A new financial crisis may be coming up in the emerging economies that could cause much more damage than 2008 - that is what a World Bank report says after having analysed the international transactions of the central banks of most major economies ( Read more... )

The string of terror attacks and the gradual amping up of authoritarianism of the Erdogan regime may've been perceived as Turkey's main problems, but in truth, their woes are economic first and foremost. Do bear with me.

The Turkish economy has registered a 1.8% slump for the 3rd quarter of last year, and the forecasts are even grimmer for the ( Read more... )

Obligatory "And you kept saying the military was neutered and I was wrong to expect this to happen to Erdogan" line so it's out of the way and never brought up again ( Read more... )

Fewer Americans today (as a share of the total population) are part of the middle class than at any time since WW2. As serious a threat as that is, what's worse is the HUGE number of middle class families who are one bad day away from poverty:

76 million Americans are struggling financially or just getting by

"Some 46% of adults say they can't ( Read more... )

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-rio-olympics-political-economic-chaos-20160415-story.html

"With Brazil spiraling into political chaos and getting hit by a severe economic downturn, it’s easy to forget that Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Summer Olympics in only four months.

The crisis of democracy is using up all the political ( Read more... )

Last week Venezuelan president Maduro extended the state of emergency that he had previously imposed, and this week new draconian measures and extended government prerogatives were announced. The economy is a train-wreck. Because of poor management, corruption, and of course the low oil prices. Venezuela is in deep political crisis, and the ( Read more... )

When he took office in 2014, Ukrainian PM Yatsenyuk called his decision a political suicide. That was before the Russian annexation of Crimea and the start of the conflict in the Donbass. Now two years later, Yatsenyuk may've not officially become a political corpse yet, but he's close. Although his government did survive a no confidence vote last ( Read more... )

I'm really amazed by the simplicity behind arguments like, "Europe has a population of 400+ million; it can easily absorb a couple million refugees, no problem. Look, America is doing it on a regular basis".

So let's dig a bit further under the surface of what at first sight may look like easy-peasy solution here. And you'll see how after a while, ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

"From plummeting oil prices to foreign-policy missteps to growing tensions with Iran, a confluence of recent events is mounting to pose some serious challenges for the Saudi regime. If not properly managed, these events could eventually coalesce into a perfect storm that significantly increases the risk of instability within the kingdom, with ( Read more... )