Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector slipping into contraction is one of those data points that says more than a headline first suggests. For years, the kingdom’s diversification story has been sold as a strategic hedge against regional volatility. The latest PMI reading does not invalidate that ambition, but it does expose a harder truth: even a state with vast resources, … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia’s PMI Shock Shows How Fast War Leaks Into the Real Economy
Middle East
The Rescue, the Ultimatum, and the Narrowing Space for De-escalation
The recovery of a missing American airman after two U.S. warplanes were brought down over Iran changes the emotional temperature of the crisis. It is one thing for a confrontation to remain abstract, managed through maps, statements, and naval movements. It becomes something else when a rescue mission succeeds in pulling a service member back from enemy territory and reminds … [Read more...] about The Rescue, the Ultimatum, and the Narrowing Space for De-escalation