Emerging market economies are feeling the sting amid an oil price crisis and a slowdown in global growth which is battering economies, markets, and companies; alongside political risk these factors are eroding creditworthiness, which has lead to a spate of downgrades from ratings firm Standard & Poor’s (S&P). S&P has been the first ratings firm to downgrade sovereign debt from Saudi Arabia to Poland so far this year. On February 17, … Continue reading
By Michael Snyder 350,000 soldiers, 20,000 tanks, 2,450 warplanes and 460 military helicopters are massing in northern Saudi Arabia for a military exercise that is being called “Northern Thunder”. According to the official announcement, forces are being contributed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia … Continue reading
By Caleb Maupin The price of oil remains below $50 per barrel, the lowest since the 2009 financial crisis. Oil prices have stayed low throughout 2014 and 2015. The reason for the drop in oil prices is the massive increase in oil production. Iraqi oil fields are refining more oil than at any time since … Continue reading
If Western nations continue to ignore the real problems of the Middle East region, or try to solve them militarily, versus using diplomacy and financial resources to support growth and job creation, the instability in the region will further deepen and will thus impact the global economy for “decades to come”, warns Noriel Roubini, a professor at … Continue reading
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a modest economic recovery, despite the sharp drop in oil prices and deepening conflicts, the IMF says in its latest regional assessment. The Regional Economic Outlook Update, released on May 5, projects that growth will increase slightly to about 3 percent in 2015 (see table). … Continue reading
Saudi Arabian forces, joined by nine other Gulf Arab allies, have launched a military operation in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels, the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. said. According to Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, the military operation in Yemen started at 7 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday night. Adel al-Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia … Continue reading
By Steffen Hertog Oil prices have now halved in six months to around $50/barrel thanks to OPEC’s refusal to cut production. This means all the member countries are revising their government spending policies. While countries such as Iran and Venezuela face an imminent fiscal crisis, the short-term ramifications for the Arabian peninsula’s oil monarchies are less dramatic. In … Continue reading
By IMF Decline in oil prices highlights need to diversify Gulf economies Oil revenues distort incentives for region’s firms and workers New export markets, better education, fewer government jobs will be key Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will have to adjust the incentives of workers and firms to encourage them to work and … Continue reading
Bahrain, Angola, Venezuela, and Ecuador are the most vulnerable to sovereign credit rating downgrades if low oil prices continue through 2015, Fitch said in a report. Ratings agency Fitch released a report Tuesday breaking down oil exporting countries into three rankings based on how well their economies are prepared to weather weak oil prices through … Continue reading