Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Tunisia and Lebanon politics, Saudi corruption drive Political developments in Tunisia and Lebanon this week have raised hopes that policymakers can tackle their respective economic problems, but there remain plenty of reasons for caution. Elsewhere... 3rd September 2020 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Lebanon’s crisis continues to worsen, Tunisian politics The lack of progress in forming a new government in Lebanon has pushed the country further into the depths of it’s economic, humanitarian, and political crises. Social unrest risks boiling over as... 27th August 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Oman’s reshuffle, peace with Israel, Saudi-OPEC The shake-up at Oman’s foreign ministry this week may herald a warming of ties with the rest of the Gulf and pave the way for bilateral financial support. Bahrain is reported to be next in line to... 20th August 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Lebanon’s woes, Oman’s loan to precede Gulf support The resignation of Lebanon’s government is unlikely to result in the political change that protestors are demanding and, with debt restructuring negotiations on hold, bondholders will probably have to... 13th August 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Latest on the Beirut blast, oil price rise The major explosion in Lebanon’s capital city, Beirut, has caused enormous destruction and sadly the disaster will only deepen the country’s economic, humanitarian, and political crises. The high... 6th August 2020 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Dubai GREs, Hezbollah-Israel conflict, peak oil demand The past week has highlighted the strains that the coronavirus crisis has inflicted on some of Dubai’s government-related entities and reinforced our concerns over their ability to service large debts... 30th July 2020 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Gulf rulers’ health, Dubai property downturn Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Kuwait’s Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah were both hospitalised this week, raising questions about a future transition of power in both countries. We doubt that this would... 23rd July 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Tunisia’s political crisis, Kuwait debt, GERD, OPEC+ Political turmoil in Tunisia this week culminated in Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh’s resignation, which will ultimately hold up efforts to secure a new IMF deal and raises the risk of a sovereign debt... 16th July 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Diriyah Gate, UAE banks, migrant workers in the Gulf The construction of the new Diriyah Gate tourist development in Saudi Arabia started in the past couple of weeks, but the plan raises concerns that the authorities are repeating their past mistakes... 9th July 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Dubai GDP, tourism, Egypt & the IMF, Lebanon’s crisis Dubai’s economy contracted sharply in Q1 but more timely figures show that the downturn deepened in Q2 and we expect the recovery to be weak. Elsewhere, the inclusion of Morocco and Tunisia on the EU... 2nd July 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly UAE banks, Kuwait’s savings, Egyptian cafés Reports this week echoed our concerns over the UAE’s banking sector, where non-performing loans were rising even before the onset of the coronavirus crisis. Elsewhere, Kuwait’s government is... 25th June 2020 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Lebanon’s crisis, Egypt-Ethiopia spat, Hajj suspension, Comments this week from the leader of Hezobllah, Hassan Nasrallah, suggest that the Lebanese government is becoming increasingly disillusioned with talks with the IMF and is looking at alternative... 18th June 2020 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt and the IMF, OPEC+ extension, Saudi case surge Egypt’s new IMF deal, coupled with May’s weak consumer price figures, has provided space for the central bank to resume its easing cycle at the MPC meeting later this month. Meanwhile, the extension... 11th June 2020 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Saudi reserves and the PIF, lessons from the EGP fall The recent sharp decline in Saudi Arabia’s foreign exchange reserves reflects, to a large degree, a shift in where the Kingdom holds its foreign assets rather than them being relinquished to prop up... 4th June 2020 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Easing lockdowns, hopes for summer tourist season As Eid al-Fitr celebrations across the Middle East and North Africa draw to a close, a number of countries have started to outline their paths out of stringent coronavirus lockdowns. But with new case... 28th May 2020 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Bailout talks for Dubai, Egyptian pound weakens The past week has provided clear signs of the toll that the coronavirus crisis is taking on Dubai’s economy and negotiations are apparently underway for Abu Dhabi to ride to the rescue. But there is a... 21st May 2020 · 5 mins read
