UAE is timely reminder of climate plan B urgency 18 Apr 2024 Torrential rains have flooded Dubai’s airport. Spending cash to prepare for the impact of global warming often takes a back seat to slashing emissions. The more richer states upgrade climate defences, the more they highlight the need to help poorer ones do so too.
Sultan Qaboos’ legacy of peace looks safe for now 12 Jan 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 Jan 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 Jan 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.