GULF BUSINESS THAT MATTERS.
One letter, once a week. The markets, the money, and the stories shaping the week ahead. Chosen by our editors.
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- OUR MOVE
Every week the ICN.live newsroom reads hundreds of stories from the region and beyond, then keeps only the ones that earn your time. This is that shortlist. Nine stories, one talk show, and the partners who make it possible.
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- TOP STORIES
NINE STORIES · CHOSEN BY THE NEWSROOM
- UAE
UAE’s economy H1 2026 puts non-oil activity at 79.2% of national output
The UAE’s economy H1 2026 figures show real GDP reached AED 961.9 billion at constant prices, a rise of 0.4 percent from the same period in 2025. The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre released the data as preliminary estimates. Non-oil activities carried the result. UAE non-oil GDP grew 1.8 percent, raising the non-oil contribution to […]
- ICN talks Business
The UNDER500 Story: How Mahmoud Bartawi Scaled Across Six Markets to a Successful Exit
Mahmoud Bartawi built the healthy-food brand UNDER500 from a side hustle into a business operating in six countries, then sold it. What followed was not relief but an identity crisis, and eventually a podcast of his own. In this episode of ICN.talks Business, he sits down with host Dani Topala for a long and unusually […]
- Automotive
Why Lucid EV Q3 deliveries slipped while nine-month sales edged higher
Lucid EV Q3 deliveries landed at 3,806 vehicles, a 6.7% drop from the same quarter last year, as the Saudi-backed carmaker pulled back production to match softer demand. The figures came out Monday. They show a company making fewer cars on purpose, not by accident. A build that shrank on purpose Lucid produced 2,954 vehicles […]
- Digital Payments
Wio Bank introduces the UAE’s first auto-enabled Click to Pay solution
Wio Bank has switched on a Click to Pay solution across its cards, becoming the first issuer in the UAE to auto-enable Mastercard’s online checkout solution for eligible cardholders. The change means a customer paying on a participating website no longer fills in a long card number, an expiry date, and a security code. One […]
- Mark Zuckerberg
Why Meta is making its Muse AI agent bet across shopping and VR glasses
Meta’s Muse AI agent bet moved from an app to your whole day at Meta Connect 2026, and the company wants its assistant on your face, on your desktop, and inside your shopping cart. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg used the Menlo Park event on September 23 to make the Meta Muse AI agent the core […]
- Citi
Citi® Token Services Expands Global Footprint into UAE and Japan
Citi announced the expansion of Citi Token Services into the UAE and Japan, advancing our strategy to build a more connected, always-on financial ecosystem for corporate and financial institutional clients. The expansion is the latest milestone in Citi Services’ broader digital assets strategy, which is focused on solving real-world client needs by building bank-grade capabilities […]
- Riyadh
Why the World Bank now expects Saudi’s economy growth by 2027 to hit 7.9%
A sharp revision to Saudi economic growth by 2027 The World Bank has set its projection for Saudi’s economy growth by 2027 at 7.9 percent, a steep upward revision that shows how fast the region’s largest economy is expected to recover. That figure lifts the earlier World Bank Saudi forecast by about 3 percentage points, […]
Why Google’s most powerful AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, starts with cyber
The model points straight at the work that decides who leads in artificial intelligence. The company calls the new system Gemini 4 Argon. It is built for long, complicated jobs across software engineering, business, and cybersecurity – the kind of tasks that run for hours and take many steps. Argon is also larger than Google’s […]
- UAE
UAE’s economy H1 2026 puts non-oil activity at 79.2% of national output
The UAE’s economy H1 2026 figures show real GDP reached AED 961.9 billion at constant prices, a rise of 0.4 percent from the same period in 2025. The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre released the data as preliminary estimates. Non-oil activities carried the result. UAE non-oil GDP grew 1.8 percent, raising the non-oil contribution to […]
- ICN talks Business
The UNDER500 Story: How Mahmoud Bartawi Scaled Across Six Markets to a Successful Exit
Mahmoud Bartawi built the healthy-food brand UNDER500 from a side hustle into a business operating in six countries, then sold it. What followed was not relief but an identity crisis, and eventually a podcast of his own. In this episode of ICN.talks Business, he sits down with host Dani Topala for a long and unusually […]
- Automotive
Why Lucid EV Q3 deliveries slipped while nine-month sales edged higher
Lucid EV Q3 deliveries landed at 3,806 vehicles, a 6.7% drop from the same quarter last year, as the Saudi-backed carmaker pulled back production to match softer demand. The figures came out Monday. They show a company making fewer cars on purpose, not by accident. A build that shrank on purpose Lucid produced 2,954 vehicles […]
- Digital Payments
Wio Bank introduces the UAE’s first auto-enabled Click to Pay solution
