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The emirate represents the second most threatened in the GCC after Saudi Arabia, and Kuwaitis are significantly represented among Al-Qaeda’s leadership

US major Chevron Corporation has closed its head office in Kuwait after failed negotiations for enhanced technical services agreements (TSAs) – indicating that the recent government reshuffle may have done little to change political opposition to foreign involvement in the hydrocarbons industry.

Emir Sheikh Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah held talks with President Barack Obama in the White House on 4 August

Tribal politics tends to alienate many Kuwaitis, but the emirate's campaign to stop tribes from holding primary contests ahead of the recent legislative election is being undermined by Saudi indulgence of such practices. Unofficial Saudi sources report that Kuwaiti tribes evaded the law against holding primaries to select

-backed, UK-based Islamic investment Gatehouse Bank and Swiss fund management company Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) have launched an open-ended sharia-compliant water fund. First close is scheduled for 31 October. Gatehouse chief executive David Test

Published in June 2009, this map provides an overview of global Islamic finance markets. Charts and graphics include Sharia-compliant financial assets by country (Dec 2007), Takaful operators by country (2008), Leading Islamic banks by asset values (Dec 2007), and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) inter-regional trade

List detailing sukuk transactions in 2009

GSN lists some – but not by any means all – of the key players operating in the industry

ICs – whose numbers almost doubled to 99 in 2005-08 – have on- and off-balance sheet assets equivalent to more than 100% of the banking system’s assets. This makes the ICs “systemically important” – posing a systemic risk if their solvency deteriorated further.

Ratings downgrades for major Saudi investors, a potential systemic crisis in Kuwait where investment companies are in freefall, fraud charges against well-connected Dubai developers and a marked lack of performance by Abu Dhabi’s investment flagship.

Moody’s Investors Service on 9 June applied a ‘negative’ ratings outlook to Kuwait’s Aa2 sovereign ratings – a downgrade from the previous ‘stable’ – adding to investor discomfort during a period when Kuwait-based financial institutions have come under intense scrutiny.

The former oil minister’s return is a measure of the political complications that Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed has to negotiate as opponents launch first grilling.

Al-Ghanim & Sons has signed a MoU with Russian state-owned power trader Inter Rao and VTB Bank to invest up to

Public demand for a constructive and non-ideological politics seems to explain the severe election setback suffered by the Salafists and Islamic Constitutional Movement (Hadas), whose parliamentary contingent - five or six strong just a few years ago - has been slashed from three seats to one.

The election of four women to the National Assembly marks a significant victory for civic rights and indicates a shift in public mood.