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By Dr. Ali Bolbol* In the mid-2000s, a question was posed to developers about which city in the world had the largest number of cranes protruding all over its sky? Knowledgeable ones said Dubai; better ... read more
The macroeconomic picture in the MENA region was little changed during the second quarter of 2016. Oil-exporting countries were still trying to weather the impact of subdued oil prices on their fiscal and ... read more
No economic progress was recorded when it comes to Egypt during the second quarter of 2016. The country kept on suffering from draining foreign currency (FC) reserves and an overvalued exchange rate. From ... read more
Regime forces launched an offensive on the governorate of Aleppo in late June 2016, a bloody battle aimed at cutting the rebels’ supply and that is still raging at the time of writing. The prize of the ... read more
Besides the spending cuts and the revenue boosting initiatives to reduce their fiscal deficits, as a response to the drops in oil prices, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were, as usual maintaining their ... read more
The era of low oil prices compelled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to identify the challenges that lie ahead and to determine an action plan drafted under the wing of the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030. The Kingdom ... read more
As the political situation remained unstable in Lebanon, the country observed fluctuations in its economic indices and geopolitical dynamics. Lebanon recorded its lowest levels in several different ... read more
To alleviate the pressure of declining oil prices on its economy, the Qatari government has been taking measures to cut its expenditures. For instance, it has reduced the number of planned stadiums for the ... read more
Pressures on the Jordanian economy continued to grow over the first six months of 2016. As registered refugee numbers remain around the 650,000-mark and funding remains woefully short of the necessary ... read more
By Dr. Ali Bolbol* In the mid-2000s, a question was posed to developers about which city in the world had the largest number of cranes protruding all over its sky? Knowledgeable ones said Dubai; better ... read more
Weak oil prices and political climate continued to dictate economic performance in the MENA region during the first quarter of 2016. Despite the slight year-to-date uptick in oil prices, oil exporting ... read more
To boost its private sector and ease the pressure on the fiscal balance caused by low oil prices, Qatar targets to implement a public-private partnership (PPP) law, by the end of 2016. Qatar has previously ... read more
Amid a continuing political stalemate, with around 21-month of political vacuum, most of Lebanon’s economic indicators recuperated from the low levels reached in the previous years. However, the ... read more
On the ground, Syrian government forces took back the historic city of Palmyra in March after it was seized by IS militants back in May 2015. On the diplomatic front, the Geneva peace talks were anything ... read more
At the onset of 2016, rivalry between the Sunni-kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Shiite-Iran was heated. In January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people accused of terrorism, amongst them was Sheikh Nimr ... read more
Perhaps one of the few positives witnessed in Jordan recently has been the lower number of Syrian refugees, with official numbers as of April 2016 placing the figure at around 640,000, compared to above ... read more
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained focused on its strategic goals in spite of the regional tensions. The government is trying to build a balance between its revenues and expenditures to offset the ... read more
Egypt inaugurated 2016 with a bunch of new economic decisions and international deals topped by the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) new monetary measures. As a matter of fact, the lack of net foreign ... read more