Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ministers were locked in tense negotiations about the cartel's output Tuesday, with signs that the group might still bend to the will of Saudi Arabia and increase production.

Turkey's economy grew by 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2007, compared to the same period last year, the Turkish Statistics Institute said Monday.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) oil producers should keep their production level unchanged, given the risk of a fall in demand caused by an economic slowdown in the United States, the Qatari oil minister said Sunday. {/bol

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) ministers began arriving in the Austrian capital Sunday, ahead of a meeting at the oil cartel's headquarters, with the 12-member club under pressure to raise output.

The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Sunday the oil cartel will seek at a meeting this week to maintain market stability, but that current output was sufficient.

High domestic consumption is harming Iran's oil industry on top of international financial pressures linked to its nuclear program, a top oil official was quoted as saying Sunday.

Barreling along at breakneck speeds, Turkish trucks loaded with goods are a common sight on the winding highways of Armenia, showing that, for many Armenians, the desire for a bargain outweighs historic hatred.

Thirty-five companies, including major Western firms, have been preselected to tender for a dozen contracts to prospect 41 gas blocks in Libya, the North African country's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said Friday.

Shareholders of two banks in the United Arab Emirates have approved a merger deal, creating the biggest bank in the Gulf region, with assets of 165 billion dirhams ($45 billion), the offical WAM news agency said Thursday.

Kuwaiti shares closed the week to Thursday up 1.5 percent, setting a new all-time high on abundant liquidity and positive investor sentiment, traders said.

Iran and Belarus Wednesday signed a deal worth an initial $250 million to develop an oil field in southwest Iran, the latest sign of the expanding relationship between the two US foes.

Crude oil prices were higher in Asian trade Thursday, on expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will maintain its existing production quota ahead of a meeting next week, dealers said.

The economy of Iraq is doing better than expected, and is headed for growth of over 6 percent this year, a senior US official said Wednesday.

Dubai-based carrier Emirates Wednesday received the first of 10 Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft from a $9.7-billion order made in 2005, the official WAM news agency said.

Algerian state-owned energy company Sonatrach has looked into the possibility of acquiring Spanish bank Santander's 30-percent stake in Spain's number-two oil and gas company Cepsa, daily newspaper El Mundo reported Wednesday. {/

Iran Wednesday indicated it was against any increase in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) production quota at a meeting next week of the cartel to dampen rising prices.

The head of a major Middle Eastern development company flew to North Korea Wednesday, and a South Korean report said he may be looking at investment opportunities.

The Swedish financial service regulator said Tuesday it would investigate suspected illegal moves by Nordic market operator OMX, to defend itself against a hostile takeover bid by Borse Dubai.

State-owned Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which is reportedly interested in buying almost a third of the London Stock Exchange, said Tuesday it was considering expanding in Asia.

Qatar's energy minister Tuesday declared that there were no plans to increase crude oil production at next week's Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna as the 12-nation cartel sees no shortages in the market. {/bold

The prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) started an official Vietnam visit Tuesday aimed at boosting trade and investment with the fast-growing Southeast Asian economy, officials said.

A Canadian pension fund said Monday it intends to bid for up to 49 percent of New Zealand's aviation hub, Auckland International Airport.

Iraq will need to spend a total of around $25 billion up to 2016 to upgrade its power generation and distribution capacity, Iraq's electricity minister Karim Wahid said Sunday.

Pro-Western Gulf Arab monarchies have agreed to an Iranian offer to launch talks on a possible free trade pact, the secretary-general of their oil-rich bloc said Saturday.

Germany has signed a 34-million-euro ($46-million) cooperation agreement with Syria, devoted largely to a water project, during a rare visit to Damascus by a Western minister.

The Gulf emirate of Dubai is making headlines with a series of high-profile investments abroad in everything from aircraft builders to Las Vegas casinos, but some deals are financially risky, and could even spark a protectionist backlash, economist

Investors from the Middle East Wednesday pledged to pour $1.2 billion into a new development region in Malaysia's southern Johor state, the first major foreign investment for the project.

State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines took a step toward privatization Monday, the official SPA news agency reported.

Iran, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' number-two crude producer, has pledged to supply oil to Senegal for a year, and plans to pick up more than a 34-percent stake in Senegal's oil refining firm, the energy ministry said Monday.