China’s BRI Staggers and Stalls in Indonesia
July 30th, 2022
Via the Asia Times, an article on how the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail was supposed to be China’s signature BRI project in Indonesia but it isn’t working out that way: For the frustrated Indonesian government, the light at the end of the tunnel still looks as far away as ever as it struggles to overcome cost overruns, […]
Read more »Turning Off Congo’s Looting Machine
July 30th, 2022
Via Project Syndicate, commentary on the corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Last month, the Belgian government returned a gold-capped tooth that was ripped from the mouth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first elected prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, more than 60 years ago. Lumumba was assassinated in 1961 by a Belgian execution squad that […]
Read more »Russia: Using Sudan’s Gold To Fund Ukraine War Effort
July 30th, 2022
Via CNN, a report on Russia’s alleged plundering of gold in Sudan to boost Putin’s war effort in Ukraine: Days after Moscow launched its bloody war on Ukraine, a Russian cargo plane stood on a Khartoum runway, a strip of tarmac surrounded by red-orange sand. The aircraft’s manifest stated it was loaded with cookies. Sudan rarely, […]
Read more »Burkina Faso Could Be Next for Russia’s Wagner Group
July 28th, 2022
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, commentary on how a military coup, natural resources, and roiling insecurity may make Burkina Faso a candidate for Russian intervention: Burkina Faso could be the next target for Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, two U.S. intelligence officials told Foreign Policy, after a military coup in January left the West African country increasingly isolated. The mercenary […]
Read more »Sri Lanka’s State-Owned Enterprises: A Big Part of Its Economic Problems
July 28th, 2022
Via The Diplomat, a look at Sri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises whose loss-making operations are a huge drain on government coffers: Sri Lanka is in an unenviable position, and its policy makers face a conundrum. The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a century. Sri Lanka has formally defaulted; its public debt is over 100 percent of GDP […]
Read more »Map Shows Massive Gas Pipeline That Russia and China Are Building
July 28th, 2022
Via CNBC, a report on the massive gas pipeline that Russia and China are building: China and Russia are in the final stages of building the first pipeline that can send gas from Siberia to Shanghai. “Power of Siberia” — as the portion located in Russia is called — began delivering natural gas to northern China […]
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.