A long-distance cargo train has traveled from China to Iran as part of an attempted revival of the ancient Silk Road, a trans-Asian trade route connecting the east to Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. The 32-container train, which arrived in Tehran on Monday, took 14 days to complete the 6,462 mile (10,399km) journey from China’s … Continue reading
By Mark Snowiss Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, angered by Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria, warned Moscow on Thursday that Ankara may look elsewhere for partners to supply natural gas and build its first nuclear power plant. One of the top importers of Russian gas, Turkey has joined with Moscow in a major effort to construct … Continue reading
Kazakhstan’s currency fell by a record 23% in trade on Thursday, August 20th, after the country abandoned control of its exchange rate, as it became the latest emerging market to scrap efforts to prop up its currency before the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes interest rates. Vietnam’s Central bank has devalued the nation’s currency on Wednesday, August 19th, for the … Continue reading
The recent summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) held in the Russian city of Ufa agreed to enlarge the organization. President Putin declared “For the first time since its establishment, we have launched a procedure for admitting new members – India and Pakistan”. By Süreyya Yiğit Documents were signed to begin the accession of … Continue reading
Emerging Asia will maintain its strong economic growth in 2015 and 2016, supported by soft commodity prices and recovery in the major industrial economies, a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says. The ADB’s annual economic report, Asian Development Outlook 2015 (ADO), released on Tuesday, forecasts gross domestic product (GDP) growth in emerging … Continue reading
By Chris Weafer, Macro Advisory Russia is not the only economy suffering from the combination of the oil price collapse and sanctions; most of the countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are also feeling the pain. For some it is because they have also waited far too long to start diversifying away from … Continue reading
By Aurangzeb Qureshi In recent years, China is slowly returning to its former glory as the “Middle Kingdom” as it was once was during the 6th century. Unlike the isolationist China of the past, President Xi Jinping’s China is a resurgent dragon looking to connect with the rest of the world. In other words, China is … Continue reading
By Andrew Korybko It’s no secret by now that the US is dead set on containing China, yet it’s shying away from engaging in a direct confrontation with it. Instead, the US is managing a dual policy of creating chaos along China’s western and southwest reaches, while coordinating a containment alliance along its southeastern and northeastern … Continue reading
By Gulam Asgar Mitha For several decades and centuries, the European and Asian colonial powers fought among themselves for control of foreign lands, cultures (predominantly language and religion) and economic gains resulting in mass killings and two devastating world wars on their soils that ended in the decline of several major world powers and the rise … Continue reading
By Alina Yablokova and Global Risk Insights On February 25, the European Commission presented its Energy Union package of proposals, a first major step made by the European legislators to realise the strategy of coordinating the energy policies of the 28 EU member states. Indeed, the European Commission envisages a union that speaks with one voice … Continue reading