Business

Oil Gains, Stocks Slip on Uncertain Mideast Peace Prospects

Business A fuel storage facility at Russia's main oil export hub in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk (Reuters)

Oil Gains, Stocks Slip on Uncertain Mideast Peace Prospects

Oil prices jumped while stock markets mostly retreated and the dollar firmed Thursday as hopes of a Middle East peace accord faded on conflicting headlines on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

flynas Says Direct Flights Between Riyadh, Milan Start Thursday

flynas has announced the launch of direct flights connecting Riyadh with Milan, SPA reported. Starting Thursday, the airline will operate three weekly direct…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk walks to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, US, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo

SpaceX Reveals Plans for What Could be Biggest-ever Initial Public Offering

Elon Musk announced plans Wednesday for one of the biggest stock sales ever by taking public a space company that is currently losing billions of dollars a…

Asharq Al Awsat (New York)
Business Gold bracelets displayed at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)

Gold Eases on Higher Yields, Firm Dollar; US-Iran Talks in Focus

Gold edged lower on Thursday as higher Treasury yields and a firm dollar weighed on the metal, while hopes of a resolution to the US-Iran conflict limited…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business An employee of the General Authority for Transport inspects postal parcel warehouses (SPA). 

Saudi Arabia Requires Shipping Companies to Let Consumers Inspect Packages Before Accepting Delivery

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce issued an official directive requiring all private-sector shipping and delivery companies to allow consumers to open…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)

Business From the signing ceremony of the joint statement concluding the free trade agreement negotiations (GCC)

GCC, Britain Announce Historic Trade Deal

The Gulf Cooperation Council and Britain have announced a trade deal worth $5 billion a year in the long run, deepening economic ties between the two sides and…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business The rollout marks the latest step in Airbnb's push to capture more of the travel spending that currently flows to competitors like Booking.com and Expedia. SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Airbnb Expands into Hotels, Cars, Groceries

Airbnb, facing tighter local regulations on short-term home rentals, announced Wednesday it is adding boutique hotels, car rentals and grocery delivery to its…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

Saudi Arabia Leads Efforts to Stabilize Global Energy Supplies amid Warnings of Prolonged Conflict

Saudi Arabia is spearheading international efforts to stabilize global oil markets and contain the fallout from a supply crisis triggered by the Iran war and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. (SPA)

Foreign Investors Consolidate their Bets on Saudi Arabia as Economic Reforms Gather Pace

Saudi Arabia is no longer just an oil-price bet for global investors. It is becoming a core emerging-market play. That is the view of Emmanuel Laurina, head of…

Zeinab Ali (Riyadh)
Business FILED - 11 January 2012, China, Hong Kong: FILE PHOTO - A general view of the facade of Standard Chartered Bank branch in Hong Kong. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa

Standard Chartered CEO Seeks to Reassure Staff over AI-linked Job Cuts

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters sought to assuage staff concerns on Wednesday, a day after saying that the bank will cut thousands of jobs over the next…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business A seized suspected Russian oil taker by the French navy is photographed in the Mediterranean Sea in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France, on Jan. 26, 2026. (AP)

Ukraine Ally Britain Eases Sanctions on Russian Oil as Fuel Prices Surge Over Iran Conflict

The UK government has quietly watered down sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to shelter Britons from the cost-of-living squeeze triggered by the closure of…

Business 3D-printed oil pump jacks and the QatarEnergy logo appear in this illustration taken March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

QatarEnergy Buys Stakes in Uruguay Offshore Blocks from Shell Subsidiary

QatarEnergy has acquired interests in three offshore exploration blocks in Uruguay from a subsidiary of Shell, marking its first entry into the South American…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business  A man counts US dollar currency notes at a foreign exchange office in Hyderabad on May 16, 2026. (AFP)

Dollar Steady Near Six-Week Highs on Rate-Hike Bets, War Uncertainty

The US dollar was steady near a six-week high on Wednesday as investors come to terms with the possible need for higher interest rates to tackle inflation due…

Business Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

China on Wednesday said it will buy 200 Boeing jets and seek an extension of a trade truce struck with the US that is set to expire this November. The…

Business Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL

UK Inflation Slows to 2.8% in April

British consumer price inflation slowed to 2.8% in April from 3.3% in March, according to official figures published on Wednesday. Economists polled by…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

