THE EDGE INSIGHTS
Latest Economic Insights
Economic developments that matter to regional and global markets, analysed daily.
Kuwait Inflation Eased to 2.19 Percent in June 2026 With Consumer Prices Little Changed on the Month
Consumer price inflation in Kuwait was 2.19 percent in June 2026 compared with a year earlier, easing from 2.49 percent in May,…
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S&P Says Government Spending Is Keeping Gulf Construction Resilient as the Property Market Cools in 2026
Government spending and a large pipeline of megaprojects are keeping the construction sector across the Gulf resilient even as parts of the…
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The European Central Bank Holds Its Key Rates on 23 July 2026, With Some Governors Weighing a Further Increase
The European Central Bank left its three key interest rates unchanged on 23 July 2026, keeping the deposit facility rate at 2.25…
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Saudi Public Investment Fund Signs Three Financing Framework Agreements Worth Up to 24.5 Billion Dollars With the World Bank Group and the US Export Import Bank
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund said on 24 July 2026 that it had signed three memoranda of understanding worth a combined up…
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Market Wrap US-Europe 24 July: A Semiconductor Selloff Drags the Nasdaq While the Dow and Europe Rise as Oil Retreats Below 100 Dollars
Markets split on the last day of the week. Oil kept falling, easing the inflation fear that had gripped the week, and…
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The Week Ahead: The Federal Reserve Decides on 29 July, US Growth and Inflation Data Land, and the Megacap Technology Earnings Peak
The wait is over. After two previews that pointed to it, the Federal Reserve's July meeting arrives, and it lands in the…
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Commodities Wrap 24 July: Brent Retreats Below 97 Dollars as Diplomacy Hopes Cool the Oil Spike While Gold and Silver Firm
The risk premium came out of oil. Brent crude fell about 3.9 percent to below 97 dollars a barrel and West Texas…
Read more →Kuwait Raises 6 Billion Dollars in a Three Tranche Bond in July 2026, With Orders Topping 18 Billion Dollars
Kuwait raised 6 billion dollars from a three tranche international bond sale, the Ministry of Finance said on 23 July 2026, in…
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Report: All Ten Saudi Banks Grew Profit in the Second Quarter of 2026, With Combined Net Profit Up 8.2 Percent to 24.87 Billion Riyals
The Edge for Economic Consultancy has published a special report, "The Clean Sweep: All Ten Saudi Banks Grew Profit in the Second…
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FAB Leads on Reported Profit, QNB on Assets and Lending: MENA’s Two Largest Banks by Assets Compared in the First Half of 2026
First Abu Dhabi Bank and Qatar National Bank have both reported for the first six months of 2026, and the results present…
Read more →Market Wrap US-Europe 23 July: Wall Street and Europe Sell Off as Brent Tops 100 Dollars and the Oil Shock Revives Inflation Fears
The oil shock finally caught Wall Street. US stocks fell across the board on Thursday as Brent crude topped 100 dollars a…
Read more →Commodities Wrap 23 July: Brent Tops 100 Dollars on Red Sea Tanker Attacks as Fuels Follow While Precious Metals Reverse Lower
Oil broke above 100 dollars for the first time in the current confrontation. Brent crude jumped about 7.6 percent to just above…
Read more →Market Wrap MENA-Asia 23 July: Brent Climbs Above 99 Dollars on Red Sea Tanker Attacks While Korea’s Chip Surge Leads Asia and Gold Retreats
Oil dominated a second day, but the safe-haven trade broke with it. Brent crude jumped about 5.7 percent to above 99 dollars,…
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European Union Fines Google 890 Million Euros for Breaching Digital Markets Act Rules
The European Commission has fined Alphabet's Google 890 million euros for breaching the European Union's Digital Markets Act, in what stands as…
Read more →Market Wrap US-Europe 22 July: Europe Rises on Commodity Stocks While Wall Street Stalls as the Oil Surge Revives Fed Rate-Hike Bets
The two sides of the Atlantic split. Europe closed broadly higher, led by a commodity-stock rally as oil and metal prices climbed,…
Read more →Commodities Wrap 22 July: Brent Climbs Above 94 Dollars and Gold Extends Its Safe-Haven Run Near 4,140 While Copper Breaks Lower
Oil led a supply-driven session. Brent crude rose 3.52 percent to 94.21 dollars, after touching 95.47 during the day, and West Texas…
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Abu Dhabi Launches the 100 Billion Dirham Marsa Al Saadiyat Waterfront Development on Saadiyat Island
Abu Dhabi has launched Marsa Al Saadiyat, a waterfront development with an investment value of 100 billion dirhams, about 27 billion dollars…
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Gold Climbs to a Two-Week High Above 4,100 Dollars an Ounce Ahead of the Federal Reserve Meeting in July 2026
Gold rose to a two-week high on 22 July 2026, with the metal trading up about 1.3 percent at around 4,130 dollars…
Read more →Google Launches Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber, a Cybersecurity AI Model, as the AI Race Intensifies in July 2026
Google has launched a new artificial-intelligence model focused on cybersecurity, called Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber, describing it as a lightweight system built…
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OpenAI Says Its Models Breached Test Isolation and Reached Hugging Face Systems in a July 2026 Cyber Evaluation
OpenAI has disclosed that a combination of its most advanced artificial-intelligence models breached the isolation of an internal test environment and reached…
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The Japanese Yen Falls to Its Weakest Since 1986, Near 163 to the Dollar, as Tokyo Pledges Decisive Action
The Japanese yen has fallen to its weakest level since 1986, with the dollar reaching around 163 yen, prompting the government in…
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Global Hunger Falls for a Third Straight Year to About 645 Million People in 2025, a UN Report Says
The number of people facing hunger around the world fell for a third consecutive year in 2025, to about 645 million, or…
Read more →Market Wrap MENA-Asia 22 July: Brent Jumps Above 94 Dollars and Gold Reaches a Two-Week High on Hormuz Supply Risk as Saudi Leads a Split Gulf Board
Wednesday belonged to oil. Brent jumped 3.83 percent to 94.50 dollars, touching 95.47 in a near six-week high, after an eleventh consecutive…
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Saudi Arabia Extends Its Debt Maturities With About 17 Billion Riyals of New Sukuk and a Matching Buyback on 21 July 2026
Saudi Arabia completed a domestic sukuk transaction of about 17.2 billion riyals on 21 July 2026, using the deal to extend the…
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- Europe Market Wrap 19 October: All Nine Indices Fall as France’s Fiscal Worries Spread
- Europe Market Wrap 9 October: All Nine Indices Rise as Basic Resources Jump 2.99 Percent
- US Market Wrap 12 October: The Dow Alone Rises 0.38 Percent as the Nasdaq 100 Falls 0.71 Percent
- Asia Market Wrap 7 October: All Eight Indices Fall as Seoul Drops 1.98 Percent
- Europe Market Wrap 16 October: All Nine Indices Rise to Cap the Stoxx 600’s Best Week Since June