Egypt's non-oil private sector deteriorated at its sharpest pace in almost two years in March, as the Middle East wardrove ​up costs and dampened client demand, a closely watched ‌business survey showed on Sunday, Reuters reported. The headline S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers' Index fell for a fourth consecutive month, dropping to 48.0 in March from ​48.9 in February — its lowest reading since April 2024. The ​figure remained below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth ⁠from contraction, though it was broadly in line with the ​survey's long-run average of 48.2.

Vast development sites around Riyadh trumpet images of a shiny new future for Saudi Arabia—part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s grandiose Vision 2030 agenda to turn the petrostate into an international hub of trade, technology and culture. Appeals for investment are sprinkled on ubiquitous construction fencing, along with English-language catchphrases such as “redefining livability” and “an extraordinary new normal.” Mohammed’s vision extended to a pledge to invest up to $1 trillion in the U.S.

The escalating conflict in the Middle East has knocked the ‌global economy off a stronger growth path, the OECD warned on Thursday, as a near-halt in energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz threatens to push inflation sharply higher, Reuters reported. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the global economy had been on course for stronger-than-expected growth before the war in Iran erupted, but that prospect has now all but disappeared.

The clues started emerging in November 2024, a trail of evidence that pointed to possible financial crimes involving a vendor for Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Some clues were in plain sight, found in public business records in Singapore and Hong Kong, on a U.S. trade blacklist, and in Binance transaction logs that showed hundreds of millions of dollars flowing through the account of a 78-year-old Chinese man.

Two Dubai property developers have seen their Islamic bonds, or sukuk, fall into distressed territory, with investor concern mounting over credit quality and refinancing risks as the war in the Middle East rolls on for a fourth week, Bloomberg reported. Six dollar-denominated sukuk issued by property firms are indicated at distressed levels or trading with a yield spread of over 1,000 basis points above the risk-free rate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In total, they represent about 15% of dollar real estate bonds in the Middle East.

Business activity in the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia slowed this month as energy prices and uncertainty were driven higher by the war in the Middle East, while a cooling of new orders pointed to longer-lasting harm if the conflict continues or escalates, the Wall Street Journal reported. Data firm S&P Global said Tuesday that its U.S. composite purchasing managers index fell to an 11-month low of 51.4 in March, compared with 51.9 in February.

Dubai's property market is beginning to show early ​signs of weakening nearly three weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, with data from analysts showing tanking transaction volumes and some real estate agents ‌pointing to price reductions, Reuters reported. The war, and Tehran's strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, have pierced Dubai's image as a safe haven for the world's wealthy.

Saudi Arabia’s oil officials are working frantically to project how high oil prices might go if the Iran war and its disruption of energy supplies doesn’t end soon—and they don’t like what they are seeing, the Wall Street Journal reported. The base case, several oil officials in the Gulf’s biggest producer said, is that prices could soar past $180 a barrel if the disruptions persist until late April. While that would sound like a bonanza for a kingdom still heavily leveraged to oil revenue, it is deeply concerning.