Why Has Somaliland Succeeded and Iraqi Kurdistan Failed?
February 28th, 2019
Via The American Enterprise Institute, an interesting comparison of Somaliland versus Kurdistan: Throughout 1988, MiG-17 fighter jets would take off from an airfield on the outskirts of town. Locals referred to it as the 4-4-4: Within four minutes, they’d be over the city. They would drop four bombs, and then the pilots would collect a $4,000 reward […]
Read more »How North Korea’s Economy Defies Sanctions
February 26th, 2019
Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, a look at how North Korea’s day-to-day commerce in the country has remained resilient, rice prices are stable and gasoline prices have eased: The U.S. has been leading a world-wide campaign to pressure North Korea into giving up its nuclear arsenal through an increasingly stringent sanctions regime. Available evidence suggests it’s not […]
Read more »North Korea’s Economy
February 22nd, 2019
Courtesy of the North Korea Economy Watch, a look at the current state of North Korea’s economy: The Hanoi summit is just days away, Daily NK recently put out new market price data, and I’ve finally had time to update my dataset. There seems like no better time than the present to take a look at some of […]
Read more »Adventures In North Korean Capitalism
February 17th, 2019
Courtesy of The New York Times, a detailed look at how – far from the stereotype of total economic isolation – North Korea’s black market has brought a surprising degree of modernity and consumerism — for some: One Night in Pyongyang, around 9 p.m., my North Korean minder, S., and I pulled into the empty parking […]
Read more »China’s Digital Silk Road
February 14th, 2019
Via Center for Strategic & International Studies, a transcript of an interesting panel discussion on the digital Silk Road: Matthew P. Goodman: Good morning, everyone. My name is Matthew Goodman. I hold the Simon Chair in political economy here at CSIS. Delighted to welcome you here to our humble abode for this event on the […]
Read more »How A Chinese Pay TV Company Is Serving Up Soft Power In Africa
February 14th, 2019
Via The Diplomat, a report on StarTimes’ growth in Africa: According to BuzzFeed News, on February 1 Chinese state television broadcaster CGTN America registered as a foreign agent in the United States, to comply with the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). CGTN America director-general Jing Ma remained upbeat, claiming the registration was not a reflection on the […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.