The Section
Business.
Business with a Gulf accent. Family money, fast money, slow money, and the operators turning oil receipts into something that might still be standing in 2050.
Close Up the Apartment Properly Before Annual Leave
A month away is easier when the flat is prepared, not just locked. The cooling, the water, the fridge, and the paperwork each deserve five minutes.
By Lena Holloway
BusinessJul 3
Use the Long Holiday to Teach Kids About Money
Weeks at home are full of small transactions. Pocket money, real choices, and a visible savings goal teach more than any lecture.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessJul 3
Give Your Household Money a Mid-Year Review
Half the year is gone and the numbers already tell a story. One honest hour in July beats a December surprise.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessJul 3
Treat the Employer Flight Benefit Like a Budget Line
Many Gulf contracts include an annual ticket or travel allowance. Used deliberately it funds the trip; ignored, it quietly evaporates.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJul 2
A Warranty Is Only Useful If You Can Find It
Receipts, serial numbers, and dates are boring until something breaks. Then they become power.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessJul 2
Build Your Rent-Renewal Budget Before the Notice Arrives
A rent notice should not be the first time you think about housing costs. A calm budget gives you options before pressure starts.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessJul 2
Plan School Fees Before the Term Invoice Lands
Tuition is the headline. Transport, uniforms, books, activities, and timing are the bill that follows it.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessJul 2
Remittance Day Is About Fees and Exchange Rates
A transfer is not cheap because the fee looks small. The exchange rate can do the real work.
By Sara Qureshi
BusinessJul 2
Read the Insurance Renewal Before You Pay It
Auto-renewal is convenient, not always kind. A short check can improve cover, price, and confidence.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessJul 2
Grocery Savings Come From Habits, Not Heroics
The weekly basket gets cheaper when the list, pantry, timing, and substitutions work together.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJul 2
An Emergency Fund Is Household Infrastructure
Savings are not a moral badge. They are a buffer between ordinary life and expensive panic.
By Lena Holloway
BusinessJul 2
Use Credit-Card Rewards Without Walking Into the Debt Trap
Points are useful only when the balance is paid cleanly. Interest can erase a year of rewards in one bad month.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJul 1
The Missing Middle: Lending to the Region's Small Firms
The small businesses that employ most of the region still struggle to borrow, and fintech is circling the gap
By Diego Arroyo
BusinessJul 1
How the Region Built the World's Airline Hub
By turning geography into strategy, a handful of carriers made the region the world's connecting point
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJul 1
The Quiet Scaling of the Halal Economy
Far beyond food, an ethics-driven economy of finance, travel and goods is maturing into a global market
By Priya Chen
BusinessJul 1
The Old Spice Road Is Reborn as Logistics
The routes that once carried cardamom and pepper now move containers, and the region is again the world's crossroads
By Lena Holloway
BusinessJun 30
When the Founder Steps Back
The Gulf's great family firms are handing over to heirs educated abroad and impatient to modernise
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 30
The Gold Souk Learns to Trade in Pixels
The region's ancient hunger for gold is meeting the app economy, and changing both
By Lena Holloway
BusinessJun 30
The Free Zones Are Growing Up
Built to attract anyone, the region's free zones are now choosing whom they want to become
By Diego Arroyo
BusinessJun 30
The Hidden Economy of the Pilgrimage Road
Around the great seasonal journeys has grown a sophisticated economy of hospitality, transport, and trust
By Priya Chen
BusinessJun 29
The Spice Trade Never Ended. It Just Changed Hands.
The old routes that built the region's wealth still run, now wearing the clothes of containers and commodity desks
By Priya Chen
BusinessJun 29
The Shopping Festival Is Really Macroeconomic Policy
How the region's grand sales seasons quietly do the work of tourism strategy, monetary stimulus, and city branding all at once
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 29
The Region's Airlines Are Really Infrastructure Bets
The flag carriers are less about flying than about wiring a small geography into the center of global trade
By Lena Holloway
BusinessJun 29
The Quiet Rise of the Homegrown Brand
After decades importing prestige, the region is learning to build labels its own people choose with pride
By Diego Arroyo