Country Risk Rating

The ongoing international crisis over Iran's nuclear programme has been in the spotlight recently with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting New York to speak to the UN General Assembly... 2007-09-26

King Hamad has proved a dab hand at counterbalancing the immediate interests of the ruling family with the more urgent demands for political reform emerging from the mainly Shi'a... 2007-09-19

Despite concerns over a frosty turn in Saudi-US relations, we remain sanguine that the alliance will hold firm going forward. This is based firstly on the fact that the relationship... 2007-09-05

We have long been talking about inflation as an economic risk, but it also poses something of a threat to political stability, particularly with recent developments (and the perceived... 2007-09-04

A bold attempt to overcome Iraq's fractious political culture was launched in mid-August, with Shia and Kurdish parties forming a new alliance to help the government through another... 2007-08-21

The law suit filed in Florida against Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum on charges of enslaving thousands of children to be camel jockeys was never going to destabilise... 2007-08-01

Reformist elements in the Kuwaiti government have long been struggling against a reluctant parliament, particularly since the June 2006 elections brought more opposition figures into... 2007-07-27

Oman's oft-cited political stability remains one of its greatest strengths, and nothing over the last month has caused us to amend our very high ratings. Indeed, if anything, the... 2007-06-29

Clashes between the al-Houthi militants and government forces that took place after the agreement of a truce suggest that the issue will remain an underlying threat in spite of the... 2007-06-28

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) began trading the world's first contracts on the Indian rupee on June 7. The bourse said it launched the non-deliverable rupee-dollar... 2007-06-28