Iran told mediators it would limit the number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz to around a dozen a day and charge tolls under the cease-fire struck by President Trump, showing Tehran plans to tighten its grip on the world’s most important energy-shipping lane, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ships that pass will have to coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful paramilitary group that has been labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union, Arab mediators said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that imports from countries supplying Iran with military weapons will face immediate 50 per cent tariffs with no exemptions, announcing the threatened duty in a social media post just hours after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran, Reuters reported.

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.