Saudi-US relations, NEOM financing, Morocco and the IMF

Reports suggest that Saudi Arabia and the US are close to reaching a new security pact which, if confirmed, could swing the Kingdom back towards the US's orbit. Meanwhile, Saudi’s flagship gigaproject, NEOM, agreed a financing arrangement with several local banks to help its funding needs, but this could risk diverting resources away from other, potentially more productive, parts of the economy. And finally, the IMF this week echoed our view that Morocco’s central bank should take the next steps in letting the dirham move more freely and adopting an inflation-targeting framework.