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☆ Houthis try to reassure skeptics they won’t seek full control of Yemen, as Saudis eye exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“If we were not looking for full control during the war, then we will not look for full control at any other time,” al-Houthi told CNN. It spiraled into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to beat back the Houthis. A Saudi delegation arrived in Sanaa on Sunday for talks with the Houthis aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire. The Houthi leader told CNN he expected Saudi Arabia to ensure the departure of all foreign forces, including the UAE, from the country. “We are in agreement (with the Saudis) that we need all foreign forces to leave Yemen,” he said.

☆ Saudi Arabia and Iran met in China to start thawing their fierce rivalry — a striking victory for Xi and a potential humiliation for the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Saudi Arabia and Iran's foreign ministers held a historic meeting in Beijing on Thursday. While China has maintained close ties with both countries, the US and Iran have not had diplomatic relations in decades. The meeting between Prince Faisal bin Farhan of Saudi Arabia and Hossein Amirabdollahian of Iran was the first of its kind since 2016. They also discussed visas, as well as a visit to Saudi Arabia by Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, per The Guardian. CIA director William Burns was in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss mutual intelligence cooperation and counterterrorism, Al-Arabiya reported.

☆ Here's why the Fed cutting interest rates is a double-edged sword for commercial real estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Commercial real estate is widely seen as the next shoe to drop after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. A wave of CRE debt is coming due and will need to be refinanced at higher interest rates at a time when occupancy rates are low. Interest rate cuts from the Fed would provide some relief to the CRE space, but not if they come alongside a recession, according to Bank of America. Commercial real estate has been in a world of pain ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started. But could interest rate cuts from the Fed — which the market expects will happen in the second half of this year — help alleviate ongoing concerns in the commercial real estate market?

☆ Saudi money is flowing to US media and entertainment, from Live Nation to LIV Golf, 5 years after Jamal Khashoggi's murder: 'The ice has thawed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment. Insider identified some key people connecting Middle East investors with American companies. Saudi Arabia is trying to pitch itself to the world as a cultural and economic reformer and spur tourism. Vince McMahon's WWE has a long-term partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a major live WWE event there slated for May. Vince McMahon's WWE was one of the first US companies to create unique events in Saudi Arabia.

☆ Raisi says hijab is the law in Iran as unveiled women face 'yoghurt attack'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 1 (Reuters) - President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the hijab was the law in Iran after a viral video showed a man throwing yoghurt at two unveiled women in a shop near a holy Shi'ite Muslim city. They were also the subject of arrest warrants for flouting Iran's strict female dress rules, state media reported. Videos of unveiled women resisting the morality police have flooded social media. Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei earlier threatened to prosecute "without mercy" women who appear in public unveiled, Iranian media reported. It urged citizens to confront unveiled women.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, wearing a blue suit, in a meeting with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi last summer. Russia is helping Iran gain advanced digital-surveillance capabilities as Tehran seeks deeper cooperation on cyberwarfare, people familiar with the matter said, adding another layer to a burgeoning military alliance that the U.S. sees as a threat. The potential for cyberwarfare collaboration comes after Iran has, according to U.S. and Iranian officials, sold Russia drones for use in Ukraine, agreed to provide short-range missiles to Moscow and shipped tank and artillery rounds to the battlefield. Tehran is seeking the cyber help along with what U.S. and Iranian officials have said are requests for dozens of elite Russian attack helicopters and jet fighters and aid with its long-range missile program.

☆ UBS could see big gains after forced Credit Suisse merger. Big U.S. banks may also be winners, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

UBS ' acquisition of Credit Suisse could lead to big gains for the Swiss bank. UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs, or around $3.2 billion, in a forced deal announced Sunday. As part of the deal, Credit Suisse shareholders receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares they hold. But Barclays analyst Amit Goel wasn't so sure, cutting his view on European banks to neutral from positive on Monday. Wells Fargo's Mike Mayo, meanwhile, sees opportunity for U.S. banks coming out of the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse.

☆ U.S. regional banks under pressure to raise deposit rates - analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. regional banks are expected to pay higher rates to depositors to keep them from switching to larger lenders, banking analysts said, following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The potential for stricter regulation aimed at regional banks will also make it more expensive for them to operate, posing a drag on earnings, he said. Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, collapsed on Friday, followed by New York-based Signature Bank, in the second and third largest bank failures in U.S. history. BofA on Monday cut target prices for regional bank stocks including Ally Financial (ALLY.N), Citizens Financial Group (CFG.N), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB.O) and First Republic Bank (FRC.N), partly because of the expected increase in deposit pricing. Rating agency Fitch put some regional banks on negative credit watch because of a "rapidly changing funding and liquidity environment," it said in a report on Monday.

