Libyan rebels appear to have taken control of the capital Tripoli. However, Business Monitor’s Head of Political Risk Yoel Sano cautions against premature optimism. While stability remains far from assured at the present juncture, we also speak with Saket Vemprala, Oil & Gas analyst, about the outlook for the all-important energy sector and when Libyan… [Read more]
Monday 27 June marked the 100th day of NATO’s air war against Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi. By contrast, in 1999, it took 78 days of a much heavier air bombardment for NATO to force then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his military forces from the Serbian province of Kosovo. Back then, the US… [Read more]
Russia has arguably emerged as a key beneficiary of the current political crises in the Middle East and North Africa, mainly because events there have undermined the United States’ geopolitical position, sown divisions with NATO, and driven up oil prices. At the same time, the Japanese earthquake will probably increase Japan’s dependence on Russian energy… [Read more]
Over the past month or two, the world has been roiled by two crises: the political upheaval sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the Japanese earthquake. Both provide opportunities for Russia to increase its global importance. The political upheaval in MENA has led to a US$20 increase in oil prices to… [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]
Afghanistan has featured prominently in the Western media of late, mainly because of a sharp increase in Western troop deaths. But presidential elections to be held on August 20 also merit attention. Having just written an extensive report on Afghanistan for Business Monitor Online, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts. If you are… [Read more]
While attention is focused on the G-20 summit taking place in London, another summit marking NATO’s 60th anniversary will take place in Strasbourg at the end of this week. At the age of 60, most human beings would be considering retiring (notwithstanding the ‘60 is the new 40’ paradigm). Naturally, the NATO summit begs the… [Read more]