A planned strike at South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics will go ahead from Thursday, its union said, after talks on bonus payouts collapsed, raising…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A Riyadh Air aircraft flies over the Saudi capital, Riyadh (Public Investment Fund)

Boeing Dreamliner to Fly Riyadh Air's First Passengers in July

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, is moving onto the global aviation stage through London, with an…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)

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Business Travelers move through stanchion lines at the departure terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. (AFP)

Saudi Airports Handle 141 Million Passengers in 2025 as Aircraft Fleet Expands

Saudi Arabia’s airports handled 140.9 million passengers in 2025, marking another year of strong growth for the Kingdom’s aviation sector as the national…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026. (Reuters)

Supertanker with Iraqi Oil Heads for Vietnam After Hold-up in US Blockade

Supertanker Agios Fanourios I is heading for Vietnam to discharge its Iraqi crude oil cargo after it was held by the US Navy for five days in the Gulf of Oman,…

Business Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula on May 17, 2026. AFP

Asian Markets Cautious, Oil Dips after Trump Holds Off on Iran Attack

Asian markets were mixed Tuesday as oil prices eased on hopes of a US-Iran deal, though elevated crude levels capped investor appetite for risk. Energy…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business  13 May 2026, Australia, Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is interviewed on morning television after delivering the 2026-27 Federal Budget in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra. (dpa)

Australia Secures Jet Fuel from China to Keep Flying in Energy Squeeze

Australia has secured three shipments of jet fuel from China totaling 600,000 barrels, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday, doubling the national…

Business Oil/Chemical Tanker "Bald Man" at the Port of Fujairah, as the US-Israel conflict with Iran limits marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, May 6, 2026. (Reuters)

Hormuz Crisis Saddles Global Companies with $25 Billion Bill

The US-Israeli war with Iran has already cost companies around the world at least $25 billion - and the bill is climbing, according to a Reuters analysis. A…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen sealed the deal in Turnberry, Scotland last year. Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP/File

Under Trump Pressure, EU Eyes Deal to End Trade Standoff

The EU hopes Tuesday to strike a deal towards implementing its nearly year-old trade pact with the United States -- with an increasingly impatient Donald Trump…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business  US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent arrives at meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in preparation for the summit of heads of State and government to be held in June 2026 in Evian, in Paris on May 18, 2026. (AFP)

US Extends Sanctions Waiver on Russian at-Sea Oil by 30 Days

The US Treasury secretary on Monday said Washington was extending by 30 days its sanctions waiver for Russian oil cargoes already at sea, as global energy…

Business Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretary-General Mathias Cormann and International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol talk on the day of a G7 finance ministers' and central bank governors' meeting in Paris, France, May 18, 2026. (Reuters)

IEA Chief Warns Commercial Oil Inventories Are Depleting Rapidly, Only Weeks Left

Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said on Monday that commercial oil inventories were depleting rapidly with only a few weeks' worth left…

Business SABIC’s manufacturing facility in Jubail (company website) 

Operating Profits Drive Saudi Petrochemical Firms to Record 111% Jump in Earnings

Saudi-listed petrochemical companies posted a sharp improvement in financial performance during the first quarter of 2026, driven by a strong recovery in…

Mohammed al-Mutairi (Riyadh)
Business French Finance Minister Roland Lescure admits the discussions facing G7 leaders 'are not easy'. Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP

G7 Finance Chiefs Meet to Seek Common Stance on Unstable Ground

Finance chiefs from the G7 industrialized nations gather in Paris on Monday for two days of talks aimed at forging a united front as the Middle East war roils…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business  People walk on a street decorated with lanterns at Qianmen area, ahead of US President Donald Trump's state visit to China, in Beijing, China, May 12, 2026. (Reuters)

China’s Economy Slows in April as Output, Retail Sales Sharply Undershoot Forecasts

China's economic growth lost steam in ‌April as industrial output and retail sales growth sharply missed expectations as the Asian powerhouse grappled…

Business  A man counts US dollar currency notes at a foreign exchange office in Amritsar on May 16, 2026. (AFP)

Dollar Steady as Oil Climbs, Bond Selloff Deepens

The dollar was on the defensive against most major currencies on Monday as fresh Middle East tensions lifted oil prices and a global bond selloff stoked rate…