Africa’s economic prospects have always been a topic of great consternations for local governments and international analysts and commentators. A continent rich in commodities (oil, diamonds, minerals), with a favorable demographic trends, and the potential for economic growth, has historically been ‘stuck in the muck’. Yet, things are turning around, and the past decade has […]
As the Arab Spring is turning to its second (and harder) phase of conducting elections and forming legitimate transitional government, the need for an economic strategy is becoming painfully apparent. The people, who marched on the streets demanding political freedom, were also demonstrating for economic freedom and the general improvement of their future economic prospects. […]
At least 23 and perhaps as many as 26 of the 27 members of the European Union have agreed to an inter-governmental agreement that may or may not save the euro from the bond market vigilantes. A full-blown treaty failed because there was not unanimous support for the idea – Britain stood alone in saying […]
Wednesday, November 23, 2011, Germany sold 10-year Bunds at its debt auction worth 3.64 billion euro with an average yield of 1.98%, and the bid-to-cover ratio was 1.1 , while the Bundesbank retained the remainder of the 6 billion euro offering. To most people, that’s just Wall Street gobbledegook, but in fact, it is a […]
Brussels has always had a bum rap in Europe. Brussels is that faraway place where decisions are made over the heads of people. Brussels is considered undemocratic and technocratic, and is contrasted unfavorably with the familiar closeness of national politics. In the past 40 years or so, selling the EU to the public has often […]
Once the shining example of Turkey’s ‘strategic depth’, the Assad regime, as a result of its repression of Syrian dissent, has moved from a ‘zero-problems’ policy to a ‘tough love’ policy in Turkey’s foreign policy outlook. During his September speech in New York, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized Turkey’s changing view towards the […]
Yesterday evening, I had the privilege of attending two separate speeches, featuring two top diplomats. The first was former U.S. Secretary of State under President Reagan, George P. Schulz; the second was current Greek Foreign Minister, Stavros Lambrinidis. What stood out most to me about the two respective addresses were remarks, concerning current economic and […]
With America’s latest market crash, the debt debate seems so ‘last week’ (hey, it was last week!), there is still much to learn from the tumultuous process. Niall Ferguson attempts to provide an outside perspective on the whole debt limit battle. It’s a pretty important outside perspective too; China: Viewed from Beijing, it looked very […]
An envoy of officials from both the Yemeni government and the Opposition are said to be traveling to Riyadh on Wednesday in order to sign the agreement brokered by the GCC. Sultan al-Barakani who is the deputy secretary of the People’s Congress, the Presidential party, has said that the government had indeed “received an invitation […]
Last week’s ruling by the WTO Appellate Body on the U.S. trade remedies regime went mostly unnoticed, due to the dramatic developments in Japan and Libya. However, its implications could be significant… thought not immediate. The Appellate Body reversed a previous panel decision which allowed the U.S. government to apply higher tariffs to imports from […]
Last year we saw developments in the EU-China trade relationship that can signify a greater convergence between these two trading partners. The global financial crisis that led to temporary drop in western demand for Chinese goods during 2009 was followed by an aggressive investment strategy by China in 2010, acquiring a number of businesses in […]
Last fall, an article by the Economist praised the consolidation of railway companies in the former Yugoslavia as a development that will ease the movement of freight from Turkey to Central Europe. The Economist went on to argue that a future rail tunnel under the Bosporus and plans between Turkey and China to link Beijing […]
It has to be, without a doubt, that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of communism constituted the single most transformative event of the past 40 years. Since man walked the surface of the Moon, the collapse of communism signified the predominance of ‘one’ over the ‘other.’ A New World Order […]
Recent attempt by global terror outfits seeking to target European interests have heighted fear within the EU that an attack in the region seems an increasing possibility. Driven by these fears there has been a renewed effort to evaluate the regions counter terror initiatives. This has led the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove to […]
In an effort to stem the deepening collapse from the Greece Sovereign Debt crisis, finance ministers from the European Union agreed on a deal that would provide $560 billion in new loans and $76 billion under an existing lending program. Elena Salgado, the Spanish finance minister, who announced the deal, also said the International Monetary Fund was prepared to give up to $321 billion separately.