MUST-READS

• Bateel
  Saudi food firm bets on French bread to make the dough

  Saudi Arabian firm, Bateel, hopes that by providing an international flavor to their offerings they will be able to further entice customers to their branded stores and cafes across the Middle East.

• Luxury Items
  Saudis spend SR5.4 billion on perfumes

  The value of consumption of perfumes in the Gulf region throughout the year exceeded SR12 billion, with the Saudi market accounting for more than half — SR5.4 billion — throughout the year. In total, people in the Gulf region spend around SR45 billion on cosmetics, perfumes, oud and bukhoor, Makkah newspaper reported.

• Ramadan
  As Millions Of People Fast For Ramadan, Does The Economy Suffer? : NPR

  New research examines the effects of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month during which millions of people around the world go without food all day. Does religious practice affect economic growth?

• OIL
  Sales of black market oil surge in Middle East

  Crude oil sales through non-governmental channels are a rising trend in the Middle East, with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) radical fighters and Iraqi Kurdistan getting in on the action, experts say.

• Tadawul Opening
  Saudi Stock Market Foreign Opening: A Conversation with John Sfakianakis

  Last week the Saudi Capital Markets Authority announced the stock market, the Tadawul All Shares Index TASI, with a $530 billion capitalization, will open to foreign investment in less than 12 months. The announcement last week came as the Saudi economy continues to demonstrate strong performance with a recent IMF assessment noting it was one of the “best performing G-20 economies.”

• Tadawul Opening
  Why Saudi Arabia Is Big News That May Not Affect You

  Investors would have to apply for licenses with the qualifications including $5 billion assets under management globally, with each license holder only able to purchase 5% of a company, and only 20% total foreign ownership of a company.

  • Arab News - Foreign buying in Saudi stocks jumps
  • Think Advisor - Opening of Saudi Bourse Increases Investment Appeal
• Qatar
  Qatar’s Gaza Motives

  On July 26, Secretary of State John Kerry stood next to Qatari foreign minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah in Paris during remarks on diplomatic efforts to organize a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This followed a July 14 Pentagon meeting between Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Qatari minister of state for defense affairs Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah, where the two signed an $11 billion arms package that included Patriot missiles, Apache helicopters, and antitank missiles.

  • Why CNN - Qatar's intervention won't help end the Gaza crisis
• Religious Freedom
  U.S. Religious-Freedom Report Criticizes Russia, Saudis

  The Russian government used laws banning “extremism” to restrict religious freedoms, according to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report for 2013. The annual report, mandated by a law that lets the U.S. sanction governments that engage in “particularly severe” violations of religious freedom, said the year saw the “largest displacement of religious communities in recent memory.”

• Military
  US State Department Approves New Hellfire Sale to Iraq

  The US State Department has approved two new lots of weapon sales to Iraq at a time when that government is desperately trying to fight off the encroachment of the militant Sunni Islamic State. The larger agreement would procure 5,000 AGM-114K/N/R Hellfire missiles for the Iraqi military for $700 million. Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor on the agreement.

• Weather
  Temperature Trend on Makkah, Saudi Arabia

  The main objective of this study is to investigate temperature trend and distribution over 29 years period (1985 to 2013) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for all Muslims.

• 10 of 47325 results<< 1 … 4,727 4,728 4,729 … 4,733 >>