Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was overwhelmingly elected to a third term as president on Sunday, March 4, winning more than 63% of the vote. Below, we list five key points emerging from the election, and its run-up since last December’s parliamentary election. We explore each of these points in more detail in Business Monitor… [Read more]

As Russians prepare to vote for a new president on Sunday, Business Monitor Online has just published a key article, Can Russia And The West Ever Be Friends? Our article outlines the reasons for ongoing mistrust between Russia and the West, identifying both current and historical issues separating the two sides. These include: The imbalance… [Read more]

Most of the main risks to global economic and geopolitical stability are well known. These are typically a double-dip recession in the United States; the collapse of the eurozone; a ‘hard landing’ in China; and a war involving the US and its allies against Iran. However, there are plenty of other risks that, while not… [Read more]

Front-month Brent Crude was testing key resistance at US$120/bbl on the morning of February 17, buoyed by rumours that Iran was set to cut off oil supplies to Europe, and with a resolution to the Greece crisis inching toward fruition. The key upside level for Brent is US$127.02/bbl, which represents the April 2011 high. A… [Read more]

The Baltic Dry Index – the index measuring dry bulk shipping costs – hit a 25-year low this month. The latest drop in rates was due to the lack of import demand during the Chinese New Year holiday, but the underlying cause of the long-term decline is the oversupply of vessels. We believe there is… [Read more]

In Business Monitor Online today, we outline key risks in two economies. In the case of Croatia, we retain our view that the government will seek IMF backing of some sort this year, which will help avert a full-blown crisis in the economy. This is predicated on the increasingly difficult conditions for Croatian financial markets… [Read more]

As many readers will have observed over the past few weeks, Hungary has become the focus of attention in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), and for all the wrong reasons. The country finds itself caught in a financial storm equivalent in magnitude to that witnessed in late 2008, with the forint trading close to its… [Read more]