For Saudi Arabia, a deal could mean improved security. Saudi Arabia, Washington's most important Arab ally, began exploring ways to open a dialogue with the Islamic Republic two years ago in Iraq and Oman, said a Saudi official. In a bilateral meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the president expressed his desire to broker dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran. CHINESE MEDIATION 'BEST OPTION'An Iranian official said the deal covered a range of issues, from security concerns to economic and political issues. "China was the best option considering Iran's lack of trust towards Washington and Beijing's friendly ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran.

☆ These 23 bank stocks offer upside after Silicon Valley Bank's stunning collapse sent the whole sector plummeting, according to Bank of America
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has caused panic in the banking sector. One of the biggest scares for the banking sector since the financial crisis came late last week when Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB), which was the 16th-largest bank in the nation just days ago, imploded nearly overnight. Stocks swooned and market volatility spiked when it became clear that Silicon Valley Bank was going under. Although the US government pledged to protect individuals and businesses who made deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, fears about the potential for widespread collapse carried into this week. Shares of small- and mid-sized regional banks got crushed on Monday in what seemed to be a crisis of confidence.

☆ Jubilation as 'pride of Malaysia' Yeoh wins first Oscar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Ebrahim Harris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Reuters) - Family and friends of Malaysia's Michelle Yeoh responded with screams, jubilation and pride on Monday at her winning the Academy Award for best lead actress, Asia's first ever winner in the category. There were ecstatic roars and fist-pumps as her triumph was announced at an Oscars viewing party in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, with all eyes on her surprised and delighted mother, Janet Yeoh. Everybody knows it," she told a news conference afterwards, in front of a poster of her daughter that said "Pride of Malaysia". It was Yeoh's first Oscar nomination and she had been widely regarded as the front-runner. Yeoh made her Hollywood breakthrough when she was cast as the first ethnic Chinese Bond girl in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" opposite Pierce Brosnan.

☆ Analysts raise one main concern with regional bank stocks: deposit flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The events of the past few days have shown that regional banks with large amounts of uninsured deposits, like SVB, and New York's Signature Bank, which was closed Sunday, are at risk of deposit flight. KRE 5D mountain Regional bank stocks were under pressure again on Monday after sliding last week. In the case of SVB, the bank had mostly large deposits from companies and wealthy individuals. That can make a bank run worse because smaller retail deposits are seen as more "sticky" than big uninsured accounts. "Unfortunately, one of the first consequences of SIVB's collapse is probably that it will cause a flight of uninsured deposits from smaller, less diverse banks to larger, more diverse ones.

☆ Saudi Arabia, Iran Restore Relations in Deal Brokered by China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Stephen Kalin | Benoit Faucon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Under the agreement, Iran and Saudi Arabia will reopen their embassies within two months. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations Friday in a deal brokered by China, ending seven years of estrangement and jolting the geopolitical alignment of the Middle East. The deal, which comes after other unsuccessful attempts by Iraq and others to mend fences, marks a diplomatic victory for Beijing in a region where the U.S. has long dominated geopolitics.

☆ Iran and Saudi Arabia: Key developments towards resumption of ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after a seven-year diplomatic rupture, according to a statement issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia and China. Here are key dates in Saudi-Iranian relations since the suspension of ties in 2016:Jan. 2, 2016: Saudi Arabia executes nearly 50 people including prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Jan. 3, 2016: Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Iran. Jan. 7, 2016: Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of air strikes on its embassy in Yemen. Sept. 14, 2019: Saudi Arabia blames Iran for attacks on its oil installations that knocked out half of the kingdom's supply.

☆ SVB Financial issues are unlikely to spread to other banks, Wall Street analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The capital issues at SVB Financial sparked a sell-off among bank stocks on Thursday, but the tech-focused bank's woes will likely not be a preview of wider issues in the banking system, according to Wall Street analysts. KBWB 5D mountain Bank stocks fell sharply on Thursday. Morgan Stanley analysts Manan Gosalia and Betsy Graseck echoed that sentiment, saying in a note that the issues at hand appeared to specific to SVB. "Current pressures facing SIVB are highly idiosyncratic and should not be viewed as a read-across to other banks we cover. RBC analyst Gerard Cassidy said that banks without large retail customer bases could be in for a rocky period.

☆ A wave of suspected mass poisonings of schoolgirls in Iran remains shrouded in mystery
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Up to 900 Iranian school girls have been victims of suspected mass poisoning in recent months. Iran's president blamed the unexplained bouts of respiratory distress on the Islamic state's "enemies." Dozens more girls have been admitted to hospital with respiratory distress in the last few days, according to The Guardian. On Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed the unexplained suspected school poisonings, which have happened in multiple locations, on the Islamic state's "enemies" but did not clarify who that was. The health minister has previously said that the culprits could be religious groups opposed to girls receiving an education, according to Reuters.

