Sultan Qaboos’ legacy of peace looks safe for now 12 January 2020 Oman’s iconic leader is dead after a 50-year reign. The risk of upheaval has been eased by the appointment of his cousin, and regional tensions that have subsided in recent days. But the longer-term scope for weak finances to hit Muscat’s role as a key Gulf mediator remains.
Gulf’s long-serving ruler is ailing at a bad time 9 January 2020 Oman’s Sultan Qaboos is ill. For 50 years the iconic leader has positioned his realm as a neutral Gulf player. If he dies as the Iran crisis rages, an opaque succession process and shaky finances could deprive a fractious region of a key backchannel when it’s most needed.
Kuwait’s strength could be a weakness 17 January 2017 The oil-rich sheikhdom is planning its first dollar debt sale. It should be a hit: Kuwait has a good fiscal record and vast foreign assets. Yet other Gulf states are weaker, raising the risk of devaluations or euro zone-style bailouts. The strongest may end up bearing the burden.
Oil price band of comfort is precariously narrow 10 May 2012 It only takes a $20-a-barrel swing to move markets from fretting about the release of emergency reserves to worrying about top producers falling into fiscal deficits. Hard-to-cut higher spending by a growing number of big exporters may make the concerns permanent.