Gulf Countries

What Wall Street never understood about Gulf investors and their priorities

Wall Street must move beyond treating the Gulf as one market as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar chart increasingly divergent investment paths

Gulf crude exports jump in July but shipments slowing on latest hostilities

Gulf crude exports hit their highest level since before the Iran conflict, but renewed fighting is slowing tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

Gulf nations race to build oil routes beyond Hormuz amid Iran conflict

As tensions with Iran expose the risks of the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf nations are investing in new pipelines and ports to secure oil exports and reduce dependence on the key waterway

Trump steps back from proposal for Hormuz fees in favour of Gulf deals

Donald Trump abandoned plans to impose a 20 per cent fee on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, saying he would instead seek trade and investment deals with Gulf states

Steady, stable as she goes: India and the economic fallout of Gulf conflict

The Gulf conflict tested one kind of resilience; the years ahead will test others. India met the first test in good order. That is a reason for quiet confidence - and for getting on with the next

Rubio hails US-Gulf Arab unity despite region's concerns about Iran deal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that relations between the United States and its Gulf Arab partners are rock solid, despite fears by some of them that they might be left out of discussions aimed at ending the war with Iran. Rubio used a three-day, three-nation trip to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain this week to try to convince all the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council that the Trump administration does indeed have their backs in negotiations to end the war President Donald Trump and Israel launched on Feb. 28. That conflict sharply curtailed the region's oil exports and saw several Gulf countries take direct retaliatory Iranian missile and drone hits. "They've shared with us some very concrete concerns, ideas," Rubio said in Bahrain, the last stop on the trip. "And when I say concern, the biggest concern is that they really just want to be informed every step along the way as we enter these negotiations at both the technical and political ...

As Hormuz reopens, Gulf oil fields gear up for a restart visible from space

Energy executives across the Gulf are working to restore oil production and shipping after the US-Iran interim peace deal reopened the world's most critical oil transit route

Can Modi-Trump meet on at G7 summit help reset strained India-US relations?

Geopolitical tensions in West Asia are driving Gulf-based NRIs towards Indian term insurance plans, attracted by lower premiums and GST exemptions

War effect: Gulf-based NRIs double down on Indian term life plans

Geopolitical tensions in West Asia are driving Gulf-based NRIs towards Indian term insurance plans, attracted by lower premiums and GST exemptions

MEA summons US envoy again over attacks on ships carrying Indians

India lodged a strong protest with the US over attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian seafarers, while the UN and Iran condemned the incidents

Iran could trigger 'nuclear arms race' in West Asia, says J D Vance

US Vice President J D Vance has said Iran having an atomic weapon would trigger a "nuclear arms race" worldwide and asserted that the US was "locked and loaded" to restart military operations if Tehran failed to reach a peace deal. Vance's remarks at a press conference at the White House on Tuesday came a day after President Donald Trump put off the decision to resume strikes on Iran at the request of Arab nations, including Qatar and the UAE, who said that Tehran was being "reasonable" in peace talks. "We think the Iranians want to make a deal. The president of the United States has asked us to negotiate in good faith. And that's exactly what we've done," the vice president said. But Vance warned that diplomacy will not come at the cost of Trump's key demand that Iran never obtain a nuclear weapon. "So as the president just told me, we're locked and loaded," Vance said, adding that he had a meeting with Trump before coming to the press briefing. "We don't want to go down that ...

Luxury giants slump as West Asia demand seizes up due to prolonged war

Shoppers in the West Asia are some of the world's biggest spenders, splashing out at retail hubs like Dubai and other luxury destinations including Paris and Milan

Luxury watch industry faces fresh headwinds as Iran war dents demand

The bling is back, but the war in the Persian Gulf has tarnished the outlook for the luxury watch industry - the ultimate in bling. Starting Tuesday, Geneva hosts the annual "Watches and Wonders" fair, a premiere gathering in an industry eager for a rebound after two years of market contraction, hopefully including sales in oil-rich Gulf Arab countries. The US and Israeli war against Iran that began February 28, however, has had a sweeping impact on the global economy: Driving up energy prices, stalling shipments of fertiliser, disrupting air travel, among other things. High-end watches have not been spared. Soaring prices for precious metals like gold and silver over the last year and US President Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariffs launched a year ago - while down from peak levels - already affected the market. Now, renewed inflation pressures and doubts about consumer confidence are throwing new uncertainty into the market that generates tens of billions of dollars in revenue

Paramount in talks to secure $24 bn funds from Gulf for Warner takeover

The merger would combine major studios and networks such as CNN and CBS, enabling them to compete more aggressively as streaming draws audiences away from traditional linear TV

Gulf nations explore oil routes beyond Strait of Hormuz amid Iran war

Amid rising Iran tensions, Gulf nations are reportedly exploring pipelines and new trade corridors to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz

Drone company backed by Trump sons targets Gulf sales amid Iran war

A drone maker backed by President Donald Trump's two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the US military led by their father. The sales drive by Florida-based Powerus which announced a deal last month to bring aboard Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. positions the company to potentially benefit from a war that their father began. "These countries are under enormous pressure to buy from the sons of the president so he will do what they want," said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush. "This is going to be the first family of a president to make a lot of money off war - a war he didn't get the consent of Congress for." Powerus co-founder Brett Velicovich told The Associated Press that the company is making sales pitches that include drone demonstrations in several Gulf countries to show how its defensive drone interceptors could help them ward off Iranian attacks. "Ou

Kuwaiti oil tanker ablaze in Dubai Port after Iranian attack, no casualties

Authorities in Dubai confirmed they were responding to a drone attack on a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters and that maritime firefighting teams were working to bring the fire under control