Investors worldwide size up palace intrigue in oil-rich kingdom

Just two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia gathered the global business elite in Riyadh, promising a new age for the oil-rich kingdom as it sought to court overseas money and investment.

But late on Saturday, the kingdom showed its old face of palace intrigue, with the arrests of four ministers and 11 princes, including Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the billionaire who is one of the country’s most public investment figures.

International investors and business executives are now trying to interpret the power play. To some, the arrests portend a quick consolidation of authority under the young, reformist Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who