A landslide victory by the opposition Puea Thai Party (PTP) in Sunday’s general election has given its political opponents – the hitherto ruling Democrat coalition, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD – also known as the ‘Yellow Shirts’), and the military – little excuse to challenge the outcome of the poll. Indeed, prior to the… [Read more]
There are big question marks over the current policy advocated by the Turkish central bank, which despite stellar economic growth chose to cut interest rates to stem the flow of ‘hot money’. With consumer credit growing at over 40% y-o-y in late May, and inflation beginning to rear its head, we ask Chris Graham, Europe… [Read more]
Political risk has ceased to be a dominant theme in Latin America over the past couple of years, allowing the region to emerge ever more prominently on global investors’ radar screens since the global financial crisis. The focus, instead, shifted towards the region’s resource wealth, the vast capital investment growth potential and the growing consumer… [Read more]
Perhaps the most noteworthy development of last week’s UK regional elections was the Scottish National Party (SNP)’s victory in establishing the first-ever single-party majority administration in the Scottish Parliament’s history. The most eye-catching part of the SNP’s policy platform is its commitment to independence, and the desire to hold a referendum on the issue during… [Read more]
The Portuguese government finally caved in on April 6 and requested a European Union (EU) bailout. This was effectively a non-event, however. My colleagues and I had long expected the Portuguese to seek external assistance in Q2 2011, and judging by the muted reaction in the euro and bond spreads, the market had already priced… [Read more]
Canada is headed for its fourth federal election in seven years on May 2. With 143 seats going into the election, of 308 total in Parliament, the ruling Conservative Party under Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to pick up 12 seats at a minimum for a majority. Their path to a majority is made difficult… [Read more]
Given that President Hugo Chávez’s Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) lost its two-thirds majority in the September 26 legislative elections, it is pretty likely that the ruling party is going to face a tougher time in passing some of the more radical elements of its socialist reforms. In addition, the 2012 presidential vote is… [Read more]