☆ UN nuclear watchdog chief cites 'great expectation' in talks with Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 4 (Reuters) - The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday talks were ongoing with Iran on two sets of important matters including the science sector, and there was "great expectation" about the process. Clearly, there is great expectation about our joint work in order to move forward in the issues that Iran and the agency are working on, to clarify and to bring credible assurances about the nuclear programme in Iran," Grossi told reporters in Tehran. Grossi said the talks were taking place in an "atmosphere of work, honesty and cooperation". Under a 2015 agreement with six world powers, Iran curbed its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for relief from international sanctions. Grossi said it was an “issue of necessity to have a very deep, serious systematic dialogue with Iran.

BATU PAHAT, Malaysia, March 4 (Reuters) - Flooding resulting from days of torrential rain has forced almost 40,000 people to flee their homes in Malaysia's southern Johor state, bordering Singapore, and at least four people have died during the past week, officials said on Saturday. Authorities have set up more than 200 relief shelters for people displaced by the floods, the national disaster management agency said. Floods in Malaysia are common during the annual monsoon season between October and March, but the downpour this week left many Johor residents scrambling to find shelter. While Johor was worst-hit, there was flooding in other states too that displaced hundreds of people. The meteorological department warned of more rain in coming days, mostly in the southern states.

☆ Iran president blames foreign enemies for wave of schoolgirl poisonings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday blamed a wave of poisonings of hundreds of schoolgirls around the country on Tehran's enemies. Raisi, speaking to a crowd in southern Iran on Friday in a speech carried live on state television, blamed the poisoning on Iran's enemies. He did not say who those enemies were although Iranian leaders habitually accuse the United States and Israel, among others, of acting against it. He is the first government official to report an arrest in connection with the wave of poisonings. "Guards at a parking lot where the fuel tanker was parked also suffered from poisoning," Saleh said, referring to the Pardis site.

☆ Gulf states have given billions in aid to Egypt. Now they want to see returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

He was referring to the tens of billions of dollars in bailouts his country has received from the wealthy Gulf monarchies over the past decade. Many of those assets have long been under the control of Egypt’s military, an economic behemoth and the backbone of Sisi’s power. This time, however, Gulf Arab allies – especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – want to see returns. Last year alone, Gulf states pledged $22 billion to Egypt as it faced an economic crisis caused partly by the fallout from the Ukraine war, Reuters reported. Analysts say that Egypt was pushed by Gulf states to accept the IMF’s conditions, especially those on privatization.

☆ Analysis: Goldman Sachs faces hard sell for its consumer assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Saeed Azhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) is embarking on a tough sales pitch to investors for assets in its troubled consumer business, which has dragged on earnings and may lack appeal for potential buyers. In an unexpected move, Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said on Tuesday the bank is looking at 'strategic alternatives' for the consumer business, a signal of a possible sale. Solomon had championed Goldman's foray into consumer banking since taking the reins at the Wall Street powerhouse in 2018. The consumer operations largely failed to gain traction against well-established consumer banks and lost billions of dollars due to credit provisioning. Mike Mayo, an analyst at Wells Fargo, wrote in a note that the key question about Goldman's consumer business is: "who would be willing to buy it, and at what price?"

☆ China, Iran call for Iran sanctions to be lifted; Xi to visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stands next to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, China, February 14, 2023. Xi also accepted an invitation from Raisi to visit Iran and would do so at his convenience, the two leaders said in a joint statement on the last day of a three-day state visit to China by Raisi. In 2018, then U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran. "All relevant sanctions should be fully lifted in a verifiable manner to promote the full and effective implementation," Xi and Raisi said. China and Iran emphasised that lifting sanctions and ensuring Iran economic benefits were important components of the agreement, they said.

After Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Beijing on Tuesday, the countries signed 20 cooperation agreements. President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday at the start of a three-day trip, as the two countries shored up ties amid their escalating tensions with the U.S.Iran is increasingly reliant on China to salvage an economy crippled by U.S. sanctions, but also fears Beijing’s growing ties with Saudi Arabia could leave it further isolated.

☆ China's Xi calls for early resolution of Iran nuclear issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, China, February 14, 2023. Iran's President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERSBEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for the early and proper resolution of the Iran nuclear issue while expressing his support for the Islamic Republic in safeguarding its rights and interests, according to Chinese state media. China will continue to "participate constructively" in talks to resume negotiations on implementing the Iran nuclear agreement, Xi told Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in talks in Beijing. In September, the United States imposed new sanctions on companies involved in Iran oil exports, including five based in China. Washington said it would continue enforcing sanctions on Iran's oil and petrochemical sales so long as Tehran continues to accelerate its nuclear program.

☆ Iran marks revolution anniversary, hackers interrupt state TV coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Iranians are seen under a large flag of Iran during the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2023. His live televised speech was interrupted on the internet for about a minute, with a logo appearing on the screen of a group of anti-Iranian government hackers that goes by the name of “Edalat Ali (Justice of Ali). A voice shouted “Death to the Islamic Republic.”Nationwide protests swept Iran following the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police. Government television on Saturday aired live footage of the state rallies around the country. His speech was frequently interrupted by chants of “Death to America” - a trademark slogan at state rallies.

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