Category: Semafor

2026 was shaping up to be a bumper year for corporate mergers, with Washington rolling out the welcome mat and AI fears lighting a fire under CEOs. Can those animal spirits survive growing fears of an economic slowdown, higher inflation, war, and continued global chaos? We’ll get a gut check ...

In a worst-case scenario, $307 billion could be withdrawn from Gulf banks by local residents, according to S&P Global Ratings. Regional banks have about $312 billion in cash or at central banks to cover such outflows, but may be forced to cash out some investments to maintain liquidity. The ratings ...

Hadley’s view With Iran now threatening vital economic lifelines across the Gulf — including airports, energy infrastructure, and ports — the idea of collective defense is gaining ground. The notion isn’t new, but it has stalled for decades. The region could use that cooperation now. Qatar’s former prime minister Hamad ...

Alaa’s view Gulf states have spent the past decade trying to reduce their reliance on oil and gas. But when they begin counting the costs of the Iran war, it is still hydrocarbons – and the vast wealth built on them — that will cushion the economic shock. The war ...

The News Jerome Powell came in hot yesterday, as central bankers go: Flatlining job growth is “what the economy needs” given “nonexistent growth in the labor force, which we’ve never had in our history,” he said yesterday. “That is balance [but] not a really comfortable balance.” It was a remarkable ...

Gulf patience is not unlimited. This was the main takeaway from an overnight press briefing by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, after he hosted his counterparts from the Gulf and the wider region in Riyadh. The kingdom was under fire as they met, with the loud booms of ...