Early returns from Iraq’s national elections suggest that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Alliance is on track to secure the highest number of seats of any party in the next parliament, and that he himself is well placed to retain his post. If Maliki does stay on in his role, this should ensure [Read more...]

In this week’s Business Monitor Podcast ‘role-reversal’ Terry Alexander, Head of Country Risk and Capital Markets at Business Monitor, interviews Mark Schaltuper, Head of Latin American Markets, on the investment outlook for Brazil in 2010. With much of the ‘Great Brazil Hype’ already priced in, Mark argues that the tide may be turning for Brazilian [Read more...]

 

 Standard Podcast [14:15m]
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With the centre-right taking control in Germany and polls suggesting the same for the UK in 2010, we ask David Snowdon, Global Economic Strategist at BMI, to examine the potential policy repercussions for Western Europe and beyond. While the centre-left has lost ground electorally, David suggests that this may not necessarily herald a major ideological [Read more...]

 

 Standard Podcast [10:03m]
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Despite the historical significance of the DPJ’s landslide election victory on August 30, the new government will face the enormous challenge of reforming Japan’s bureaucracy. Yoel Sano from BMI’s Asia desk believes it will take a long time before the economy will reap the benefits of this historic change.

 

 Japan's Election Outcome [9:31m]
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‘Change’ is a powerful message. Barack Obama made this his main slogan in his 2008 campaign. Rocky Balboa proclaimed this to the Soviet Politburo at the end of Rocky IV. UK girl band Sugababes called their fifth album Change. Now, even Japan has opted for change, after 54 years of rule by the Liberal Democratic [Read more...]

The unsurprising landslide victory of the opposition GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) party in Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections on Sunday (July 5) could prove to be the sea-change which many ordinary Bulgarians have been desperately waiting for. In the aftermath of the elections, I believe that the overwhelming support for the three-year old centre-right [Read more...]

Bloody clashes between Iranian security forces and protestors contesting last Friday’s election results have seen the largest public gathering in Iran since the Islamic Revolution 30 years ago. Liz Martins from Business Monitor International discusses the implications of a possible recount of the vote.

 

 Iran Election Crisis [10:32m]
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