Today's Top Business Headlines

Roughly 7 million barrels per day are now being rerouted by Middle Eastern producers around the Strait of Hormuz via pipelines and alternate methods, with total flows out of the Gulf estimated at 11–12 million barrels per day.

Bold leadership and heavy investment continue to reshape the region's built environment, with Neom's next phase of green-hydrogen development and Expo 2030 Riyadh construction among the biggest stories this month.

A three-company consortium has proposed a renewable energy project expected to supply nearly a tenth of Egypt's total electricity demand, part of a broader regional push into green power.

Starting October 1, UAE businesses will face stricter supplier vetting requirements, with VAT refunds denied on purchases linked to suspected tax evasion.

A leading Gulf venture capital investor says some of the world's most promising technology startups are now emerging from the Middle East and East Asia alike.

Walmart dropped toward its worst day in more than four years after U.S. comparable sales rose just 2.6%, short of the 3.5% Wall Street expected, dragging retail sentiment lower.

U.S. business activity expanded at its quickest rate in over four years, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average, even as tech stocks lagged and pulled the S&P 500 toward a weekly loss.

Semiconductor and tech names Amkor Technology and Credo Technology fell nearly 15% and 11% respectively over five days, dragging the information technology sector down more than 3%.

Tesla stock is on pace for its strongest week since May, as a string of developments around its robotaxi business lifted investor sentiment despite broader tech weakness.

Analog Devices posted a strong third quarter, with results pointing to continued data center growth outpacing expectations, prompting JPMorgan to reaffirm its bullish rating.

China's growth cooled to 4.3% year-over-year in the second quarter, falling short of expectations, as a boom in tech fails to lift sectors untouched by the global AI buildout.

Advanced manufacturing, high-tech investment, services, and inbound tourism are becoming increasingly important growth drivers even as headline momentum softens.

Fresh data released August 17 showed China's M2 money supply rising 7.7% year-over-year and M1 up 4%, alongside a raft of other policy updates.

Total goods trade rose 17.3% in the first seven months of 2026, with private enterprises driving growth of 17.2% and now accounting for nearly 57% of overall trade — even as fixed-asset investment fell 6.7% on a continued real estate drag.

Major Chinese companies including liquor giant Kweichow Moutai and chipmaker Zhongwei Semiconductor reported robust second-quarter earnings, while Fujian province announced upgrades to its AI infrastructure.

Private-sector activity in the euro area unexpectedly improved in August, with the S&P Global Composite PMI rising to 52.1 from 52 in July, driven by the strongest manufacturing growth in more than four years.

Euro zone new orders rose for the first time in over two years in August, helping overall business activity expand at its fastest pace in 15 months and setting up roughly 0.3% GDP growth for the third quarter.

A country-by-country breakdown of second-quarter growth across Europe highlights a wide divergence between the bloc's stronger and weaker performing economies.

The European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator climbed 1.5 points in both the EU and euro area in July, to 97.2 and 96.9 respectively, pointing to a continued recovery in confidence.

Commodity markets ended the week broadly positive, with precious metals, crude oil, and most industrial metals registering gains. Spot gold rose 1.14% to $4,426 per ounce.

The dollar index dipped 0.11% to 99.561 even as U.S. long-term yields hovered near multi-decade highs, with equities recovering ground and commodity prices firming across the board.

Brazil's central bank lowered its benchmark Selic rate to 14.00% in August, even as signs point to the broader economy losing momentum heading into the back half of the year.

Markets remain focused on FOMC minutes and fresh comments from Federal Reserve officials, with investors not fully pricing out the possibility of a future rate hike.

Energy and AI infrastructure led the biggest rounds of the month, with battery-storage firm Base Power and nuclear startup Valar Atomics each raising $1 billion, followed by Firmus Grid ($2B) and Hadrian ($1.37B).

Capital continues flowing into AI infrastructure, enterprise automation, and connectivity hardware rather than model-layer startups alone, with Function Health ($450M), Simile ($200M+), CAIS ($170M) and Eliyan ($145M) among the month's notable raises.

Madison Air agreed on August 18 to buy Airflow Technologies in a $5.4 billion deal, one of several large industrial acquisitions announced this month.

Alibaba announced plans on August 17 to divest its videogame unit for at least $1.5 billion, as the company continues to streamline its portfolio.

Deutsche Telekom agreed on August 16 to acquire fiber operators Fiberhost and Inea from Macquarie Asset Management for roughly €1 billion, expanding its European broadband footprint.

Roughly 20 announced M&A deals worth about $600 billion remain unclosed as of August 2026, led by Paramount Skydance's blockbuster $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.