, laying blame on a top security official and saying some of those who carried out the attack were being interrogated. Irani... More »
MOSCOWRussia and Iran have signed a contract for Moscow to supply Tehran with S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, Sergei Chemezov, the chief executive of Russian state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying on Monday. ... More »
VIENNA/MUNICH Austria said on Sunday it planned to end emergency measures that have allowed thousands of refugees stranded in Hungary into Austria and Germany since Saturday and move step by step “towards normality”. Austria had suspended its random border che... More »
KUALA LUMPUR As the candidates hoping to succeed FIFA’s outgoing president Sepp Blatter continue to lobby for support, the political kingmaker who could have a big influence on who gets the job says world soccer has more to worry about than picking its next bo... More »
SINGAPORE Oil prices rose on Monday following fighting in Iraq and Yemen, but Iranian comments that OPEC was unlikely to cut output as well as signs of strengthening U.S. production capped gains. Front-month Brent futures LCOc1 were up 1 percent, or 65 cents, ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said he would have a “tough conversation” with America’s Gulf Arab allies in which he would promise strong U.S. support against external enemies but tell them they must address internal political challenges. In an ... More »
