Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Non-oil economies to see growth converge with the Gulf Following a tumultuous three years since the Arab Spring uprisings, we expect a recovery to finally get underway in the MENA region’s non-oil producers over the next year or so. Growth should be... 23rd January 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update PMIs suggest region ended 2013 on a strong note December's 'whole economy' PMIs for the Middle East and North Africa point towards faster growth in Q4 of last year than in Q3. Encouragingly, Egypt's PMI suggests that the economy is continuing to... 6th January 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian stocks soar to post-Arab Spring high The Egyptian stock market has hit a post-"Arab Spring" high. This comes on the back of signs that the economy may finally be finding its feet as well as recent progress towards fresh elections. 23rd December 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Taking stock of Saudi Arabia’s migrant crackdown Saudi Arabia’s wide-scale crackdown on illegal migrant workers seems unlikely to have the desired effect of raising the employment of Saudi nationals in the private sector. In the short term, it runs... 9th December 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Dubai equities hit five-year high as World Expo vote looms Dubai’s equity market hit a five-year high this month amid growing optimism surrounding the Emirate’s economic rebound. Confidence may be given an extra boost if, as is widely expected, Dubai wins the... 26th November 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Bond markets buoyed by delay to Fed “taper” Bond markets across the MENA region have rallied over the past month as it looks increasingly likely that the US Fed will delay tapering its asset purchases under QE3 until early next year. Elsewhere... 29th October 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Inflation set to stay subdued across most of the region Easing food inflation and a modest dip in core price pressures have caused headline inflation to fall across much of the MENA region over the past few months. We expect inflation to remain benign in... 24th October 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Non-oil economies set for recovery The MENA region’s non-oil economies remain fragile, but a recovery of sorts is likely over the next year. In Egypt, growth will be supported by the government’s Gulf-funded stimulus package, while... 17th October 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s tourism sector bears the brunt of the unrest Tourist arrivals to Egypt have fallen back following the country’s “second revolution” and we estimate that tourist revenues in July and August were $600mn lower than in the same months of last year... 10th October 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Equity markets rebound on back of Syria deal & Fed decision Equity markets have recovered some of their earlier lost ground as concerns overWestern military intervention in Syria, as well as fears of a tapering of QE3 by theUS Federal Reserve, have eased. 25th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update African markets rally as Fed delays tapering The surprise decision by the US Fed to delay the tapering of its asset purchases this month has provided a temporary reprieve for emerging market assets, including those in Africa. In light of this... 23rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt back in the spotlight Investors have lost even more confidence in Egypt over the past month. The equity market has tumbled and, while this could in part be related to signals by the US Fed that it will begin to taper QE3... 24th June 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What would the tapering of QE mean for the MENA region? Fears that the US Fed may begin to taper its third round of quantitative easing (QE) have led to a sell-off in emerging market assets over the past few weeks. The MENA region has escaped relatively... 13th June 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Fears of inflation and unrest to frustrate subsidy reform Subsidies are becoming increasingly unaffordable across the poorer parts of the MENA region. But the threat of higher inflation and social unrest is likely to frustrate efforts at subsidy reform. 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Youth unemployment likely to have risen further Two and a half years on from the Arab Spring uprisings, youth unemployment in the Middle East, which was a key trigger for the unrest, remains high. In fact, we suspect it may have risen over the past... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf growing at a healthy pace Growth in the Gulf economies has held up well over the first few months of this year. Admittedly, the weakness of the global economy is weighing on demand for the region’s hydrocarbon exports. But... 22nd May 2013 · 1 min read