Dire Straits: Two Canals, Two Big Problems = One Global Shipping Mess
March 10th, 2024
Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, a report on how drought in Panama and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are delaying deliveries and pushing up costs: More than 50 ships queued to cross the Panama Canal on a recent day—from tankers hauling propane to cargo ships packed with food. A prolonged drought has led the canal’s […]
Read more »Diversification Strategies Paying Off For GCC Economies
March 10th, 2024
Via Arab News, a look at how diversification strategies are now paying off for GCC economies: Transport, tourism and logistics are set to help the Gulf Cooperation Council region secure gross domestic product growth far above the lobal average, economists have told Arab News. Experts believe that a focus on non-oil trade by GCC governments […]
Read more »Rush To Riyadh Is On
March 10th, 2024
Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on big companies’ adherence to Saudi Arabia’s demand that they set up regional HQs in the desert kingdom: Scores of multinationals have heeded Riyadh’s ultimatum to establish regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia or face losing out on lucrative government contracts, but leading banks have been conspicuous by their […]
Read more »How Dune Helps Us Understand The Real-Life Middle East
March 9th, 2024
Courtesy of Noahpinion, an interesting commentary on how Dune helps us understand real-life Middle East and the challenging political economy faced by resource-exporting countries in which more poorly resource-endowed East Asian nations may start out poorer but grow much faster: I recently saw Dune 2, and it’s really good, despite a bit of a rushed […]
Read more »China’s Minidrama Producers Set Their Sights on Challenging Netflix
March 9th, 2024
Courtesy of Nikkei Asia, a report on China’s minidrama producers who are using ultra-short episodes and wacky plots help their content flourish on social media and challenge Netflix: A college student from the present time wakes up to find herself transported back to 1980s China, where she meets a pig farmer with two children and […]
Read more »The Taliban Once Smashed TVs. Now It Fosters YouTubers To Promote Its Image.
March 9th, 2024
Courtesy of the Washington Post, a report on a new wave of video bloggers under the Taliban, which is seeking to shape a positive narrative about the country: The Taliban-run government is fostering a thriving community of YouTube influencers and video bloggers in Afghanistan, seeking to shape a positive narrative about the country by rewarding […]
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.