Forbes Middle East

IHC is set to acquire an 80% stake in Marlan Space, expanding its footprint in satellite infrastructure as the UAE builds out its domestic space capabilities. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/aqd4

Qatar’s Baladna has completed a 25% capital increase, raising its capital to $735 million in one of the largest capital increases in Qatar Stock Exchange history. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/bg94

Boeing delivered 51 jets and Airbus 57 in August as both planemakers work to overcome production and supply-chain challenges while meeting strong aircraft demand. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/s9vf

Gulf sovereign credit ratings are holding firm despite regional turmoil, backed by strong fiscal positions, substantial reserves and sovereign assets. Here’s a closer look at how the GCC’s credit profiles are weathering geopolitical risks. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/hgtz

A technical fault at UK air traffic control provider NATS disrupted hundreds of flights across Britain's major airports, as Heathrow recorded around 100 cancellations and 367 delays. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/r8js

Qualcomm Technologies has announced a multi-generational collaboration with Amazon to develop customized chips for AI inference and high-speed optical connectivity for next-generation data centers. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/iov1

US President Donald Trump had a 33% approval rating and 36% approval rating in the two latest polls—new lows in the groups’ polling as negative views of the president’s performance are widely seen as a threat to his party’s chances in the midterms. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/ebre

Diesel prices hit a record national average of $5.90 a gallon, while Brent crude approached $100 a barrel as global diesel supplies remain tight and are expected to stay strained through the winter. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/sb2n

French AI startup Mistral has raised $3.5 billion to expand its AI research, computing capacity and global footprint, valuing the company at more than $24.4 billion. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/rsuj

Novartis shares fell nearly 10%, wiping roughly $29.6 billion off the company’s market value, after a second drug failure in two days raised concerns about the Swiss pharmaceutical giant’s pipeline. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/17as

First Abu Dhabi Bank has established a $27.2 billion blue finance target to support water and blue economy-related financing between 2026 and 2035, as part of FAB’s existing $136 billion sustainable finance commitment to 2030. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/c6ce83

Keep Converting, a US- and UAE-based AI-native conversion optimization platform for e-commerce, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Nuwa Capital and COTU Ventures. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/d827ca

Sugar prices have surged more than 19% since the start of 2026 as climate change puts growing pressure on production. Can higher land productivity, smarter irrigation and drought-resistant crops keep pace with rising global demand? Here’s a closer look. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/9a87ff

EGA and India’s NALCO have signed an agreement to transfer EGA’s UAE-developed DX+ Ultra aluminum smelting technology to India for a smelter expansion project. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/e17fad

Saudi Arabia’s real GDP fell 4.7% year on year in Q2 2026, driven by a 24.8% decline in oil activities, according to GASTAT. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/1390f8

Oil markets remain tight even as crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz rise to an estimated 9M bpd, Vitol CEO Russell Hardy said in Singapore. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/d776a0

Tim Cook stepped down as Apple’s CEO on September 1, becoming executive chairman of the company’s board. John Ternus succeeded him as CEO. Cook joined Apple in 1998 and became CEO in 2011. During his tenure, Apple’s market capitalization grew from about $350 billion to $4 trillion, while annual revenue nearly quadrupled from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025. Under Cook, Apple expanded into new product categories, including the Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro, while its Services business grew into a more than $100 billion-a-year business. The company’s active installed base also surpassed 2.5 billion devices, with its footprint expanding to more than 200 countries and territories. Cook’s net worth is estimated at $3 billion, as per Forbes.

Bombardier responded to President Donald Trump’s threat to ban the sale of its jets in the US by touting the “tens of thousands” of American jobs it has created, amid an ongoing escalation in a trade war as Canada’s retailiatory tariffs of up to 50% on some US goods went into effect. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/b5fca1

Hunter Biden will launch his own memecoin this week, he teased on X, becoming the latest in a series of high-profile figures to enter the memecoin space as the son of former President Joe Biden has started becoming a vocal proponent of cryptocurrency. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/6fcb95

The #UAE attracted $48.3 billion in FDI in 2025 as non-oil trade continued to expand in the first half of 2026, strengthening its position as a global investment and trade hub, according to Foreign Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. #Forbes For more details: 🔗 https://on.forbesmiddleeast.com/ck55