Economy

Having turned cautious Iraq's US$ Global 2028 bond in mid-August (see Global 2028 Bond: Time To Get Cautious, August 18), when the yield was at 8.9%, we are not surprised by its... 2008-09-17

BMI View: Broadly speaking, we remain sanguine on the outlook for the Bahraini economy, forecasting above-4.0% growth for the next five years.

We see strong growth continuing and expect that real GDP growth will average 9.2% over the forecast period. The lifeblood of the economy will remain the oil and gas sector, although... 2008-09-16

BMI View: Times are getting tighter, but the Bahraini government will continue to record fiscal surpluses throughout our forecast period.

With Gulf equities falling further over the weekend, our bearish view on the region's stock markets continues to play out. The falling oil price (front month Brent crude has now dropped... 2008-09-15

UN sanctions are having their desired effect of isolating Iran economically and the pressure is set to increase. High oil prices have helped to prop up the faltering economy and Tehran... 2008-09-12

Inflation will come down towards the end of the year as oil and food prices continue to fall and the government imposes price freezes on key construction materials. Over the longer... 2008-09-10

BMI View: Lower oil prices will hurt the Saudi balance of payments, but not to a worrying

The outlook remains significantly gloomier as we move into 2009 than it was this time last year, with lower oil prices, a crashing stock market, slowing global economy and concerns... 2008-09-10

We continue to see Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) as the most attractive of the GCC bourses on a technical basis, and look for a possible break higher next week. The... 2008-08-22