Wio Bank has switched on a Click to Pay solution across its cards, becoming the first issuer in the UAE to auto-enable Mastercard’s online checkout solution for eligible cardholders. The change means a customer paying on a participating website no longer fills in a long card number, an expiry date, and a security code. One […]
- Mark Zuckerberg
Why Meta is making its Muse AI agent bet across shopping and VR glasses
Meta’s Muse AI agent bet moved from an app to your whole day at Meta Connect 2026, and the company wants its assistant on your face, on your desktop, and inside your shopping cart. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg used the Menlo Park event on September 23 to make the Meta Muse AI agent the core […]
- Citi
Citi® Token Services Expands Global Footprint into UAE and Japan
Citi announced the expansion of Citi Token Services into the UAE and Japan, advancing our strategy to build a more connected, always-on financial ecosystem for corporate and financial institutional clients. The expansion is the latest milestone in Citi Services’ broader digital assets strategy, which is focused on solving real-world client needs by building bank-grade capabilities […]
- Riyadh
Why the World Bank now expects Saudi’s economy growth by 2027 to hit 7.9%
A sharp revision to Saudi economic growth by 2027 The World Bank has set its projection for Saudi’s economy growth by 2027 at 7.9 percent, a steep upward revision that shows how fast the region’s largest economy is expected to recover. That figure lifts the earlier World Bank Saudi forecast by about 3 percentage points, […]
Why Google’s most powerful AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, starts with cyber
The model points straight at the work that decides who leads in artificial intelligence. The company calls the new system Gemini 4 Argon. It is built for long, complicated jobs across software engineering, business, and cybersecurity – the kind of tasks that run for hours and take many steps. Argon is also larger than Google’s […]
- UAE
UAE’s economy H1 2026 puts non-oil activity at 79.2% of national output
The UAE’s economy H1 2026 figures show real GDP reached AED 961.9 billion at constant prices, a rise of 0.4 percent from the same period in 2025. The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre released the data as preliminary estimates. Non-oil activities carried the result. UAE non-oil GDP grew 1.8 percent, raising the non-oil contribution to […]
- ICN talks Business
The UNDER500 Story: How Mahmoud Bartawi Scaled Across Six Markets to a Successful Exit
Mahmoud Bartawi built the healthy-food brand UNDER500 from a side hustle into a business operating in six countries, then sold it. What followed was not relief but an identity crisis, and eventually a podcast of his own. In this episode of ICN.talks Business, he sits down with host Dani Topala for a long and unusually […]
- Automotive
Why Lucid EV Q3 deliveries slipped while nine-month sales edged higher
Lucid EV Q3 deliveries landed at 3,806 vehicles, a 6.7% drop from the same quarter last year, as the Saudi-backed carmaker pulled back production to match softer demand. The figures came out Monday. They show a company making fewer cars on purpose, not by accident. A build that shrank on purpose Lucid produced 2,954 vehicles […]
- Digital Payments
Wio Bank introduces the UAE’s first auto-enabled Click to Pay solution
Wio Bank has switched on a Click to Pay solution across its cards, becoming the first issuer in the UAE to auto-enable Mastercard’s online checkout solution for eligible cardholders. The change means a customer paying on a participating website no longer fills in a long card number, an expiry date, and a security code. One […]
- Mark Zuckerberg
Why Meta is making its Muse AI agent bet across shopping and VR glasses
Meta’s Muse AI agent bet moved from an app to your whole day at Meta Connect 2026, and the company wants its assistant on your face, on your desktop, and inside your shopping cart. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg used the Menlo Park event on September 23 to make the Meta Muse AI agent the core […]
- Citi
Citi® Token Services Expands Global Footprint into UAE and Japan
Citi announced the expansion of Citi Token Services into the UAE and Japan, advancing our strategy to build a more connected, always-on financial ecosystem for corporate and financial institutional clients. The expansion is the latest milestone in Citi Services’ broader digital assets strategy, which is focused on solving real-world client needs by building bank-grade capabilities […]
- Riyadh
Why the World Bank now expects Saudi’s economy growth by 2027 to hit 7.9%
A sharp revision to Saudi economic growth by 2027 The World Bank has set its projection for Saudi’s economy growth by 2027 at 7.9 percent, a steep upward revision that shows how fast the region’s largest economy is expected to recover. That figure lifts the earlier World Bank Saudi forecast by about 3 percentage points, […]
Why Google’s most powerful AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, starts with cyber
The model points straight at the work that decides who leads in artificial intelligence. The company calls the new system Gemini 4 Argon. It is built for long, complicated jobs across software engineering, business, and cybersecurity – the kind of tasks that run for hours and take many steps. Argon is also larger than Google’s […]
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