GCC

Gulf-EU summit in Riyadh postponed over Houthi attacks

The Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union have postponed their second leaders' summit, which was set for October 24 in Riyadh. The GCC announced the decision on Thursday, October 15, citing continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the…

Georgieva says IMF sees GCC economy shrinking in 2026

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva met Gulf Cooperation Council finance ministers and central bank governors in Manama on Thursday, October 1. She praised the bloc's response to the war in the Middle East but warned that the conflict…

Five Gulf central banks raise rates after Fed’s first hike since 2023

Five Gulf Cooperation Council central banks raised their key interest rates on Wednesday, moving in lockstep with the Federal Reserve after it approved its first rate increase since 2023. Kuwait was the sole holdout, keeping its benchmark discount rate unchanged…

Kuwait summons Iran’s ambassador after fourth day of strikes on water plants

Iranian missile and drone attacks hit Kuwait's power generation and water desalination facilities on Monday for a fourth consecutive day, sparking fires across multiple plants and deepening a humanitarian crisis in a nation where roughly 90 percent of drinking water…

GCC bond spreads widen as US-Iran ceasefire collapse renews regional risk

The fragile calm that had settled over Middle Eastern debt markets in June has shattered as hostilities between the United States and Iran resume in earnest, pushing risk premiums higher and threatening to reverse weeks of recovery in regional bonds.

GCC Q2 earnings set to expose uneven toll of Iran war

Gulf Cooperation Council companies are entering an earnings season that will provide the clearest financial picture yet of how the ongoing Iran conflict has reshaped the region's corporate landscape, with analysts expecting a mixed bag of results that vary sharply…