As the US gears up for general elections in 2012, there is a widespread perception that the country’s economic weakness since 2008, the rise of China, the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, have all eroded American global hegemony. Although the US’ ability and… [Read more]
Political risk is a perennial concern for foreign investors in Turkey, and a frequent cause of volatility on the Istanbul markets. Yet despite threats of military coups, an on-again off-again EU accession process, deep social tensions between secularist and moderate Islamist institutions, and a protracted ethnic Kurdish insurgency, the Turkish economy and financial markets have… [Read more]
The popularity and influence of Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, knows no bounds. As Lula enters his final year in office, his popularity continues to hover near record highs. Interestingly, as his ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores gears up for next year’s election (in which his chief of staff Dilma Rousseff is Lula’s hand-picked… [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.
