By Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Head of Islamic Finance, Thomson Reuters

IF ISLAMIC finance (IF) is about business, then, logically, the product offering must primarily be about business and syariah compliance second, correct? Read More

It should be a moment of pride for the Nour Al-Maliki government. Iraq’s oil production crossed three million barrels per day - the last time production was so high was in 1979, when 3.49 million barrels per day rolled out of the country’s oil wells just as President Saddam Hussain came to power. READ MORE HERE

Nobody even considered looking at MENA states last year, as news of Arab Spring-related crisis, instability and the Iran conflict dominated the headlines.
But buried amid the negative headlines was the regional governments’ resolve to continue pumping funds into their respective economies. READ MORE HERE

Chatham House says OPEC may be heading for a Shia-Sunni split, but it appears to have discounted the group’s enduring powers and its resilience despite wars and severe disputes between member states. READ MORE HERE

As the world faces its biggest oil crisis since the 1970s, politicians are blaming every one - President Obama, Iran, QE and Saudi King - for high oil prices. How about putting some blame on Israel for pushing the world into another unwanted war? READ MORE HERE

Which regional companies and countries stand to lose in the event that Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz? Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s takes a look. READ MORE HERE

indigoprime /Free Photos

As the world faces its biggest oil crisis since the 1970s, politicians are blaming every one - President Obama, Iran, QE and Saudi King - for high oil prices. How about putting some blame on Israel for pushing the world into another unwanted war. READ MORE HERE

It’s a crisis that won’t go away. While the region is no stranger to Israelis and Iranians trading insults and threats, Tel Aviv’s latest hue and cry over Iran’s nuclear ambition refuses to die down.

Recent bombing attacks on Israeli embassies in New Dehli, Tbilisi (Georgia) and Bangkok was blamed on Iran - claims denied by Tehran - have frayed nerves and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did nothing to soothe them by attending an event that highlighted Iran’s “nuclear achievements” on Wednesday.

READ MORE HERE

While publicly Saudi Arabia may not like Iran’s warning that the Kingdom should not make up for lost Tehran oil production, privately the Kingdom won’t mind as that keeps oil prices well above their budget target of USD90.

For now Saudi Arabia is pumping oil at historically high levels, as Iranian exports drop. U.K.‐based Oil Movements forecasts that sailings from the Middle East may rise 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) above Decemb`er levels. READ MORE HERE

_Skender_ /Foter

January 15, 2012

A year after HSBC released its 2050 report which estimated that Egypt would surpass Saudi Arabia as the largest economy in the Middle East, the bank has dug deeper in its crystal ball-gazing research.

The first report limited its forecast to the world’s 30 largest economies by 2050 - but has now expanded it to 100 nations and includes more Middle East nations.
And like the first edition of the report, there are a few surprises. READ MORE HERE